Free Resources Teacher Opportunities Awards and Competitions for Students Awards for Teachers
Garden Enhanced Nutrition Education Workshops
The Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education (GENE) workshop is for California educators interested in using existing school gardens to enhance nutrition education for children and youth.
Workshops are free and offered to California educators that teach in an educational garden. Priority enrollment will be for schools that have a functioning school garden. Space is limited.
Apply at www.lifelab.org/gene-workshop
Water Cycle for Kids – New USGS and U. N. Poster
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have teamed up to create a water-cycle diagram for kids and elementary and middle schools. It is also available in Spanish and a number of other languages. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle-kids.html
Free Evolution Poster
How would you like to receive a FREE Evolution Wall Poster for your classroom? To apply for this five-foot wide, unique teaching resource, all you have to do is fill out a simple form, and while supplies last, we’ll send it directly to your school for display. Click here to view poster. If you are interested in receiving “Earth and Life: Changes Over Time”, please visit the following link and complete the application. It’s that easy! http://www.the-brights.net/images/TeacherRequest%20Form.pdf
EDC’s Implementing the Mathematical Practice Standards Web Site
Explore the Education Development Center’s (EDC) Implementing the Mathematical Practice Standards Web site to learn more about the CCSS for Mathematical Practice and how they can be connected to the content standards. Use their illustrations, centered on student dialogues, to see the Mathematical Practices in action.
Strategic Science Teaching
Through the integration of literature and the 5E Learning Cycle, students and teachers make important connections in order to facilitate understanding of science concepts. Visit http://sst.lacoe.edu/content/.
This Website:
♦ introduces you to the Strategic Science Teaching resource guide;
♦ provides video-based science and literature model lessons with commentary;
♦ illustrates and explains the 5E Learning Model;
♦ includes a template to guide in the development of your own 5E science and literature lessons;
♦ lists a variety of resources for you to further explore related topics.
Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (CSERC) Free Classroom Programs for Schools
Resource specialists are available to come into the classroom and give presentations on: Water, Wildlife, Eagles, Forest Habitat or Local Birds. Every year, CSERC staff presents slide show programs to schools and community groups in the central region of California. For more information click here, or contact at info@cserc.org or (209) 586-7440.
Climate Change Curriculum
Stanford University has developed climate change curriculum units for middle and high school students. The lesson plans include both teacher-centered and student-centered activities with lectures based on provided slideshows, teacher-led demonstrations, student-led investigations, and group analysis of data. Underlying these activities is a philosophy of learning by inquiry as well as justifying claims with evidence. Click here for more information.
New Content Now Available for K–12 Teachers and Other Aviation Educators
The Society of Aviation & Flight Educators (SAFE) recently expanded its online Resource Center. In addition to content tailored to flight, ground, avionics, and maintenance technology instructors, new material has been added specifically for K-12 teachers and educators involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. Although most of the content in the Resource Center is exclusively for SAFE members, the organization also maintains a Public Resource Center replete with training aids, free syllabi, and other useful material. For more information or to access the resources visit http://www.flytolearn.com/.
Resources from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific:
Astronomically Inspired Music
A new annotated resource guide presenting 133 pieces of music inspired by astronomical ideas (organized into 22 subject categories) has just been published in the on-line journal Astronomy Education Review and is available free at:
http://aer.aas.org/resource/1/aerscz/v11/i1/p010303_s1?view=fulltext.
Both classical and popular music are included, and a short appendix lists a number of astronomers who have recorded songs and self-published them. If you can’t immediately name the six songs that include valid information or ideas about black holes, this is the list you want to consult.
Resource for Cosmology
A new resource guide for college instructors and high school teachers tackling ideas in modern cosmology has been published by the NASA Astrophysics Education and Outreach Forum. Websites, articles, books, animations, audio recordings, and other resources useful for both instructors and students are included. The guide is available in either HTML or PDF format at:
http://astrosociety.org/education/astronomy-resource-guides/cosmology-the-origin-evolution-ultimate-fate-of-the-universe/.
Podcast: Finding the Next Earth: Results from the Kepler Mission
The podcast of a recent non-technical talk on “Finding the Next Earth: Results from the Kepler Mission” by mission scientist Natalie Batalha (part of the 2012-2013 Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures series) can be found at:
http://astrosociety.org/silicon-valley-astronomy-lectures/.
You can also find earlier lectures there by Michael Brown of Caltech, David Morrison of NASA, Alex Filippenko of Berkeley and others.
