Education

For our most recent journal club meeting, the Professional Services team read Process-Oriented Inquiry--A Constructivist Approach to Early Science Education: Teaching Teachers to Do Science by David Jerner Martin, Raynice Jean-Sigur, and Emily Schmidt, which was published in the Journal of Elementary Science Education in Fall 2005.

Renata Crawley is a LASER i3 teacher at West Marion Elementary School in North Carolina's McDowell County Schools School District. Ms. Crawley has been a teacher for 23 years! Prior to her current position as a science lab instructor, Ms.

At the end of January, 82 administrators, teachers, and community members, representing 21 Houston Independent School District (HISD) schools participated in a five-day Strategic Planning Institute (SPI). As part of the LASER i3 project, participating Phase 1 & Phase 2 schools and districts have the opportunity to attend SPIs that are tailored to meet the unique needs of their regions.

It is important for STEM educators to get together and share their ideas with the community. As an organization, we find it valuable to communicate with educators to let them know about all of the resources that are available to them. This is why we were ecstatic to co-sponsor the first ever DC Share Fair.

In case you missed it, the first DC Share Fair occurred on Saturday, March 8.

LASER i3 students had the chance to teach board members at McDowell County Board of Education's December meeting. Using the knowledge they gained over the past school year, West Marion Elementary fifth-grade students led a Motion & Design STC Unit lesson, while Old Fort Elementary fifth-grade students focused on Microworlds.

Doris Rivera has been a teacher for over 17 years, and she and her school are a part of the LASER i3 project. Ms. Rivera currently teaches 3rd grade at Tierra Amarilla Elementary, a school in rural Northern New Mexico with roughly 120 students. She has 12 students in her classroom. All of her students receive either free or reduced lunch, four are English Language Learners (ELL), and all fall within a wide range of academic ability. Tierra Amarilla is a pre-K through 6th grade school with one classroom per grade level. Thank you, Ms. Rivera, for giving us a glimpse into your classroom!

Smithsonian Science How? is a fun and innovative web series, also known as webcasts, that delivers real-world science into classrooms. The series offers 25-minute programs that feature the research and personalities of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. This gives students the opportunity to get an in-depth, behind the scenes look at the exciting things our scientists are doing.

In an effort to maintain momentum, 21 LASER i3 Phase 1 school teams from HISD took part in a two-day Implementation Institute (II), a follow-up to their 2012 II. The 64 administrators, teachers, and community members gathered together to revisit, reevaluate, and revise their five-year strategic science plans they developed roughly two years ago.

A Phase 1 school team

There are many career opportunities that exist within the realm of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). One of the most common misconceptions about these career paths is that they require years in the classroom, highly advanced degrees, and a great amount of student debt. It doesn't have to be this way! We have listed five STEM careers that range from a certificate to a doctorate. The best part is, many of them reside in the fastest growing job markets in the world and have excellent entry level pay.

It will soon be time for the Smithsonian Science Education Academies for Teachers (SSEATs) this summer! In collaboration with other museums and units of the Smithsonian, the SSEC works to create and deliver week-long professional development academies for teachers of science.