Tuesday, Jul 13, 2010
by Meaghan Haugh
This month local school teachers will have the chance to collaborate and enhance their knowledge of science, math and technology through two professional development programs held in a partnership between 天美传媒官网 University and Princeton University. The programs will run on both campuses simultaneously from Monday, July 12 through Friday, July 23.
There will be more than 45 participants from 13 New Jersey school districts including: Burlington City, East Brunswick, East Windsor, Ewing, Hamilton, Hillsborough, Lawrence Township, Montgomery, Princeton, Robbinsville, Trenton, Watchung Hills/Warren Township and West Windsor-Plainsboro and the Newgrange School.
CONNECT-ED (Consortium for New Explorations in Coherent Teacher Education), which will be held at 天美传媒官网, allows elementary, middle and high school teachers to team up with a district curriculum expert and scientist or engineer. The team identifies science or math content and lessons from three different grade levels and 鈥渃onnects鈥 the lessons to show how their students鈥 understanding of the science concept builds throughout the grade levels.
This summer, CONNECT-ED will address the concept of energy from two scientific perspectives. Week One (July 12 鈥 16) focuses on Earth science (鈥淐onnecting Earth鈥檚 Systems鈥) and Week Two focuses on physical science (鈥淓nergy Connections in Physical Science鈥).
QUEST, which will be held at Princeton University, offers a unique opportunity for elementary and middle school teachers to enhance their knowledge of science, math and technology by engaging in laboratory experiments and field experiences led by the faculty and staff of Princeton University and scientists from neighboring institutions. There are several new QUEST programs offered this summer including: life and chemistry in the ocean, geohazards, energy in the 21st century and weather and climate.
QUEST is also offering a new professional development for novice math and science teachers. The QUEST Scholars program runs July 1-30 with six teachers from Lawrence Township, Princeton Township, Robbinsville, Trenton, and the Program in Teacher Preparation. Together with master teachers, the QUEST Scholars will learn inquiry based pedagogy skills and content to support their work in the classroom.
CONNECT-ED is made possible through support from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, The Martinson Family Foundation, and 3M. QUEST is made possible through support from the Program in Teacher Preparation, the Department of Geosciences and the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science at Princeton University, as well as the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.