KQED Media/Educational Resources and Training for STEM Education, primarily focused at the secondary level
Overall QUEST Site: http://science.kqed.org/quest/
QUEST Education site: http://science.kqed.org/quest/education/
– includes curriculum, professional development, and media making for science learning toolkit
Videos, interactives, audio, curricular resources for using and making media to advance STEM learning for both teachers and students. Of particular note are our science education collections and tools for integrating media and media literacy into science learning, a critical component of Common Core State Standards.
You can find links to additional projects on KQED’s overall education site here: http://www.kqed.org/ScienceEd
Common Core State Standards
Online Professional Learning Communities
The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) provides multiple opportunities for educators to engage in professional learning experiences with their colleagues across California and in other states implementing the CCSS. The online educator communities featured below provide a wealth of classroom implementation resources as well as a chance to participate in professional conversations with the larger CCSS implementation community. Register now to benefit from and enrich these California-based and national efforts.
Brokers of Expertise (BOE) now includes a community group for the CCSS. Here you will find educator resources for implementing the CCSS and an opportunity to participate in an interactive environment where participants may comment on or “favorite” resources. If you are not a BOE member, please sign up and join this vibrant community of California educators.
Edmodo Basal Alignment Project and Community
The Basal Alignment Project (BAP) builds district capacity to better align existing materials to the English Language Arts and Literacy CCSS while new CCSS-aligned materials are developed and published. School districts, publishers, education organizations and others can link to the site or download and adapt materials for us in the classroom. On this site you can learn more about the BAP and how to access these resources.
The Illustrative Mathematics Project
The project aims to illustrate each of the standards using high quality reviewed tasks from teacher leaders. The site provides guidance to all stakeholders implementing the CCSS by illustrating the range and types of mathematical work that students will experience and other implementation tools, and hosts a community of registered users who develop and evaluate math tasks that illustrate the CCSS. Contributors and advisors to the project include CCSS authors William McCallum, Jason Zimba, and Phil Daro.
Developed by teachers for teachers, this site offers a free platform that gives access to teaching resources and tools and provides an online community for teacher collaboration. The site has a significant collection of CCSS-related resources, covering all the aspects of the standards. Share My Lesson was developed by the American Federation of Teachers and TES Connect.
The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) incorporates literacy into middle and high school content areas. Designed to make literacy instruction the foundation of the core subjects, LDC allows teachers to build content on top of a coherent approach to literacy. The LDC framework is used by teachers as common templates to create LDC tasks, modules, and courses designed to teach students to meet CCSS literacy standards while engaging in demanding content.
Teacher Opportunities
UC Riverside Physics and Astronomy Department – 6th Annual Summer Physics Academy
The UCR Summer Physics Academy is a 5 full-day institute for high school physics teachers taking place at the UCR Department of Physics and Astronomy and coordinated by UCR physics faculty.
Who: High School Physics Teachers
When: June 24-28, 8am-4pm
Where: UCR Physics Department
Refresh your content knowledge of physics
Participate in hands-on activities
Learn about current research performed by UCR faculty
Network with teachers in the region and UCR faculty
Lunch and UCR parking permit will be provided for each day of the academy.
A stipend of $600 (minus taxes) will be given to participants attending the entire 5 days.
An administrative fee of $100 is required on the first day of the academy to cover cost of parking, food, and materials (make check payable to UC Regents)
Please, fill out the online application form before June 10, 2013.
Space is limited to 25 teachers.
http://tinyurl.com/UCR-Physics-2013
For a preview of the content, please visit last year summary page:
http://faculty.ucr.edu/~leonid/spta2012.html
California Academy of Sciences – Teacher Professional Development – Summer 2013
Spend a little time at the Academy this summer! Join us to explore a topic in depth through hands-on activities and thought-provoking discussions. A $35 fee is required to register for each series. Participants will receive a $150 stipend upon completion of a series. For complete details, call the Contact Center at 877-227-3311 or visit http://www.calacademy.org/teachers/tiss/?page=teacher-workshops-calendar
NASA’s SOFIA mission is pleased to announce SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) Cycle 2 team applications are due May 3, 2013, via www.seti.org/epo/SOFIA or http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Edu/programs/ambassadors/ambassadors.html
This unique opportunity to be a part of astronomy research in action is open to formal and informal educators.
Two member educator teams must have at least one grade 6 – 12 science teacher. The second team member may also be a math, science or technology teacher at elementary or secondary level, a community college instructor, or an informal educator.
Cycle 2 science flights will take January – December 2014. Most of the teams will be flying during the school year.
