Teacher Training By Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski

First Draft Of The Next Generation Science Standards Now Online For Public Comment

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:02:36 +0000

The first draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was released on May 11, 2012, and will be online for public comment until June 1st.

What’s different about the NGSS:

Conceptual Shifts in the NGSS
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science in the NGSS
The Nature of Science in the NGSS

To review the first draft of the NGSS, and comment check out the following link.

STEM Teacher Training

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:32:43 +0000

Just back from conducting two-days of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teacher training for Rocky Mount School District in North Carolina. What a great group of teachers and administrators. We started off the training clarifying what STEM is, and the importance of implementing STEM investigations that will help to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in our students. Throughout the two-day training teachers used reflective journaling to record their notes, light-bulb moments, drawings, data etc.. Teachers were introduced to wide-array of STEM concepts and practices via hands-on inquiry-based investigations from exploring biomimicry, experimenting with super-absorbing polymers, building lunar modules, bridges, making self-contained eco-systems, and more…I’m looking forward to visiting the school district on two more occasions to continue the STEM training. I believe strongly in providing in-depth, quality training year-round versus “the shot in the arm” training that often occurs without any follow-up training and consultation. Once again it was my pleasure to work with a great group of teachers and administrators representing two schools.

Week of the Young Child April 22nd-28th, 2012

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:04:04 +0000

This week all across the globe, we celebrate Week of the Young Child. What I’d really like to see take place this week is for early childhood teachers to put away the lesson plans, and take their students outside for a nature walk. There is so much we can all learn from observing the natural wonders of our environment. Teachers can provide the young child with paper and crayons to draw what they see, magnifying lenses to observe nature up close, and an easy to handle container to place objects collected from nature in. When students have had sufficient time to explore the outdoors find a shaded area on the school yard, and ask students to share their observations as well as their drawings, and the objects they collected while outdoors. The video below is of a young girl exploring her neighborhood, she shares her observations, and knowledge of nature. For more information about Week of the Young Child check out the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV1YPAfjlJE

Parents Introduced to STEM Education via Hands-On-Minds-On Investigations

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 23:53:21 +0000

Can you imagine 80 parents of middle-school girls partaking in exciting hands-on-minds-on STEM investigations with their peers? Well check out the video below it includes highlights of the two investigations parents took part in during a STEM workshop I presented at the Expanding Your Horizons Conference held at UCF in February of this year. Parents conducted investigations with super-absorbing polymers, and also took part in the Marshmallow Challenge. I have found the Marshmallow Challenge to be an excellent exercise to use during STEM workshops. Participants must use critical thinking skills, collaborate and communicate with group members if they are to succeed in building the tallest free-standing structure in 18 minutes with only 20 spaghetti sticks, one yard of string, one yard of tape, and one large marshmallow. The parents had a fantastic time, and so did I.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB2O4poj-zM

Teaching for Critical Thinking via Inquiry-Based Science Investigations

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:24:44 +0000

Just back from conducting teacher training in Bangkok, Thailand. As always I’m delighted to share my enthusiasm for science, and likewise learning from those teachers I have the pleasure of meeting during the training sessions. The video below are short clips from a workshop I conducted for middle through high school teachers entitled “Developing Critical Thinking Skills via Incorporating Inquiry-Based Science Investigations”. We begin the workshop by discussing what characterizes critical thinking skills, and how the teachers go about promoting critical thinking skills within their classrooms. Teachers then proceed to conduct several hands-on-minds-on investigations that involve asking higher-order questions, making detailed observations, collecting data, and recording information via reflective journaling. During this particular workshop teachers explored super-absorbing polymers, biomimicry, solar energy, ecosystems, and chemical reactions. Investigations are introduced to the teachers via an inquiry-based format, requiring the participants to discover, question, design, and conduct the investigations on their own with minimal guidance from the instructor. As usual it was a great group of teachers, with great minds willing to think “outside of the box”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBrM4mszrks

Teaching Science Concepts Through the Literature of Dr. Seuss

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:40:08 +0000

Teachers and students throughout the nation will be celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss this week. Theodore Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss (March 2, 1904- September 24, 1991) was the author of over 40 children’s books. A great many of us learned how to read through the literature of Dr. Seuss. Classrooms throughout the nation and world will celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday this week by reading Dr. Seuss books, conducting hands-on science explorations like making Oobleck, the unique substance that looks like a liquid but behaves somewhat like a solid, conducting experiments with eggs and more. In addition to the well-known Dr. Seuss books Tish Rabe and Bonnie Worth have authored over 31 children’s books that have science-related themes Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library Collection. The books contain the recognizable Cat in the Hat character, and Dick and Sally. Each book has a glossary with science terms as well.

I developed a teacher training workshop “Teaching Science Through the Literature of Dr. Seuss” years ago to introduce teachers of early childhood students through grades 6 how to teach science through the literature of Dr. Seuss. Teachers are introduced to over 70 Seuss books as well as 30 books in the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library Collection that can be used to introduce and reinforce science concepts. Teachers are actively engaged in conducting hands-on investigations to explore the states of matter, plant and animal kingdom concepts, earth and space concepts and more. A key component of the teacher training workshop is teaching the importance of making observations as well as writing and drawing in the science classroom.

