STEM Ed Announcement: Science/Engineering Saturday Seminars

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This is a UMass Amherst STEM Ed program.
Contact information is below.
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Science & Engineering Saturday Seminars       Fall, 2011 
-        Designed for science teachers; new teachers are especially welcome         

-        Five Saturdays each term; 8:30-1 at UMass Amherst, Lederle Grad
          Towers 1033 (except as noted)

-        Educational materials, refreshments, parking, PDPs included

-        Advance registration is required; capacity is limited

-       Cost $30 per session, $120 for all five sessions

-        4 PDPs per half day session; option for 3 grad credits at reduced
  cost with extra work

 

Sept. 10. Air Quality. Stephen Schneider, Astronomy; Deborah Carlisle,
Education. Involve your students in air quality research projects that help
them to understand the real issues. Air quality is one of our primary
environmental concerns, and students will become informed about these
important issues through simple investigations. In this workshop, you will
test for ground level ozone, which is a primary component of smog. You will
learn how to make inexpensive ozone test papers and use a free digital
software program to analyze the colors of your test strips. Based on this
activity, you can have your students measure ozone levels near your school
and/or where they live using the homemade chemical test papers. These papers
are easy to use and store in ziplockTM baggies. Once the papers have been
exposed in a location, they can be analyzed using the  Analyze Digital
Images software program. This software allows your students to measure color
changes quantitatively and do relatively accurate comparisons to actual
ozone levels. Software and sample materials will be demonstrated. We will
also include some activities for measuring carbon dioxide. Bring a digital
camera and a laptop if you can. 

Sept. 24. Water Quality. David Reckhow, Environmental Engineering; Amy
Biddle, Microbiology. Fresh water is extremely important. We use it for
drinking, preparing food and bathing, as well as in agriculture, industry
and recreation. The presence of contaminants can severely impede its use and
lead to serious health problems. Even the most pristine water contains some
salts and natural organic compounds. This seminar will give an overview of
the science behind the sources, environmental impacts and health concerns of
natural organic matter in water, as well as treatment methods and how they
work.  Hands on activities that can be easily used with middle and/or high
school students will employ digital imaging and analysis to assess the
levels of natural organic matter in water as well as the effectiveness of
treatment methods. Bring a digital camera and a laptop if you can. 

Oct. 15. Strategies for Teaching Atomic Structure and Quantum Mechanics.
Mike Thompson, Chemistry, Amherst Regional High School. The structure of the
atom is one of the most fundamental concepts in all of science and also, in
my experience, one of the most difficult to teach at an introductory level. 
In this seminar, we will explore ways to introduce the basic principles of
atomic structure and quantum mechanics to upper elementary, middle, and high
school students through demonstrations, lab activities, computer
simulations, and analogies.  Topics will include: a brief history of atomic
structure, the Bohr model of the atom, the wave/particle duality,
Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle, wave functions and orbitals, and electron
configurations.  Well also look at some important applications of quantum
mechanics, including Neon lights, fluorescence, lasers, spectroscopy, and
chemical bonding. 

Oct. 22. Going Down the Powers of Ten Scale. Mark Tuominen (Physics); Rob
Snyder (STEM Ed). Students have much more difficulty in visualizing
sub-microcosmic scale dimensions than in comprehending large scale
terrestrial and astronomical distances. We will explore ways to build this
understanding with simple materials. Participants will also construct,
calibrate, and make measurements of thin objects with a model device that
simulates the process of making nanoscale measurements with an Atomic Force
Microscope.

Nov. 19 Teaching About the Earths Climate System.  Ray Bradley, Beth
Caissie, Julie Brigham-Grette, Geosciences; Rob Snyder, STEM Ed.  Teaching
and learning about climate and other earth systems is challenging.
Comprehending climate cycle time scales of millions of years requires
temporal thinking. Understanding the scale of Earths Climate System requires
spatial thinking. The carbon cycle and the greenhouse effect are examples of
complex, nonlinear, interacting systems. The seminar will begin with
inquiry-based activities that explore some of the processes associated with
climate change and also meet state and national science learning standards. 
UMass climate scientists will then describe what has been discovered about
Earths rapidly changing climate system.  

Dec. 3. Weather Makeup if needed.

Dec. 10. Recall for those registered for graduate credits. Hasbrouck Lab.

Graduate credit option: There is a charge of $300 for 3 Continuing Education
credits plus a $45 registration fee. This is in addition to the $120 STEM
Education Institute fee. Teachers may obtain credit for the seminar as many
terms as they wish, but only 3 credits may be applied to UMass Amherst
degrees. A lesson plan and a book report will be required for those enrolled
for graduate credit. Register with Continuing Education or the UMass
Graduate School for NSM 697T, ST-Contemporary Science and Engineering. We
will have registration forms at the first seminar.

Questions: Mort Sternheim, mort@umassk12.net, 413-545-1908,
http://www.umassk12.net/sess

Online seminar registration and payment:
http://www.umassk12.net/sess/register.html. Required for everyone whether or
not they are registering for graduate credit.