TEEAP News

August 3-7, 2009 @ Lock Haven University, Clinton County, PA

A Four-Day Professional Development Workshop
for Middle & High School Teachers of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Earn PA Act 48 Hours or Graduate Education Credits (approval pending)

Looking for lab and field activities that will increase understanding and protect aquatic biodiversity? Join this unique monitoring network that will immerse your students in important biodiversity issues and research. This field, lab, and classroom course will provide you and your students with the opportunity to team-up with practicing scientists to explore aquatic biodiversity issues in the context of the Susquehanna Watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. The Susquehanna Biodiversity Network activities will help teachers provide students with:

• Meaningful lab and field experiences
• Real world monitoring that will document native crayfish, freshwater mussels and aquatic invasive species

Participants will receive many valuable resources including:

• A Pennsylvania standards-based activity guide and (2) An introduction to using Google Earth satellite imagery software Collecting equipment, and field guides
• Schools participating in the monitoring network will also be eligible to receive hand-held global positioning units (GPUs) and a $500 field trip implementation grants that can cover bus transportation.

Note: Teachers and their principals will be asked to commit to implement the SABN monitoring activities in their school district and to provide Network field activities for their students. Participants will be surveyed prior to the workshop about their background, school curriculum, and equipment needed to best serve individual schools.

Cost: The workshop cost is $100 per person for Act 48 credit OR graduate tuition. Space is limited to 20 participants. Double occupancy lodging is available for out-of-town participants on a first come first served basis. Lunch and snacks are provided. For registration and information contact: Ann Faulds, Pennsylvania Sea Grant 215-806-0894, afaulds@psu.edu. Workshop funding provided by NOAA B-WET program with additional support provided by Penn State University, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the National Sea Grant Program.

You can see the official Flyer HERE and the Tentative Agenda HERE.

Pennsylvania Sea Grant Program is a partnership of The Pennsylvania State University, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

So, here we are with one of the first real discussion related topics. As was said in the 2008 Summer edition of the TEAP Journal, the summer is a great time to look around your local area for things to do. These local places are often not only enjoyable, but can be used as references in your classrooms for students to go and learn more about what you teach. For instance, where I live in the Lehigh Valley we have the DaVinci Science Center as well as the Reading Public Museum which often has some great events that are technology related. Currently, we also have the Kutztown Folk Festival which not only has arts and crafts but is a great way to see the history of technology in the Pennsylvania Dutch region. This year they have a great set up about Electric cars showing how they are not exactly NEW technology. My son and I plan to visit the Franklin Institute and maybe even take the drive out to the Air & Space Museum near Washington where they have the shuttle Enterprise as well as the SR71 Blackbird. Sure, my kid just wants to make sure it really isn’t a Decepticon, but I am sure we can fit some other learning in there as well.

So, now it is your turn. Please leave comments on places all around Pennsylvania that we as educators can use to help our students gain more knowledge about technology right here in Pennsylvania. We have a great history be it canals, coal mining, or even the first oil wells. Let’s us know what else is out there and we can build a list on the TEAP Website for future use!