Summer Workshop Plans

Black Hills Science Teaching Project (BLAHST) Summer 2001 Workshop

How long do your workshops last?

Our workshops range from one-day (five hours) to six days (45 hours) depending on the content. Although our project is relatively small in terms of the number of teachers and students involved, it is large in area. Some teachers must travel up to 150 miles to attend workshops, even when they are held in a central location. This must be taken into consideration when scheduling workshops.

How many teachers do you involve in your workshops?

We prefer to keep the number of participants around 24 or less, but we are allowing as many as 30 to participate in our summer sessions. We have a total of 370 teachers in grades K-8 in the project.

What are your major goals for your workshops in terms of content and pedagogy?

We offer science content workshops in each of the major areas of life, physical, earth and space science. Scientists associated with the project facilitate these workshops, and their availability determines the workshops to an extent. The actual concepts covered in the workshops are taken from items in the South Dakota Science Standards. The pedagogy workshops provide an introduction to NSF-approved science materials and how the modules can be implemented in the classroom. The school districts in our project are in the process of purchasing these materials for the teachers to use in their classrooms, so many of the teachers have not had the opportunity to use inquiry-based materials at this point in the project.

Are you offering professional development on specific curricula that you are hoping will be used in the classroom? If so, which curricula are you using?

Most of the districts are purchasing FOSS kits for use in the classrooms, so our pedagogy workshops are based on those kits, as well as SEPUP. A few teachers are using STC kits, so we may focus on some of those at a later date.

• Participants will receive a stipend of $60 a day for attending summer workshops.
• Graduate credit from BHSU is available at the reduced rate of $47.70 per hour. Fifteen contact hours are needed for one credit. Participants will need to register for credit the first day of class.

* Indicates the workshop, or one of a similar nature, has previously been offered by BLAHST.

The number in parentheses following each course description indicates the number of hours the class will meet.

If you have questions about the workshops, or suggestions for future workshops, contact:

June 5, 2001 - FOSS Trees Module - Kindergarten - Sara Wishard and Charlie Lamb - CAMSE Basement Conference Room, Central Elementary, 236 W. Jackson, Spearfish. This workshop will focus on the FOSS module and the science concepts related to the changes observed in trees through the seasons and the shape of leaves. It is best to teach this module in the fall of the year. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (5 hours)

June 6-8 and 11-13, 2001 - "The End of the Dinosaurs: Late Cretaceous Fossils and Geology of South and North Dakota" -Grades K-8 - Dr. Julia Sankey, Museum of Geology, Second floor, SDSM&T, Rapid City. Participants will learn basic field techniques, such as using GPS units, and reading geologic maps at SDSM&T; study displays of dinosaurs and learn about the Late Cretaceous Period; then apply those skills during 3 days of field trips to the Badlands and Marmarth, ND. Transportation will be provided from SDSM&T to the various sites. This trip will not include an overnight stay as previously advertised due to a change in the availability of housing. Class begins at 8 a.m. (45 hours)

June 7, 2001 - FOSS Environments - Grades 5-6 - Janet Lillehaug and Charlie Lamb - CAMSE Basement Conference Room, Central Elementary, 236 W. Jackson, Spearfish. This workshop will focus on the FOSS module and the science concepts related to plant and animal adaptations to their environments by studying insects and fish. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (5 hours)

* June 11-15, 2001- Electricity for Elementary Teachers - Grades K-8 - Andy Johnson, Rose Emanuel, and Brandon Selk - Classroom Building, Room 110 at SDSM&T, Rapid City. Participants will develop simple but profound ideas about circuits, properties of electrical current, and explanations for current flow. Special computer software will support the learning. The electricity portion of the FOSS Magnetism and Electricity kit will be discussed. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (30 hours)

*June 18-21, 2001 - Environmental Biology - Grades K-8 - Charlie Lamb and Tom Mead - Science Wing, Jonas Hall, BHSU, Spearfish. Participants will conduct life science experiments in the lab and out in the local environment that they can replicate with their own students. They will learn about water chemistry and how it affects the organisms living in that environment. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (30 hours)

