Educator Services Teaching & Learning Curriculum Resources
2008 Professional Development Institutes

Northeast Region

Science and Technology/Engineering

How to Effectively Engage Students in Standards-Based Biology Learning K-12

For Teachers in grades K-12
Prerequisite: Fundamental content knowledge

This institute will provide participants with an in-depth knowledge of how to effectively engage students in standards-based Biology learning. Teachers will learn how to develop a content-focused approach to instruction that relates multiple elements of effective standards-based instruction to further develop their skills and knowledge. Participants will examine their own classroom pedagogy as well as enhance their own instructional repertoires to provide successful learning experiences for students in a standards-based classroom learning environment.

The main goals of the institute are:

• To provide participants with an understanding of how Learning Style and Multiple Intelligence Theories can enhance their teaching pedagogies
• To provide participants with a deep conceptual understanding of the STE Frameworks K-12, including the four levels of inquiry
• To assist participants in developing a repertoire of strategies for actively engaging students in learning Biology K-12
• To assist participants in building a repertoire of varied assessment practices to complement varied student-centered pedagogies

Science and Technology/Engineering

Laboratory-Based Physics Content

For Teachers in Grades 7-12 and HS Special Education Teachers
Prerequisites: Algebra 1 Proficiency

This will be a collegial laboratory-based course that is especially relevant to science teachers in grades 7 through 12 and resource staff supporting special needs students in physics and physical science. This physics course will help participants develop more competencies in physics and increase participant's comfort in teaching ideas related to the Massachusetts state frameworks standards in high school physics and middle school physical science.

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

The academic content in physics is centered on concepts of motion, changes in motion, forces, work, energy and power. Participants will learn to connect an object's motion to Newton's force laws and relate and interpret graphs of distance-time, velocity-time, acceleration-time, and force-time. Notions of energy, work and power will be studied, and participants will learn about kinetic energy, potential energy, and the conditions under which mechanical energy is conserved.

Mathematics

Sheltering Instruction in Middle School Mathematics

For Educators in Grades 5-8
Prerequisites: None

This institute is developed for middle school mathematics teachers and their ELL colleagues who work with students in need of scaffolding of math language and concepts. Teacher teams will be given priority. This course satisfies the requirements for Category 2 SEI Professional Development.

This course is designed to provide an understanding of the specific linguistic and conceptual challenges that English language learners may encounter in math classes. Teachers will develop specific awareness, knowledge and skills to make mathematics instruction more comprehensible for English language learners and learn to promote the acquisition of academic language proficiency and conceptual mathematical understanding. This active and inquiry-based training is organized around key concepts, and engages teachers in experiences which model student learning and draw upon teachers' own experiences in the classroom. This approach helps teachers to recognize strategies they already use and to develop new ones that promote and extend mathematical learning and language acquisition for the English language learners they teach. The World Learning SIT ACCESS for Math Graduate Certificate is approved by the MAESE for Category 2 in Massachusetts SEI professional development.

Mathematics

Geometry and Measurement-Area, Perimeter and Transformations

For Teachers in Grades 4 -6
Prerequisites: None

This institute emphasizes math content at the upper elementary school level in the context of standards-based instruction. It is suitable for teachers of regular education, inclusion, and special education students. It addresses both mathematics content and pedagogical strategies.

This geometry course will be a hands-on, inquiry-based study of 2D and 3D geometry including polygons, polyhedra, congruence, similarity, area, perimeter, surface area, volume, transformations, and proportional reasoning. The course will also address connections to other mathematical strands as appropriate. Participants will learn and practice standards-based instructional strategies, engage in a review of current research, and incorporate findings into a curriculum project.

Mathematics

Assessing Mathematics with Rich Tasks and Problems

For Teachers in Grades K-5
Prerequisites: Three years teaching experience

This course is designed for regular education teachers who wish to enhance their understanding of assessment in mathematics in order to inform their instructional decisions.

This course models instruction and assessment grounded in math content. Through explorations of various types of assessments and working with rich tasks and problems, teachers will gain the ability to create a balanced program of assessment for their students, learn how to better interpret the results of assessments, and gain resources and strategies to be shared within their respective schools.

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