Science and Teaching for Field Instructors

Participants in a BEETLES workshop making observations of a tree

New 1-day workshop! Sign up now!

Learn how to use science to help students connect to the natural world by igniting their natural tendencies toward wonder, curiosity, and solving “nature mysteries.” Guide them in creating their own exploratory investigations to understand part of an ecosystem.

For the first time ever, BEETLES is holding a 1-day workshop open to all educators who teach or want to teach in the outdoors, whether that’s on trails, in a garden, or the schoolyard.

This workshop will focus on how to use science to inspire curiosity and wonder about the natural world.

Learn more and register.

Event Details

Date and Location: April 11, 2016 8:30am to 4:30pm, Lawrence Hall of Science

Workshop Description:

We’re all born curious, with a desire to figure things out. In nature, we’re surrounded by “nature mysteries” that further inspire our curiosity. By teaching students to notice, ask questions, and attempt to explain these mysteries, we can help them to develop a relationship with nature and to think like a scientist. The morning of this workshop will be based on the BEETLES Professional Learning session, Evidence & Explanations, and will focus on helping instructors to encourage students to make explanations about nature mysteries based on evidence. We’ll engage in inquiry routines, examine three criteria students can use to evaluate the quality of evidence, discuss how to cultivate life-long learning tools, and practice creating a student learning community that encourages science literacy and a connection to nature.

The afternoon is based on the BEETLES Professional Learning session, Nature & Practices of Science. When students design and carry out their own investigations, they often have difficulty generating useful testable questions. We’ll model and discuss approaches in which students can authentically understand, plan, and conduct science investigations that are interesting and engaging, and that increase understanding of the practices of science as well as of the ecosystem they are studying.

This workshop will provide insights into how outdoor science instruction can play a central role in helping students to achieve the ambitious vision of the Next Generation Science Standards.

Agenda:

8:00 am Light Breakfast and Mingling
8:30 am Workshop Begins
12:00-12:45 pm Lunch will be served
4:30 pm Workshop Concludes
(Optional) No-host happy hour to follow at Triple Rock Brewery

Registration Fee: $130, includes includes attendance at 1-day workshop, handouts, morning refreshments, and lunch.

Registration deadline: March 28th (Note: Minimum registrations is 20 people, maximum is 50)

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