Abstract Detail

Teaching Section

Nepal, Madhav P. [1], Browning, Larry M. [2], Miller, Matthew L. [3].

From Plant Press to Bioinformatics: Professional Development Workshops for Science Teachers in a Rural Setting.

Two summer professional development workshops called SETI² (STEM Enhancement Teacher Institute: Sustained, Effective Teacher Interaction) and SETI²-2013 were conducted for South Dakota science teachers in 2012 and 2013. These workshops involved one-week sessions hosted by partner schools (Tiospa Zina in 2012 and Faith Public School in 2013) where 36 middle and high school teachers from rural and tribal schools participated. Participants were guided by the authors and were fully engaged in an immersive environment where they created, customized, and shared hands-on activities based on Cross Cutting Concepts and Core Ideas from the K-12 Science Framework. Critical Core Ideas were identified in on-line surveys of South Dakota teachers. A large portion of the workshop included activities that were designed around local plant resources. Some of the workshop activities included were “Quadrat to Query Plants and Prairies,” “Prairie Plant Inventories,” “Plant Press Make and Take” and “Teaching Bioinformatics in School Classrooms.” The professional development workshops also included “ProjectWild” activities along with several electronic follow-up sessions and visits from the authors. Graduate credits were optional for participants. Success of the two professional development workshops, funded by NCLB-Title II projects, will be discussed in our presentation.

1 - South Dakota State University, Biology And Microbiology, Northern Plain Biostress Laboratory, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA
2 - South Dakota State University, Department of Physics, Daktronics Hall, Brookings, SD, 57007, United States
3 - South Dakota State University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Avera Health Science Center, Brookings, SD, 57007, United States

Keywords:
Botanical Activities Aligned to NGSS
Next Generation Science Standards
K-12 Science Framework
SETI^2: STEM Enhancement Teacher Institute: Sustained, Effective Teacher Interaction
Rural Enhancement of Science Instruction
Bioinformatics in School Classrooms
Teachers Training in Tribal School
NCLB-Title II Projects.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 34
Location: Salon 9/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: 34001
Abstract ID:72
Candidate for Awards:None