The following photos are from a recent hands-on science program I conducted for students to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss. To view and purchase science-related theme books from the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library Collection check out my recommended book page, all books can be purchased from Amazon via this site at no extra charge. For more information about teaching science concepts through the literature of Dr. Seuss check out the following slideshare link of a recent Teaching Science Through the Literature of Dr. Seuss teacher training workshop I conducted.

Parents Explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Concepts

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:42:52 +0000

Parents of middle-school girls attending the Expanding Your Horizons Conference held at University of North Florida were introduced to the philosophy of STEM education and STEM investigations including: super-absorbing polymers and the engineering design process during a workshop for parents conducted by Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski. Parents designed and conducted experiments with super-absorbing growing spheres and cubes. They tested how high spheres bounced, observed the rate of speed at which they rolled down ramps of varying heights, they measured the mass of the super-absorbing spheres with digital balances, and used digital calipers to measure dimensions. During the second part of the workshop parents were introduced to the Marshmallow Challenge. The objective of the Marshmallow Challenge is to build the tallest free standing structure within 18 minutes with a limited amount of materials (20 spaghetti sticks, 1 yard of string, 1 yard of masking tape, scissors, and one marshmallow). Parents working in groups of four were eager to tackle the challenge. It was interesting to see how each group went about discussing, designing, constructing, and testing the structure. The winning group’s structure was 27 inches tall. Parents were asked to discuss with their group members what they had learned during both investigations. A key component of the parent workshop was to allow the parents to observe and practice STEM-related skills such as employing critical thinking skills, communicating effectively, and collaboration. At the conclusion of the workshop parents were given a sample of super-absorbing polymers growing spheres to have their daughter design and conduct experiments at home with the super-absorbing polymers.

President Obama Requests $80 Million For STEM Teacher Training

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:36:24 +0000

February 7th, President Obama said “he’ll request $80 million in education funding for training math and science teachers to help the U.S. stay competitive in world commerce. The administration says the funding for math and science teachers is to support development of school curriculum in subject areas to meet the goal of training one million graduates in STEM careers over the next decade. For more detailed information about the request for $80 million for STEM teacher training in the 2013 fiscal budget see the following article by Roger Runningen in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Teachers Explore STEM Concepts Through Hands-On-Minds-ON Inquiry-Based Investigations

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:13:23 +0000

Just back from Texas where I conducted STEM training for elementary teachers at Town Center Elementary. We began the workshop with discussing methods to develop and strengthen critical thinking skills in students. During the full-day science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teacher training workshop teachers were introduced to a wide-array of STEM content and concepts via hands-on-minds-on inquiry-based investigations. Teachers explored: Super absorbing polymers, biomimicry, structure and function, engineering design process, and using toys to explore force, motion, energy concepts. Additionally, teachers were introduced to a wide-array of children’s literature that make connections to STEM concepts. Teachers recorded their notes, drawings, and designs in their professional learning journals. I was really impressed with Town Center Elementary administrators and teachers. It was apparent from the moment I entered the school that the administrators and teachers strive to provide the very best educational experience for every Town Center Elementary student. The school is actively engaged in integrating STEM throughout all grade levels and subject areas including physical education and the arts. Lastly, I was really impressed with the use of professional learning journals by the teachers. Each teacher has a professional learning journal (composition notebook) that they bring to each professional staff development training they attend. Teachers record their notes, etc.. in the journals. This is kept throughout the school year for teachers to use a reference, review etc…During all my teacher training workshops I encourage teachers to record their notes in journals versus bringing loose sheets of paper to record their notes etc… only to be lost or misplaced over time. Kudos to Town Center Elementary and Coppell Independent School District Science Resource specialist for promoting the use of professional learning journals by their teachers.

Early Childhood Teachers Explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Concepts

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:45:43 +0000

Thirty-five early childhood teachers explored a wide-array of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts during a recent hands-on-minds-on inquiry-based teacher training workshop I conducted in LaVergne, Tennessee. It’s always rewarding to see the enthusiasm of early childhood teachers in their willingness to be introduced to new and exciting investigations to bring into the early childhood classroom. During the six-hour workshop teachers were actively engaged in exploring numerous STEM concepts via hands-on-minds-on explorations. We started off the workshop by observing and analyzing shapes and patterns found in nature and man-made objects. Then it was onto building 2 and 3-D structures. Analyzed toys to explore force, motion and energy concepts. Made connections to birds, airplanes, helicopters, parachutes, and seed dispersal. Built ramps out of store-bought race car tracks, paper tubes, insulating foam, and whatever else the teachers could get their hands on. Ended the session with building boats out of aluminum foil, the goal being to have the aluminum boat carry the maximum cargo load (pennies) without sinking. Additionally, teachers were introduced to numerous early childhood literature STEM connections such as “Iggy Peck The Architect” and more. Check out STEM literature references under the book page on this website. What a great group of early childhood teachers at LaVergne Primary School, Tennessee. We need to have a strong science and STEM presence at the early childhood level if we want our children to continue their excitement for the natural world around them. Check out some of the photos taken during the STEM workshop for early childhood teachers.