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MATS SPRING CONFERENCE
Saturday FEBRUARY 26, 2005
Houston Museum of Natural Science
8:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Contents:
Harris County
Department of Education Teacher Training Takes Off!
Space Program for
Teachers
Teachers Explore
Science at the Museum of Natural Science
Scholarship
Opportunities!
Moon Data for
January
Star
Map for January
Space Happenings
Make MATS
Matter!
Harris County Department of Education Teacher
Training Takes Off!
In the content area of science headed by former MATS President, Dr.
Daniel Felske, many national science programs have been established to
help science teachers PK-12. In the area of PK-2, Harris County Department
of Eeducation (HCDE) serves as a center for "Head Start on Science" (HSOS)
a national program developed at the University of California at Long
Beach. Since 2001, hundreds of teachers, science supervisors, and science
specialists from all over the state have attended this exciting
program.
In grades PK-9, HCDE also serves as a Great Explorations in Math in
Science (GEMS) Center. This very successful endeavor is transforming the
way teachers teach science by providing creative and integrative hands-on
activities. All of the guides have been aligned to the TEKS and TAKS. In
2004-2005, HCDE has partnered with the University of North Texas in a
Teacher Quality TYPE B grant for middle school 8 th grade science. This
exciting year long program began in September.
For grades 9-12, HCDE offers intensive IPC and Biology workshops that
model effective teaching strategies, activities, technologies, and aligned
assessments that prepare students to tackle the TAKS.
This past year, HCDE teamed up with Lyondell and Equistar to develop
and implement "free" K-12 science workshops that address the physical,
biological, and environmental sciences. In a partnership funded by
ExxonMobil, HCDE is providing free workshops to K-5 teachers using the
staff and resources from Baylor College of Medicine to implement their new
Integrative Science Explorations" curriculum.
New this year is "TAKS Ciencias/Science: The Spanish/English Connection
for English Language Learners" that addresses a very urgent need for
bilingual and ESL teachers. This workshop focuses on how to take learners
form the concrete experiences to abstract reasoning using their home
language. Also for 2005-2006 will be new innovative workshops for biology
and chemistry teachers called "IPC for Biology Teachers" and "Biology for
Chemistry Teachers."
HCDE also serves as a resource to districts from all over south east
Texas by holding quarterly Science Leadership meetings that help science
supervisors get the latest research in education and also as a liaison for
TEA.
Dr. Felske stays in touch with over 400 science leaders in Texas via
e-mail and also provides a conduit to assist other educational entities in
disseminating other educational workshops and opportunities. For more
information on how you can take advantage of science as well as other
content area opportunities at HCDE, please contact Dr. Felske (dfelske@hcde-texas.org ) or visit
the HCDE Web site at http://www.hcde-texas.org/.
Space Program for Teachers: February 3-5,
2005
Space Center Houston is offering an out-of-this-world
experience for educators from around the country. This three day,
intense educator conference focuses on integrating the theme of space
exploration into all curriculum areas for all grade levels. During
this conference, over 100 sessions and tours are offered that will inspire
teachers with new and exiting classroom ideas. The sessions range from
lectures that will increase educator’s knowledge, to hands-on interactive
sessions to actively demonstrate the integration of this new
knowledge. Most sessions are aligned with state and national
standards. Math, Science, Language Arts, Physics, and Geography are just a
few of the subjects that are included in the multitude of sessions.
Teachers will have the opportunity to network with other educators,
discover new and exciting ways to integrate space exploration into the
existing classroom curriculum, meet and talk with NASA scientists and
astronauts that are currently working in the space program, and bring back
a wealth of knowledge and materials to share with their fellow
colleagues. The conference offers 24 Continuing Professional
Education Hours. For more information, please visit www.spacecenter.org/seec.html.
Teachers Explore Science at the Museum of Natural
Science
The Museum has developed the right teacher adventure to match your
curriculum and curiosity – all with Continuing Professional Education
Certification. If you want to explore new content, consider a Teacher
Tuesday program (Gold Rush – 2/22, Butterfly Behind the Scenes – 3/1,
Forces of Nature – 4/12, and Under the Sea – 5/3). Each is from 5:30 –
7:30 p.m. features Museum traveling and permanent exhibits.
If you want to learn how to teach topics that are guaranteed to engage
students, the Museum is offering Slime Science (1/25), DaVinci Science
(2/8) and Rocket Science (4/26). These are lab-based programs with lots of
materials and activities to take home. Activities come from the Museum’s
successful summer camp programs.
If you’re looking for a science adventure, schedule a 3-day biocamp
with Ed Castillo, the Museum’s senior naturalist. This camp takes teachers
to all of our favorite spots from our summer field camps – from the banks
of Buffalo Bayon to the marine life in Galveston Bay and includes the
activities and logistics involved in field programs.
If the TAKS are getting you down, you can book a TEKSploration workshop
at the Museum or your school. These programs feature TEKS-based inquiry
activities and Texas-based student projects. These workshops are scheduled
on demand and include Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Science,
K-2 and 3-5. For more information on these workshops, call 713-639-4651 or
visit the Museum web site at http://www.matsweb.org/www.hmns.org.
Scholarship Opportunities!
Through the
generosity of the Cockrell Foundation, the Houston Museum of Natural
Science is proud to offer the Wilhelmina C. Robertson Excellence in
Science or Mathematics Teaching Award to one high school teacher and one
K-8 th grade teacher in Harris County, and the Evelyn Frensley Scholarship
for Outstanding Achievement in Science or Mathematics to two high school
juniors in Harris County. Each prize of $1500 will be presented at an
awards luncheon in the fall of 2005. Nomination forms are available on the
Education page of http://www.hmns.org/
and applications must be submitted by April 11, 2005.
January 2005
Last Quarter  January 3,
11:46 am New Moon  January 10,
6:03 am
First Quarter  January 17,
12:57 am Full Moon  January 25,
4:32 am
This star map above shows the Houston sky at 9 pm CST on January 1, 8
pm CST on January 15, and 7 pm CST on January 31. To use the map, place
the direction you are facing at the bottom. The Great Square of Pegasus
now sets in the west. Winter patterns such as Orion and Taurus, the Bull
shine in the south. Gemini, the twins and Orion’s two dogs, Canis Major
and Canis Minor, complete the winter scene. Can you find Canopus, second
brightest star at night, in the south? The planet SATURN is easy to find
near Castor and Pollux, in the east at sunset.
Space Happenings
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The Cassini mission to Saturn becomes more
interesting every day. On Christmas Day, the Huygens probe left
Cassini for a rendezvous with Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Each
week the Cassini probe provides new photographs and rewrites our
knowledge of the Ringed Planet. For more information: http://Saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
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| Spirit and Opportunity are exploring Mars right now! The MER
website has tons of new pictures everyday and a great kids site with
cool games. http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/.
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Make MATS Matter!
This is your
opportunity to make a difference in Science Education in the Houston area
– beyond the wonderful jobs you are already doing in your classrooms and
districts.
- Gain leadership experience!
- Improve your resume!
- Help your profession grow in Houston!
It’s time for you to make a difference – and have a great time doing
it!
Send an email to president@matsweb.org to nominate
yourself or someone else you think would be a great officer for
MATS. We need president, president-elect, vice president, secretary,
and treasurer. Such a great opportunity! Elections will be held at the
Spring MATS Conference February 26, 2005.
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