RI Science Professional Development and Student Opportunity Bulletin 5-24-13

7/30/2019 RI Science Professional Development and Student Opportunity Bulletin 5-24-13

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RI Science Professional Development and Student Opportunity

BulletinMay 24, 2013

This bulletin will be sent on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

If you would like to share an event, quality resource, or other opportunity, please follow the directions for doing so at the

bottom of the newsletter.To SUBSCRIBE send an email [email protected] SUBSCRIBE RISCI-MSHS in the Subject Line

Go ToRIScienceTeachers -https://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/for PDF copy of past issues

New In This

Bulletin

Prof.

Development

Student

Opportunities

Job

Opportunities

Web Sites News

New In This Bulletin:Teachers Invited to Tour the

SSV Oliver Hazard Perry Saturday,

June 8th. FREE Registration

News:RI Educators Sought For Participation

In NECAP Science Test Development

Apply By May 31st

RIDE is offering an opportunity for classroom

teachers and other educators to participate in the

development process of the NECAP Science

Assessment for grades 4, 8, and 11. The NECAP

Teacher Committees are essential to the work of

creating a valid and reliable assessment

system. Many of your teachers have participated

in these committees and have learned a lot not only from the process but also from the teachers

representing New Hampshire and Vermont.

We encourage teachers to apply to represent our students as members of one of the Test Development

Committees described below. Applications can be found on the RIDE website, at:

www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Development

The Bias & Sensitivity Review Committee will convene for one day, July 31st, 2013, in Stowe, Vermont. To prepare

assessment items for field-testing, all NECAP test items are reviewed to ensure that they are free from language or

content that may negatively affect the test performance of a specific group of students. This work is done by a team

made up of four educators from each state (Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont), for a total of 12 educators

being selected to serve on the Bias & Sensitivity Review Committee. These educators either represent a specific group

(e.g., racial, ethnic, or religious groups; rural or urban interests; individuals with disabilities; recent immigrants;English-language learners) or have direct experience working with students from these groups.

To qualify, educators should meet the following criteria:

have current and direct experience teaching or working with students; offer a unique perspective on one or more specific student groups; be willing to work intensively with a team of educators for two consecutive days; and have experience with the Science GSEs for their grade span.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/https://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/https://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/http://www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Developmenthttp://www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Developmenthttp://www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Developmenthttps://riscienceteachers.wikispaces.com/mailto:[email protected]


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The Item Review Committee will convene on two days, July 31 and August 1, 2013, in Stowe, Vermont. Each year,

as part of preparing assessment items for field-testing, NECAP science items and the inquiry tasks are reviewed for

alignment to the appropriate science assessment target, Depth of Knowledge level, student accessibility, and

instructional relevance. This work is done by three content-area teams of 12 educators, with four teachers each from

Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont on each team. The Item Review Committees meet once a year.

To qualify, educators should meet the following criteria:

have advanced knowledge and experience with the Grade Span Expectations; have experience teaching at the relevant grade cluster; and

be willing to work intensively on a team for two or more consecutive days.

The deadline for Applications is 4 p.m. on May 31st, 2013.

Applications are available on line at:

www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Development

If you have questions, please contact the following RIDE personnel:

Jennifer Golenia: 401-222-8406, [email protected]

Peter McLaren: 401-222-8454, [email protected] or

Dr. Kevon Tucker-Seeley: 401-222-8494, [email protected]

Web Sites Worth Exploring:

College Entrance Exam Math Prep -http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/Know a high school junior taking the SAT or ACT in the coming month? Need a free, interactive library of the most

complex math problem types found on those college entrance exams? Then check out the College Entrance Exam

Math Prep site.

Click the blue "Application" tab and "Start SATACT EduCAD" button for a math problem typical of those

standardized tests. A timer will start counting down from ten minutes. The "show next step" button provides a hint

about the strategy to take; keying in a correct answer triggers a similar but more difficult new question.

We first learned about the freshly-launchedcollegeentrancetestprep.comthrough e-mail last week from one of its

creators, who also developed the popular Flash Cards for Kids site first featured in these pages sixteen years ago!

