Behind the Scenes

Hi, Biodiversity Academicians! 

Welcome to our 2013 Biodiversity SSEAT Blog. This site was created for you to network, share ideas, to keep touch after the Academy, and generally to provide a casual digital forum for us to talk biodiversity! 

First off please introduce yourselves: 

Hi, Energy Academicians!

Welcome to our 2013 Energy SSEAT Blog. This site was created for you to network, share ideas, to keep touch after the Academy, and generally to provide a casual digital forum for us to talk energy!

Welcome to Houston! It's the middle of July, we're in our second-to-last week of training (there are six total), and our staff and trainers are not nearly as exhausted as we thought we would be at this point in the summer.

A group of volunteers gather for quick photo.

"In order to understand Earth, you have to understand rocks and minerals." Dr. Michael Wise took science teachers from around the nation behind the scenes to learn about some unusual rocks and minerals. His specialty is with pegmatite  a mineral found in a variety of critical electronics (such as video game consoles).

As the temperature cools and crowds slowly begin to leave our nation's capital, one thing is certain (OK, maybe two things are certain): summer is nearly over, and the SSEC's 2013 International K-12 Science Education Institute for Leadership Development and Strategic Planning has come to a close.

Instead of teaching young people about science, we want them to do science. That’s one of the central notions in teaching science as inquiry and it’s a core part of the Next Generation Science Standards. Said that way it sounds simple, but when we step back and try to articulate exactly what doing science means it becomes a bit tricky. Is it collecting data? Is it developing research questions? Is it defending and advancing arguments based on evidence? The short answer to each of these questions is “Yes, and…”.

After News 14 Carolina did a great story on the LASER i3 Summer Professional Development, they wanted to come back for more! Linnie Supall visited Princeton Elementary School and did a great piece on how the students are now interacting with the curriculum. "I've seen a lot of little girls now say, 'I might want to be a scientist when I grow up. I might want to be a biologist and study the fish in the ocean'" Bridgers said.

Check out the rest of the story here.

As states adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), everyone is wondering about what the assessments will look like. This is not because everyone is suddenly fascinated with the finer points of educational measurement, but because assessment is often known as the "tail that wags the dog" of education; it has a disproportionately large impact on curriculum, instruction, and outcomes.

In recent years, Pinterest has grown to be one of the most influential social platforms on the Internet. According to Mediabistro, Pinterest hit 10 million unique visitors faster than any site in history and has grown by over 2,000% since May 2011. Pinterest boasts some pretty amazing statistics proving that it is the ultimate tool used for gathering and organizing content found on the web.

A little over two years ago, more than 90 participants from the seven LASER i3 North Carolina districts gathered in Greensboro, NC for an intensive 5 1/2-day Strategic Planning Institute (SPI). During their time together, seven district leadership teams created comprehensive strategic plans aimed at transforming science education in their districts.