ASSET: A science and curriculum institute for high school science teachers will be held July 29 – Aug 3, 2013 in San Francisco, CA. The ASSET experience will be intense and exciting, interactive and content rich, with presentations by leading astrobiology researchers from the SETI Institute, NASA, and California Academy of Sciences. Participants receive the Voyages Through Time curriculum. All expenses covered by grant funds. Details at http://www.seti.org/epo/ASSET. Applications are due April 30, 2013.
Teachers, Come Join the Leonardo Elementary Science Project!
Leonardo is a National Science Foundation funded project that supports students’ science content knowledge and reasoning skills through inquiry-based experiences. North Carolina State University (NCSU), the CyberPad developers, and WestEd are looking for 4th or 5th grade teachers who have access to a class set of iPads teachers who would like to participate in the project. Participating teachers receive a $200 stipend for six hours of training and planning. Please email Angi Shelton for more information.
Project ASTRO Summer Workshop
This program of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific provides 3rd through 9th grade teachers with an opportunity to attend a free, two-day summer workshop to learn hands-on, inquiry-based astronomy activities. Online applications are due by May 29, 2013.
For information, call 415-715-1426 or go to: astrosociety.org/baprojectastro.html
Click here for teacher application
Middle School Science Classrooms Needed for Student Interviews – $150 Teacher Stipend
Curriculum developers and education researchers at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley are working together to design and develop a new generation of middle school science curriculum for use across the country. Our team is seeking to conduct student interviews in 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grade classrooms in the Bay Area and nearby counties during the first two weeks of October. Participating teachers will receive a $150 stipend.
Student interviews give our team valuable insights into how students understand curriculum concepts, and allow us to test and improve materials we’ve developed. Assenting students from your classroom would each be invited to work with one of our researchers for a 15-40 minute interview, during which the student would think aloud as they solve problems and/or give feedback on curriculum materials. Interviews will focus on life science topics, such as heredity or ecosystems, and/or reading and writing scientific arguments. Some teachers may be asked to have curriculum developers teach a lesson sequence to your class prior to the interviews but this is not a requirement. We are particularly interested in classrooms with a high percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs).
If you are interested in participating with your 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th grade classroom(s), please email Madeline Hanson (mhanson@berkeley.edu<mailto:mhanson@berkeley.edu>) with your name, school, and the grade level(s) you teach. We look forward to the opportunity of working with you and your students!
Mini Grants for Environmental Ed in San Joaquin County
Teachers may apply for grants of up to $250 to be used for environmental education activities in the classroom. Projects will be displayed at the San Joaquin County Earth Day Festival on April 21, 2013. Previous grants have included money for school gardens, geocaching, video documentaries, field trips, fish raising, anti-litter campaigns, and solar activities. For more information and an application, go to CREEC Network or email Conni Bock.
Awards and Competitions for Students
ExxonMobil Offers Math and Science Scholarships to Minority Students
Named for the first African American to walk in space, ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Math and Science Scholarships are available to 2013 graduating high school seniors in school districts represented by the Council of the Great City Schools. Four scholarships for two males and two females — $5,000 each — will be awarded to two African American and two Hispanic students on behalf of the former NASA astronaut, physician and businessman, Dr. Bernard Harris. Deadline for submissions is April 2, 2013. The scholarship application and guidelines can be found here.
The American Nuclear Society, Northern California Section is announcing our annual scholarship for graduating high school seniors in the Northern California Area. The award of this scholarship is $1000.00 which will be applied toward the student’s first year of study at a four year accredited college or university of the student’s choice. In order to be eligible for this scholarship, the student applicant must enroll in a technical course of study in the field of engineering, physical science, or mathematics and must submit the following documents along with the completed application:
• A letter of recommendation from a faculty member of the student’s school
• A most recent high school transcript
• A 1-2 page typed essay regarding his/her interests related to nuclear energy
The applicant may, but is not required to, submit a brief statement (one-half to one typed page) of financial need. Detailed family financial status is not desired.
All scholarship applications must be postmarked by May 1, 2013.
The Google Science Fair is back for a third year from January 30 2013 – April 30, 2013! In partnership with CERN, The LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American, the Google Science Fair offers a chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences, scholarships and real-life work opportunities. It’s an online science competition for students from around the world. Students post their science and engineering projects online to compete for prizes, scholarships and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. There’s also a “Science in Action” prize for the top project that shows positive, local community impact.
Last year’s winners tackled the early diagnosis of breast cancer, improving the experience of listening to music for people with hearing loss, cataloging the ecosystem found in water, and subsistence farming in Swaziland If you’re aged 13-18 and want to get involved, visit the site now and sign up for news of the launch and details of GSF 2013. You’re never too young to change the world. www.google.com/sciencefair.
