Hey, K-8 Teachers… We need your help!
Call for Workshop Proposals from K-8 Teachers
Each year we strive to make the CSTA Science Education Conference better than the year before. The conference planning committee goes over comments and evaluation data from the previous conference as they plan the following year’s program. One of the comments we heard from many attendees was a desire for grade-specific workshops as opposed to workshops which span multiple grade levels.
The thinking of these participants was that the broad range of grade levels meant that presenters tried to meet everyone’s needs as opposed to focusing on a single grade level. This was most evident in the elementary workshops where there would be several activities presented during a workshop but only one or two ideas that would fit into a particular grade level. If all the activities could be geared towards a single grade level then teachers would leave the session with better informed and ready to teach.
With that in mind, CSTA is seeking presenters to do grade-level specific workshops at the Pasadena conference. The format will be the same one-hour workshops that you are used to presenting, but instead of trying to do something for everyone, you would tailor your presentation to a single grade level. It’s our hope that these sessions will include both content and hands-on experiences associated with a single standard or set of grade level standards. Perhaps you have a sequence of activities that are really effective at teaching a concept. Maybe you’ve got a demonstration, activity, or lab that really helps students learn an idea. You know what has worked in your classroom, take the best of your lessons and put them together for other teachers at your grade level.
High school sessions are already targeted to a topic, but the K-8 sessions haven’t been, so we are seeking proposals for K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8th grade. Proposals will be reviewed through the normal review process. You will need to identify the specific grade level, list standards to be addressed, describe the session – including the balance between content and inquiry. It’s our hope that we will get some high quality grade specific session proposals for the October 21-23, 2011 conference. Won’t you help us out by submitting a proposal? Workshop proposals are available on-line. They are due March 7, 2011. Please consider submitting a grade level specific workshop and help us make the 2011 California Science Education Conference our best conference yet!
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