STEM Ed Announcement: Summer Professional Development in Science

[Morton Sternheim <mort@k12s.phast.umass.edu>]

This is not a UMass program.
Contact information is below.
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Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
2010 Professional Development Institutes
Science & Technology/Engineering
Assessing and Addressing Misconceptions in Physical Science
Location:

Worcester

Intended Audience:

Teachers of grades 3-8

Prerequisites:

None

Course Description:
The course will help teachers to assess students understanding,
partial understanding and misunderstanding of physical science
concepts though the use of formative assessments. Within the
conceptual umbrella mentioned above, the course will focus on the
following:

 *   Deepening and strengthening teacher content knowledge on the
specific physical science concepts underlying science misconceptions
 *   Raising awareness of the pervasiveness and strength of
misconceptions
 *   Using and interpreting formative assessments for identifying
science misconceptions
 *   Learning and practicing Instructional strategies and activities
to help students in elementary/middle grades and special education
science classrooms dispel misconceptions
The course work will be conducted mainly in small group, along with
whole group instruction and debrief when appropriate. The instructors
will work in flexible teams based on the grade band and/or content,
instruction and assessment topics. There will be opportunities for
both diverse pairing and school-based pairing of participants. The
instruction will be inquiry-based with "just in time" content delivery
when needed. The opportunity to examine formative assessments, analyze
student work, and watch videos of student science discourse will
provide the basis for analysis of student thinking and developing
instructional strategies to move student thinking to a deeper level.

Karin Spahl
Science Coordinator
Regional Science Resource Center
UMASS Medical School
508-856-1529
http://www.umassmed.edu/rsrc