Educator Services Teaching & Learning Curriculum Resources
2008 Professional Development Institutes

Greater Boston Region

Science and Technology/Engineering

Engineering, A New Approach to Science

For Teachers in Grades 6-10
Prerequisites: None

This course will provide teachers the content knowledge and pedagogical skills necessary to successfully engage students in learning the content of the seven Massachusetts Technology/Engineering strands for grades 6-10. Teachers will learn methods to support specific standards-based classroom projects, using examples from Engineering the Future (ETF), a full-year high school course for all students.

Through individual and team experiences, participants orient and prepare to teach design-based curricula integrating science and mathematics through engineering, while promoting technological literacy. Participants will complete selected project-based student activities involving structural analysis, hydraulics and pneumatics, heat engines, and electrical circuitry. They will participate in group discussion and analysis during the institute. Participants receive access to online resources and a dynamic teacher discussion board as a post-institute component, providing continuing support throughout the school year, and including rich hyperlinks to extension resources. Participants will prepare plans for implementing EtF or other technology/engineering projects in their classrooms.

Science and Technology/Engineering

On The Waterfront

For Teachers in Elementary Schools
Prerequisite: None

This institute equally emphasizes content and pedagogy in the context of standards-based instruction and experiences.

Participants will learn about the physical environment of the Boston waterfront, the living organisms and the human activity in and around the waterfront, and the relationship among the three. Participants will work with educators and faculty from the New England Aquarium, Boston Harbor Islands National Park, and Massachusetts Marine Educators, conducting field and hands-on classroom investigations at sites along the waterfront. Faculty will present a rich array of curricula, practical skills and content knowledge for conducting standards-based investigations and analysis. Based primarily on science frameworks, the Institute integrates other content areas, especially language arts (linking science observation to literacy through journaling), and mathematics (measuring, graphing). The Institute utilizes on-line research, collegial forums and sharing of activities and assessments using MassOne, the Commonwealth's on-line network for education.

Science and Technology/Engineering

Laboratory-Based Chemistry Content

For Teachers in Grades 6-9 & HS Special Education Teachers
Prerequisites: None

This will be a collegial laboratory-based course that is especially relevant to science teachers in grades 6 through 9 and resource staff supporting special education students taking physical science and chemistry classes. This chemistry course will help participants develop more competencies in chemistry and increase participant's comfort in teaching ideas related to the Massachusetts state frameworks standards in middle school physical science and high school chemistry.

Each participant will go home with between $200 to $300 of instructional supplies and a collection of well-tested classroom activities.

Investigations will involve the study of physical/chemical properties (e.g. density, viscosity, solubility, etc.), physical/chemical changes, solutions, acids and bases, the atomic model, chemical formulas and nomenclature, chemical reactions, Boyle's Law, and Charles' Law. We will use a mix of computer probe-ware and traditional equipment to gather and analyze data. Participants will leave this program with many resources and most importantly with a newly found confidence in teaching and doing chemistry.

Mathematics

Developing Algebraic Thinking

For Teachers in Grades 4-10
Prerequisites: Foundational knowledge of algebra

This institute builds upon the foundational math content knowledge of teachers at the upper elementary, middle and high school level in the context of standards-based instruction.

This course will address the patterns, relations, and algebra strand of the MA Mathematics Curriculum Framework, placing particular emphasis on variables, equations and non-linear functions. Participants will gain an understanding of how these important mathematics concepts are developed across grades 4-10, as well as how the development of algebraic thinking habits of mind can contribute to student conceptual understanding and problem solving in this strand. Throughout the course participants will do and discuss mathematics; analyze classroom artifacts and discuss subsequent actions; develop questioning strategies that focus, assess and advance students' algebraic thinking; design an algebra pre-assessment; and develop high cognitive demand lessons that support students' prior knowledge and level of understanding relative to articulated standards-based objectives.

Mathematics

Counting and Number Sense

For Teachers in Grades Pre-K to 2
Prerequisites: None

This institute emphasizes foundational math content at the elementary school level in the context of standards-based instruction for teachers of regular education, inclusion, and special education students. It addresses both mathematics content and pedagogical strategies. Teacher teams will be given priority.

The course will focus on the scope and sequence of number sense, operations, and arithmetic ideas throughout the PreK-2 curriculum. Participants will explore number sense concepts; make connections with other mathematical strands; engage in problem solving; investigate international teaching and learning in math; learn to teach mathematical functions as inverse operations; and explore teaching algebra as generalized arithmetic.

Mathematics

Unlocking Linear Equations and Exploring Their Foundations

For Teachers in Grades 3-8
Prerequisites: Solid foundational knowledge of K-5 arithmetic and fluency with operations

This institute is designed for middle school math teachers. It provides an intense immersion experience that models standards-based instruction, including multiple grouping strategies, ongoing formative assessments, differentiation, multiple representations and more. Teacher teams will be given priority.

In this course, teachers will deepen their understanding of linear equations in two variables, systems of linear equations, and preceding them, a connected sequence of foundational topics: rational numbers and operations, rate and speed, ratio, direct and inverse proportion, and measurement. Participants will use multi-topic concept mapping with an emphasis on visual explanations, solve challenging problems at their level, and explore likely student misunderstandings and their remediation. Participants will learn, through modeling and direct treatment, important instructional strategies that are the basis of a standards-based classroom.

Mathematics

Increasing Accessibility to Algebra and Geometry for Special Education Students

For Teachers in Grades 5-12
Prerequisites: None

This institute emphasizes foundational math content at the middle and high school level in the context of standards-based instruction for regular education, inclusion, and special education students. It addresses both mathematics content and pedagogical strategies. Teacher teams will be given priority.

The main goals are to strengthen teachers' understandings of the concepts from the algebra and geometry strands and the connections between them. The content includes slope, systems of equations, polygons, 3-dimensional figures, isometric views, area and accumulation. Participants will be provided with a toolbox of strategies to support all students in learning mathematics-concepts and skills. The course will model a variety of instructional formats, use math graphic organizers, informal and formal assessments, and technology as appropriate.

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