Math with Bad Drawings -http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/A high school teacher began blogging last month "about the things I like [and] also about the things I can't do." By

juxtaposing the two and "owning up to weakness and drawing strength from successes," Ben Orlin hopes to "capture

the contradictory state of the teacher, of the mathematician."

Orlin's posts from Oakland, California illustrated with dry-erase marker art that he says his fiancee "charitably" rates

as average for a sixth grader already include

What I Show My Students When They Get the Right Answer for the Wrong Reason

Fistfuls of Sand (or, Why It Pays to Be a Stubborn Teacher)

What It Feels Like to Be Bad at Math

Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers

2013 Call for Workshop Proposals: New England Environmental Education Association
http://www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Developmenthttp://www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Developmentmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/http://mathwithbaddrawings.com/http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/http://www.collegeentrancetestprep.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ride.ri.gov/NECAP-Test-Development


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Conference & Sustainable Schools Summit Proposals Due May 24th, 2013New England Environmental Education Association Conference & Sustainable Schools Summit - Achieving

Environmental Literacy: Health, Environment, Curriculum

With keynote speaker David Orr

November 1-3, 2013

At Salve Regina University, Newport, RI

Our states, our countrys, and our planets future relies on a well informed and engaged generation of stewards that

can meet the challenges of the world they will inherit. In order to create environmentally literate citizens who can

face these challenges, we must ensure that our students experience and understand the interconnectedness of human

and natural systems by embedding environmental education into all strands of preK-20 curriculum.

The goals of the joint NEEEA and SSS Regional Conference are simple, but bold to create connections across

environmental and educational fields to increase the ability for students, citizens, and our environment to sustain

and thrive in the 21st century. We can achieve these goals by leveraging the environmental education communitys

expertise and by expanding the conversation to build meaningful relationships across curriculum subjects, across

professional disciplines, and outside of the classroom into our rich and diverse communities. Together we can find

ways to deepen the inroads environmental education is making into curricular delivery and promote greater

participation and stewardship in all the interconnected disciplines that impact school health and student success.The conference is organized around three strands: curriculum, environment, and health. These strands are well

aligned with the federal Green Ribbon Schools program, which evaluates and celebrates schools with Healthy School

Environments, minimal Environmental Impact, and strong Environmental Education. These strands will cover a

wide variety of topics, including:

Health Implementing programs and initiatives to improve health and safety at schools and their surrounding

communities.

Environment Improving classrooms, schools, and the surrounding environment by reducing consumption,

improving water quality, saving energy, and reducing waste production.

Curriculum Teaching and learning about the dynamic relationship between human, environmental, and energy

systems.

These strands, both separately and combined, are instrumental to creating a comprehensive approach to increasingawareness and knowledge about the interrelatedness of natural ecosystems, the built environment, and human

behavior. This regional conference will provide a unique opportunity for cross-sector networking and collaboration

to increase environmental literacy and help create and maintain effective, safe and healthy green schools throughout

New England.

Please check our website http://www.neeea.org for ongoing details

Submit your proposal online by clicking here. Deadline May 24, 2013.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QVP63VD

For questions or email submissions, contact Carrie Hawthorne [email protected]

NEW!!! Teachers Invited to Tour the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry

Saturday, June 8th

. FREERegistrationOliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (Rhode Islands Official Educational Sailing Vessel) & the Rhode Island

Department Of Education invite you to tour SSV Oliver Hazard Perry

A visit to the ship (under construction) to visualize incorporating the Oliver Hazard Perry experience into Rhode Island schools

Saturday June 8, 2013 10:00am - 12:00 pm

Senesco Marine Shipyard, Quonset Point, North Kingstown, RI
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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(next to the Marthas Vineyard Fast Ferry Terminal, see below)

EDUCATION FOCUS GROUP

There is also an Education Focus Group forming and meeting monthly to create curriculum tied to the Common

Core, initially focusing at the middle school level. The next meeting in June 11th, 6pm at the Salve Regina Campus in

Warwick (144 Metro Center Blvd, Warwick, RI 02886)

REGISTRATION

For more information and to register email [email protected] or call 401.848.0080

