*There are still available spaces in the March 21st and April 25th Professional Development Seminars – check out the exciting sessions we’re offering in the last half of the series!*

The Wade Institute for Science Education's 2019 Professional Development Seminar Series is designed for education staff and volunteers from science, environmental, natural history, technology, art, history and other cultural institutions and centers in New England. Classroom teachers, science coordinators and school administrators are welcome to attend. 

This year we are offering four seminars – join us on January 31st, February 28th and March 21st for seminars in our traditional morning/afternoon format, and on April 25th for a special full-day session. Enhance your STEM toolkit with inquiry-based, hands-on, minds-on investigations, and learn alongside like-minded educators. All four seminars promise to provide an exciting, hands-on professional development opportunity for you and your staff! 

Thursday, January 31st: Making Connections with Science

Session I: Carbon, Climate and Consensus
Presenter: Bob Chen, Professor, School for the Environment, and Director, Center for Coastal Environmental Sensing Network, UMASS Boston
Understanding the global carbon cycle and the human perturbation of this cycle on the global scale is critical to understanding past, present, and future climate change. Climate change is currently causing global, regional, and local impacts to our environment, society, and infrastructure. We will explore some of these current and future impacts as well as where there is uncertainty. Finally, we will explore the reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. The IPCC presents the data that leads to the scientific consensus that “Warming of climate system is unequivocal” and that “Human influence on the climate system is clear”.

Session II: Setting Up Seasonal Nature Journals: Getting Students of All Ages Outdoors and Curious
Presenter: Clare Walker Leslie, Author
Historically, scientists and explorers everywhere had to keep Nature Journal records, not having the digital equipment we have today to record their observations. With a growing interest in Phenology, Citizen Science, and Climate Change concerns, it has become increasingly important for the Science community to have ongoing records of plant and animal as well as seasonal and weather shifting. Clare will present methods for recording, in both word and image, as well as outdoor nature observation techniques. Clare will demonstrate how participants can use these skills in a variety of educational settings, providing a tool for place-based education. Participants will have a chance to begin their own Nature Journals, with special emphasis on how they can use them for their professional setting as well as personal pursuits. Clare is the author of 12 books on Nature Journaling.

Thursday, February 28th: Learning From Our Cities

Session I: Biodiversity is Everywhere: Exploring the Ecology of Our Cities and Towns
Presenter: Paige Warren, Professor, Department of Environmental Conservation, UMASS Amherst
Most people in the world now live in cities or suburbs and other surrounding settlements. Thus, most of us experience nature in the daily green spaces we encounter in our yards, parks, playgrounds, and in the trees along our streets. A surprising variety of wild animals and plants can be found in these urban places. Who are these creatures? What effect does urbanization have on them? And what effect does it have on us? What can we do to improve conditions for both wildlife and people in the city? We will discuss what biodiversity is, and how the study of biodiversity can illustrate basic concepts in ecology and conservation.

Session II: Biodiversity is Everywhere! Enhance Your Audience Engagement with Local Biodiversity
Presenter: Marie Studer, Director of Encyclopedia of Life and Learning and Education Group, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Biodiversity is all around us! Learning about, and connecting with, our local biodiversity is important no matter if we live in urban settings, suburban environments or rural landscapes. You will learn about interactive ways to engage your audiences from both informal and formal settings in learning about native and invasive organisms, rare and threatened species and the everyday life around us. EOL Biodiversity Cards and the iNaturalist observation platform can be easily customized for any location and project. Learn how you can use this tool and resources in your institution for both student and adult audiences. This will be interactive session where all participants will use the EOL Biodiversity Card Maker, make some observations using the iNaturalist app and learn about the 2019 City Nature Challenge, which welcomes participation from everyone, everywhere.

Thursday, March 21st: Science Story Tellers

Session I: New England and the Origins of American Environmentalism
Presenter: Chad Montrie, Professor, College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, UMASS Lowell

Explore how science, engineering and history are intertwined in the environmental movement which dates back to the 1800s. The birth of the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th-century brought with it manufacturing that transformed the landscape and introduced new environmental hazards.  Many people recognize New England as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution but are not aware that this “revolution” led to the first stirrings of environmental awareness. A public health movement was born, states passed laws to control pollution, and scientists pioneered methods for protecting people from water-and-airborne pathogens. We will explore that history through the lives of Henry Ingersoll Bowditch, the first head of the Massachusetts State Board of Health, and Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman to teach at MIT. Together, they laid the groundwork for establishing the Lawrence Experiment Station, where work that dramatically impacts the health of millions is still taking place today.

Session II: Integrating STEM and the Humanities: A Role Playing Game
Presenter: Kris Boudreau, Paris Fletcher Distinguished Professor, Department of Humanities and Arts, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Come discover how role-playing games can be an exciting tool for minds-on, hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences at your institution or in your classroom. Discover and participate in a role-playing game designed by WPI students and faculty that simulates a “wicked problem” from 19th-century Worcester, MA. Participants will learn about and test a role-playing game that gives equal weight to science, engineering, and the humanities (history, theatre, philosophy, literature), creating a multi-disciplinary STEM experience. We will spend some time on student learning outcomes and different assignments designed to teach information literacy, problem definition, negotiations, urban history, and engineering. Learn how you can access to the game for use in your teaching or how you can use it as a model for developing a role-playing game specific to your teaching environment.

Thursday, April 25th: Science On the Brain (Full Day Seminar)

Join us for this workshop with our Special Guest Speaker from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Sessions I & II: Minds On Brains: Making the Connection
Presenter: Robert Payo, Teacher Professional Development Coordinator, Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Do you ever wonder how your mind works? Understanding how children and adults learn can help you create exciting, engaging inquiry programs for your audience. Come learn about teaching strategies and educational tools that are based research about how the brain works. Robert will share with us how to use these tools in planning your next student program or professional development session for educators. Starting with a brief overview of brain function, we’ll explore topics that include working memory and retention, the importance of movement, and then explore other strategies that help to support learning. Reflecting on our own practice and personal experiences we will explore good teaching practices through the lens of brain and cognitive research. Come join the fun of discovering more about how our brains work and function and be inspired by how you can apply this in your teaching and programming development.

Dates: January 31, February 28, March 21, April 25
Time: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Location: Higgins University Center, Clark University, Worcester, MA
Cost: $45 per seminar; Any 3 Dates $125; All 4 Dates $160 
*A buffet-style lunch is included with your registration fee.
PDPs: Certificates of participation are available for each seminar. PDP certificates are available for those participating in two or more seminar dates.

For more information and details about each session, visit: https://www.wadeinstitutema.org/2019-professional-development-seminar-series/