Bowdoin College Coastal Science Institute For Middle School Science Educators
JUNE 24-30, 2007
Bowdoin College
2007 THEME: INVASIVE SPECIES
Bowdoin College will offer a weeklong Summer Institute for middle school teachers to help improve coastal and marine “literacy” in the sciences. The College’s proximity to the coastal and marine environment offers a unique opportunity for secondary school educators to engage in scientific inquiry and learning through interacting with a living coastal classroom. The Institute will provide a meaningful professional development opportunity for Maine and New England teachers to conduct hands-on science and disseminate important environmental knowledge into classrooms over time. Interdisciplinary teams involving a science teacher and a teacher representing another discipline are encouraged to apply. Every three years the Institute will center on a particular theme that has important relevance to coastal and marine ecosystems. Building on the success of the last two years, the summer institute will continue focusing on the theme of invasive species and will introduce teachers to laboratory and field techniques that will help to identify, monitor and trace the spread of introduced species.
The five day Summer Institute will take place June 24-June 30, 2007 and will use existing on-site resources at Bowdoin, including the Coastal Studies Center and surrounding coastline as well as on-campus facilities. The program is open to any in-service middle school science teachers in the New England region, with a special emphasis on Maine. The Institute’s curriculum will be designed to meet state and national standards and will be informed by recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Oceans Policy outlining U.S. ocean education.
The program will be problem-oriented and designed for two-person teacher teams. Teachers will receive course packets, equipment and software training that will help them implement invasive species monitoring and analysis in their own classrooms. The program will also introduce curriculum that utilizes web resources and databases on marine systems available through the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observatory System and National Marine Educators Association. Teachers who participate in the program will earn Continuing Education Credit, receive room and board in Bowdoin campus housing as well as a modest stipend. The program will also offer a mid-year conference follow-up, where teachers can share how they implemented the curriculum in their own classrooms.
2007 application process is now over.
For more information please contact:
Anne Henshaw, Director
Coastal Studies Center, Bowdoin College
(Voice) 207-725-3085 or (email) ahenshaw @bowdoin.edu
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