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Valle Imperial Summer Workshop Agenda

submitter: Valle Imperial - Project in Science
published: 06/16/1999
posted to site: 06/16/1999

Summer '99 Workshop Schedule for

Valle Imperial Project in Science

Imperial County, California

OVERVIEW (agendas to follow)

June 14-25, 1999 Seminar in Educational Measurement with Michael Klentschy: a ten day advanced training seminar focusing on assessment strategies for hands-on science. Teachers in the SDSU-IVC Master's in Science Education program and other teachers interested in taking the course for credit through the Teacher Academy Program have been invited. We expect 25-30 participants. The session will focus on the nature of assessment. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of formative assessment through the development and application of strategies, techniques, and products related to notebooks, performance tasks, rubrics, concept maps, and student products. *

June 15-16, 1999 Pinhole Investigations with Barry Kluger-Bell from the Exploratorium's Institute for Inquiry in San Francisco: a two day workshop on science inquiry using the phenomena of pinholes and light. Lead teachers and trainers from the Project have been invoted. Each day's session will be seven hours including an hour for lunch. We expect 30 participants. The workshop will take place at the San Diego State University campus in Calexico, California. The major goal for this workshop is to give participants "a quick but high-impact experience of doing inquiry, so they (will) have both a feel for what inquiry is and a vision of the process." (Exploratorium - 4/26/97)

June 28-July 9, 1999 Selected Topics in Zoology with Dr. Mala Wingerd: a ten day advanced training seminar focusing on broadening the participants' concept knowledge of living organisms. "Everything you wanted to know about animals from ants to zebras" is the theme of the seminar. Teachers in the Master's Program and teachers interested in taking the course for credit through the Teacher Academy Program have been invited. We expect 25-30 participants. *

July 12-23, 1999 Pasadena Center Summer Institute on Assessment in Pasadena, California: a two week annual summer institute will focus on student assessment. Most of the activities have been adapted from an assessment workshop given at the Exploratorium last summer. Daily sessions run from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Participants include pilot school coordinators, science resource teachers, classroom teachers, administrators, and scientists from fourteen California school districts. VIPS staff members will co-facilitate with staff from the Pasadena Unified School District and Tulare School District.

August 9-13, 1999 Summer Practicum - Zoology
This week long practicum will be conducted as a field studies program at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The staff from this institution will provide the participants with field studies experiences to follow-up the Zoology Seminar. Teachers in the Master's Program and teachers interested in taking the course for credit through the Teacher Academy Program have been invited. We expect 25-30 participants. *

August 16-19, 1999 Level One Science Unit Training
Science unit training for fourteen of the VIPS twenty-seven units will be offered twice over a four day period to teachers from thirteen school districts in Imperial County. We expect about 200 participants over the four day period. The purpose of each six hour training is to familiarize teachers with the science unit to be implemented in their classroom. Level one training emphasizes content, pedagogy, and materials management. Teachers who have successfully taught the same unit in their own classroom serve as facilitators for each session.

* Indicates that the course syllabus is too lengthy to include here.


AGENDA FOR PINHOLES INVESTIGATION - JUNE 15-16, 1999

Day One:
8:30-8:45 AM Introductions
8:45-9:00 Setting the purpose and context
9:00-10:05 "Messing about with Pinholes"
10:05-10:15 A Thinking Tool: Clamplight Demo
10:15-10:30 BREAK
10:30-11:10 Extended starting points: three stations
11:10-11:20 Observations and questions
11:20-11:50 Making meaning of the experiences so far
11:50-11:55 Next steps
11:55-12:55 LUNCH
12:55-1:00 Setting the stage for investigations
1:00-1:30 Gallery walk
1:30-2:40 Pinhole investigations
2:40-3:25 Highlights of investigations so far
3:25-3:30 What to expect tomorrow; dismissal
3:30-? Facilitators' debriefing

Day Two:
8:30-11:00 AM Pinhole investigations, continued
11:00-11:45 Group sharing
11:45-12:00 Synthesis: Conceptual learning
12:00-12:10 Clean-up
12:10-1:10 LUNCH and read Saunders article
1:10-2:00 Debrief Pinhole investigations
2:00-2:15 BREAK
2:15-2:45 Connecting inquiry to the classroom
2:45-3:00 Elements of doing inquiry in the classroom
3:00-3:25 Open for discussion
3:25-3:30 Closing remarks and pass out handouts
3:30-? Facilitators' debriefing


AGENDA FOR PASADENA SUMMER INSTITUTE JULY 12-23, 1999

Day One: What is role of assessment in teaching and learning?
Day Two: Developmental criteria for process skill assessment
Day Three: Helping students reach understanding: three approaches
Day Four: Student self-assessment
Day Five: Guidelines for writing test items
Day Six: Science-Literacy Connection
(Administrators and Leadership Team Day
Day Seven: Creating a plan for assessment
Day Eight: Performance Assessments and Scoring Guides
Day Nine: Performance Assessments and Scoring Guides
Day Ten: Optional Planning Day


VIPS LEVEL ONE SCIENCE TRAINING AUGUST 16-19, 1999
(All VIPS level one scienc eunit training sessions follow the same schedule

8:00-8:30 AM Refreshments and sign-in
8:30-9:00 Introductory remarks and training overview
9:00-11:30 Science unit training
  • Sign-in; pass out binders
  • What's the Big Idea
  • Kit inventory
  • Using Science Notebooks
  • Do the unit's activities
11:30-12:30 LUNCH on your own
12:30-3:15 Continue with unit training
3:15-3:30 Closing Remarks; Evaluations