The Earth Science III Teacher Workshop is a free, three-day program for grade 6-12 teachers sponsored by The Wright Center for Innovative Science Education at Tufts University and the The Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies at the University of Maine, Orono Maine. The conference is held at the University of Maine, Orono, Maine, and is designed to explore innovations in earth science education and recent scientific data on the Earth’s paleoclimates.

Interactive sessions will be held by speakers from universities, research organizations and secondary schools. Extended workshops and the opportunity to interact with the presenters will provide understanding in topics such as Geology, Glaciology, Meterology, Climatology, Dendrochronology and related fields. Also, information about the exciting new International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE) will be presented by team members.

This workshop will help teachers include or enhance climate studies in their curricula. Evidence of climate change is available first-hand to students in the natural world. During the workshop, emphasis will be placed on helping teachers develop climate change as a project-based, real-life learning problem for their students. Along with indoor activities that teachers can incorporate into the classroom, workshop participants will learn about some of the ways in which their students can collect data and interpret climate change in their own backyards.

Featured Speakers

• Coastal Marine Geology, Dr Joe Kelley, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Maine, Orono.
• Introduction to Modeling Earth System Processes, Dr. Doug Reusch, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Maine, Orono.
• Coring to Understand Environmental Change, Julia Daily, Department of Geological Sciences
  University of Maine, Orono.
• Data Analysis with Excel Spreadsheets, Dr. Marty Yates, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Maine, Orono.
  
• Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change: Lesson from the Past, Dr. George Jacobson,
  Director ­ Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies, University of Maine, Orono.
  
• An Ice Core Time Machine, Dr. Paul Mayewski, co-director of the Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies, University of Maine
• Modeling Glacier Flow with Plaster, Andy Moerlein, Art Instructor, The Derryfield School
• The GISP2 Climate Card, Zach Smith, Paleoclimate Program Coordinator at the Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies, University of Maine, Orono Maine
  

Several special events are planned, including evening keynote speakers, curriculum presentations and an all-day field trip.

This conference is offered at no cost to the participants, and room and board as well as materials will be provided free of charge. Participants will be expected to provide for their own travel. Each participant will receive a Certificate of Participation and PDPs (or equivalent) will be granted.

The Wright Center for Science Education at Tufts University is dedicated to the creation and dissemination of novel teaching techniques and resources for pre-college teachers. Through its fellowships, workshops, seminars and a variety of public outreach activities, the Center provides leadership in the training and retraining of science teachers to use innovative methods that will stimulate young minds.

Funding for the workshop is provided by the Dudley Wright Foundation of Geneva, Switzerland and the Institute for Quaternary and Climate Studies at the University of Maine.

Application

You may apply for this workshop online via email (no email attachments). Please copy and paste the application information into a word processing program. Once you have completed the workshop application, please email it to the Wright Center for Science Education at wright_center@emerald.tufts.edu.

Please send written applications to:

Wright Center for Science Education, Tufts University, Room 267C, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155

Applications will be accepted through May 1, 2001. Awards will be made by May 15, 2001.

For more information concerning this workshop, contact Zach Smith at 207-581-2505 or zach.smith@maine.edu.

General Contact Information

The Wright Center for Science Education, Tufts University, Room 267C, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155. Phone: 617-627-5394. Fax: 617-627-3995. Email: wright_center@emerald.tufts.edu