Great American Can Roundup School Challenge
The Can Manufacturers Institute is offering $1,000 to the school in each state and the District of Columbia that recycles the most aluminum cans per student enrollment. The school that emerges as the champion recycling school receives an additional $5,000. Last year 21 schools from your state participated. Manteca GOALS/Redwood High School recycled 14.8 pounds of aluminum cans per student to win top state school recycling honors and a check for $1,000. Let’s rally your schools to recycle between November 15 to April 22, 2013 for their opportunity to win. Game-on at www.cancentral.com/roundup.
60SecondScience is a fully online International Video Competition sponsored by the Department of Education (DEECD-Innovation Next Practice Division), Victoria, Australia. Since its first iteration in 2008, it has enjoyed continual growth and appeal, from 30 Victorian school-only participants, to well over 300 science videos uploaded in 2012, with over 1100 registering from 40 countries. The competition is Free to Enter and links directly to required student outcomes over a number of Science, Citizenship and ICT Learning Standards. $10,000 in cash prizes is distributed each year, as determined by a prestigious International panel of judges. There are Divisions which cater for students of different ages. 2013 Deadline: register by 5 August 2013, Upload videos by 5 August 2013.
The CSTA is now accepting nominations for the following awards:
The Margaret Nicholson Distinguished Service Award, which honors an individual who has made a significant contribution to science education in the state and who, through years of leadership and service, has truly made a positive impact on the quality of science teaching. Click here to access the on-line nomination form.
The CSTA Future Science Teacher Award, which recognizes college students who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to science education through volunteer, teaching, and professional organization activities and who show promise to become outstanding science educators. No more than two Future Science Teacher Awards will be awarded in any year. Click here to access the on-line nomination form.
Nominations for the 2013 CSTA awards must be postmarked by May 16, 2013.
The Santa Clara Valley Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) is pleased to announce a call for proposals from K-12 science teachers in California schools to apply for a grant of up to $500 for a project that enhances the teaching of science. With more than 164,000 members, the ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and one of the world’s leading sources of authoritative scientific information. A nonprofit organization, chartered by Congress, ACS is at the forefront of worldwide chemical and biochemical research. It is also the premier professional home for chemists, chemical engineers and related professionals around the world.
The 2013 grant program is open for applications on March 1, 2013. The deadline for submission of all proposals is
September 1, 2013. The winners will be announced and contacted by e-mail after October 1, 2013.
Schools must be state accredited and have 50 or more students. Only one application per school is allowed. The grant application must be submitted by an employee of the school who is 18 years of age or older. The winners are expected to submit a summary report for dissemination. All applications must be submitted electronically in either a Word or Adobe PDF file and sent by e-mail to: BUBBLE_Grant@scvacs.org.
The BUBBLE GRANT funds might be used to purchase scientific equipment, instructional materials, supplies or other items related to the proposed project.
For more information visit http://www.scvacs.org/Local_Folder/Bubble.html.
Know a Creative Science or Math Teacher?
NewsHour is launching a new series highlighting science and math teachers, kindergarten through high school, across the country who are using innovative teaching methods in the classroom.
Each month, we’ll publish an original video feature of a teacher who uses creativity in the classroom in order to inspire their students.
Do you know an inventive elementary school or high school teacher who’s inspiring students with creative learning lessons? Nominate them here and they could be featured in our online coverage. Please contact Rebecca Jacobson if you have any questions at rjacobson@newshour.org.
Amgen Scholarships Available for Science Teachers Pursuing National Board Certification: Amgen scholarships are available for science teachers pursuing National Board Certification, the most prestigious credential in the teaching profession. The Amgen Foundation is committing $1.5 million over three years to support science teachers in schools across the country who choose to obtain National Board Certification. Scholarships will be given on a first-come, first-served basis to teachers in select communities. First priority will be given to science teachers teaching ages 11-18. If funding remains available, scholarships will also be awarded to elementary teachers teaching students ages 3-12 who are responsible for science instruction. Teachers from the following California counties have priority until June 1: Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and Ventura. Beginning June 1, science teachers throughout the state may apply for an Amgen scholarship. To apply visit: http://nbpts.org/scholarships.
Additional awards, grants, and competitions can be found on the CSTA website at www.cascience.org/csta/res_awards.asp.
National Science Teachers Association Awards: The deadline for NSTA Awards Nominations is November 30, with two exceptions. Visit http://www.nsta.org/about/awards.aspx?lid=tnav for details.
An abundance of additional resources can be found on the CSTA website at http://www.cascience.org/csta/resources.asp.