Professional Development

Education HOME School Programs Register for a program Professional Development Education Staff Self Directed Programs Resources Blandy Experimental Farm Science Education Resources for Teachers We offer a variety of professional development opportunities for educators. We welcome your inquiries and will gladly discuss ideas for how we may be able to assist you in meeting your educational needs. Please call 540-837-1758 ext. 242 or email schprog@virginia.edu for more information about any of the professional development opportunities and education resources listed below. Sign up for our PROJECT LEARNING TREE WORKSHOP on March 23, 2013! And/Or Sign up for our PROJECT WET WORKSHOP on March 2, 2013! Pedagogical Resources for Teachers Science content advice and resources Science process and technology skills advice and resources Lesson planning resources (for example: pertinent materials to teach evolution,biodiversity, weather, global climate change, watershed science, ecological structure and complexity, scientifically valid on-line science content and lesson resources) Partnering on grant writing for specific projects Teacher Professional Development Opportunities Summer Blandy Bay Academy (MWEE, Meaningful Watershed Ecology Experiences) Workshop annually, 2nd week in August This multi-day workshop explores the hydro-ecological connections between the Shenandoah River watershed and Chesapeake Bay. Participants learn about contemporary research in watershed ecology, conduct field investigations, and collaborate in adapting their new knowledge and investigation skills to create lessons for their individual classrooms. Research Experiences for Teachers (RET).  This National Science Foundation program provides an eight week research internship working with a scientist at Blandy. This program is offered intermittently, dependent on individual teacher interest. Please inquire. Year Round  Our staff can facilitate any of the following national education programs for a group of teachers at a selected location in your school division. Minimum number of participants is ten. We also offer at least one of these programs at Blandy each year. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award winning environmental education program for educators working with preK through 8th grades. The activities are interdisciplinary and are designed to help educators add environmental education to their curricula. During the workshop participants engage in activities that they can implement in their classroom. Each participant receives a (preK-8) PLT Environmental Education Activity Guide. PLT also has developed Secondary Modules for grades 9-12 For more information on any of these modules visit www.plt.org. Project Underground focuses on caves and karst topography. Facilitators and participants work together in trying hands-on activities from the Education Guide. Participants receive a Project Underground Natural Resource Education Guide suitable for grades K-12. Visit www.dcr.virginia.gov/underground.shtml for more information about Project Underground. Project WILD is an interdisciplinary environmental education program emphasizing wildlife and the environment created by the National Council for Environmental Education. With the activities in the K- 12 Curriculum and Activity Guide, educators bring awareness and appreciation of wildlife into the classroom. More information about Project WILD can be found at www.projectwild.org. Flying Wild is another environmental program from the National Council for Environmental Education. The Educator’s Guide to Celebrating Birds focuses on the science of bird conservation and bird migration. This program, designed for grades 3-8, was developed with the input of conservation organizations and environmental educators. The Educator’s Guide can be used in the formal classroom or informally for a Bird Festival or other outreach event. Please visit www.flyingwild.org for more information on this program. PROJECT WET Educate. Empower. Act. The mission of Project WET is to reach children, parents, educators and communities of the world with water education. We invite you to join us in educating children about the most precious resource on the planet — water. Visit http://www.projectwet.org/ for more information.