Please include your name, title, school/business address, phone & email address

Event is primarily outdoors at a construction site, please dress appropriately, including sturdy footwear

Hard hats will be provided

Summer Research for Teacher Opportunities: NSF Engineering Research Center for

Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the AtmosphereProgram Dates: 5 weeks, July 1st through August 2nd , although exact dates and length may vary by projectTimes: 9 am - 4 pm, Monday through FridayLocation: College of Engineering, UMass AmherstStipend: typically $1k/weekFor application materials, please email Dr. Paula Rees ([email protected])Two projects are available:

1. Development of Labs for ECE 361: Fundamentals of Electrical EngineeringECE 361 is an introduction to modern electrical engineering for non-Electrical and Computer

Engineering majors. The course covers basic electric-circuit elements and laws, including first-

and second-order circuits, AC circuit analysis, systems concepts, diodes, bipolar junction

transistors, field-effect transistors, digital logic, transistor amplifiers, electromagnetics,

transformers, transducers, generators, and motors. Dr. McLaughlin is working on developing new

labs and the associated lab packets for the course, and seeks the assistance of teacher to do so,

which will help ensure the material is accessible and beneficial to non-ECE majors. Ideally, some

of the labs developed for the course could be modified for use in K12 curriculum. 2. Assessment of Qualitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE)

In this project, CASA QPE will be compared to local ground precipitation data and existing

products currently available from NOAA over a range of temporal and spatial scales for a variety

of precipitation events. We anticipate working in two disparate environments. CASA has recently

built a state of the art radar network in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex, the 4th

largest urban area in the U.S. In addition, CASA is looking to expand utilization of the UMass MA1

radar into new markets, including but not limited to environmental, transportation, and

emergency management applications. In addition, we aim to develop of educational modules to

translate this work to the K12 classroom is of interest. Middle or High School teachers with similar

interests in communications, meteorology, or hazards response are also encouraged to apply.FREE 5 day ASM Teachers Materials Camp, July 8 12 (MS and HS Teachers)

Attend a 5-day professional development workshop in Materials Science in the Summer of 2013 at no cost to you!

Who should attend?

High school general science, chemistry,physics, math and technology teachers

Middle school physical science teachers

Why attend?

Learn how to engage your students using simple, low-cost experiments that you can integrate into your existing

lesson plans

Help your students discover career opportunities in science & engineering

Learn the basics of Materials Science, an exciting branch of physics and chemistry

Everything is FREE: 4 CEUs, course materials, lunches & snacks. The course will include one visit to an industrial
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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site, and a session on an electron microscope: each participant can bring a sample!

Graduate credits available! Two (2) graduate credits are available at $250. (This is optional.)

To apply online & view the complete 2013 ASM Materials Camp schedule, visit:

www.asmfoundation.org

Venue: Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA

Date: July 8-12, 2013

Questions?

Jeane Deatherage, Administrator of Foundation [email protected]; 1-800-336-5152,

X5533; or

PeterJepson,[email protected], 978-462-1175.

Science Enrichment/Challenge Opportunities for

Students

No Items

Please note: attachments will not be sent. Most information will be posted online or included here to

reduce the size of this message.

Thank you.

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If you know of something that you feel is a quality resource, event, or opportunity (e.g., grant), please

send a newsletter-ready blurb [email protected] the following information by

3:00pm on Thursday to be included in the Friday newsletter (subject to RIDE review and approval):

1. Type (e.g., grant, event, resource)

2. Name / Title of Event / Opportunity

3. Source or Event Sponsor

4. Web site, and/or contact name(s) and email address(es)

5. Description

6. Grade level(s) and/or intended audience

7. Deadline (if applicable) for time-sensitive submissions or event RSVPs

THIS NOTICE IS DISTRIBUTED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. R.I Department of Education does

not have any affiliation or responsibility to promote this information.

Peter J. McLaren

Science-Technology Specialist

Office of Instruction

Rhode Island Department of Education

255 Westminster Street

Providence, Rhode Island 02903

401-222-8454
http://www.asmfoundation.org/http://www.asmfoundation.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.asmfoundation.org/


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[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

RI Science Professional Development and Student Opportunity Bulletin 5-24-13