June 18-21, 2001 - NASA Aerospace Workshop - Grades K-8 - Pam Christol, NASA Representative - CAMSE Basement Conference Room, Central Elementary, 236 W. Jackson, Spearfish. Participants can attend either the first two days or the last two days for 1 graduate credit or attend all 4 days for 2 credits. Topics for Days One and Two, the more elementary level sessions, include Plants in Space, Rocketry, Toys in Space, Living and Working in Space, and Aeronautics, and time in a computer lab looking at related web-sites. Topics for Days Three and Four, for upper grades, include Microgravity, Lunar/Meteorite, Earth Science, Space Based Astronomy, and time in a computer lab. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (15 or 30 hours)

*June 25-28, 2001 - Human Body - Grades K-8 - Charlie Lamb - Science Wing, Jonas Hall, BHSU, Spearfish. Participants will learn about human physiology concepts through experimentation by studying the different systems in the body and how they are all interrelated. They will study the cardiovascular, skeletal/muscular, and respiratory systems. Teachers will learn through experiments that can be modified for use in their classrooms. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (30 hours)

June 26-27, 2001 - Teacher Leadership - Grades K-8 - Deb Jordan of McREL and Janet Lillehaug - CAMSE Basement Conference Room, Central Elementary, 236 W. Jackson, Spearfish. This workshop is designed to help teacher leaders better understand the issues associated with systemic reform in science. Participants will be provided with strategies that can help them more effectively implement changes that will affect teacher and student performance. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (15 hours)

July 10-11, 2001 - Star Lab - Grades K-8 - Terry Lewis and Becky Binder - BHSU Student Union, Spearfish. Participants will become familiar with the use of the StarLab Planetarium in identifying stars and constellations. They will develop materials for use in their classroom. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (15 hours)*July 12-13, 2001 - Weather - Ben Sayler - Grades 3-8 - Mineral Industries Building, Room 222, SDSM&T, Rapid City. Teachers will conduct hands-on investigations to learn about cloud formation, wind, weather maps, atmospheric pressure, and temperature. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (15 hours)

July 16, 2001 - Science and Trade Books - Grades K-5 - Linda Nelson- CAMSE Basement Conference Room, Central Elementary, 236 W. Jackson, Spearfish. Teachers will explore trade books relating to science and compile a database they can use in their classrooms in a hands-on, interactive session of sharing with other educators. Participants should bring books that they are currently using in their classrooms to share with other participants. Additional BLAHST hours may be accumulated through further research and sharing. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (5 hours)

July 23-27, 2001 - Magnetism - Grades K-8 - Andy Johnson - Classroom Building Room 110 at SDSM&T, Rapid City. This companion course to the Electricity workshop will also use special computer software to help participants develop powerful scientific explanations of simple magnetic attractions and repulsions, magnetizing and demagnetizing, and differences between materials. Magnetism in the FOSS Magnetism and Electricity kit will also be discussed. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (30 hours)

*July 23-26, 2001 - Geology of the Black Hills and Badlands - Grades K-8 - Colin Paterson - Mineral Industries Building, Room 222, SDSM&T, Rapid City. Participants will travel to various sites to learn about rock types and structures due to the geologically sudden rise of the Black Hills and the resulting sedimentary rocks of the Badlands. Teachers will need a copy of Gries' book Roadside Geology of South Dakota for $20. Sites include Nemo, Mt. Rushmore, Lead, Terry Peak, and Spearfish, and the Badlands. Transportation will be provided to the various sites from SDSM&T. Class begins at 8 a.m. (30 hours)

July 31, 2001 - FOSS Water Module - Grades 3-4- Kathy Christensen and Ben Sayler - CAMSE Basement Conference Room, Central Elementary, 236 W. Jackson, Spearfish. This workshop will focus on the FOSS module and the science concepts relating to the properties of water, water vapor, evaporation, and how to test the hardness of water. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (5 hours)

August 2-3, 2001 - FOSS Air and Weather - Grades 1-2 - Jan Goodrich and Ben Sayler - CAMSE Basement Conference Room, Central Elementary, 236 W. Jackson, Spearfish. This workshop will focus on the FOSS module and the science concepts relating to weather observations, the properties of air, and making devices that use air. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. (10 hours)