Teacher Education Conference

Teaching Science through Inquiry: Experiential and Engaging Strategies for Science Success
	July 31 - August 2 at IslandWood on Bainbridge Island Title Sponsors Participants Will Learn specific inquiry-based science activities that will enhance learning in the EALRs Gain strategies to fully engage diverse students inside & outside of the classroom Utilize the arts to enhance science learning Have time to share experiences and brainstorm with colleagues on the beautiful IslandWood campus

Keynote Speaker

Phil Bell directs the ethnographic and design-based research of the Everyday Science and Technology Group. As a learning scientist, he has studied everyday cognition and expertise in science, children’s argumentation, the use of digital technologies within youth culture, the design and use of novel learning technologies, and new approaches to inquiry instruction in science. Phil is a Co-Lead of informal learning research for the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center and is a Co-PI of COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities. He has a background in human cognition and development, science education, electrical engineering, and computer science. He has developed web-based learning platforms, designed and studied K–12 science curricula, and presently most of his time is spent conducting ethnographies of children’s learning across social settings.

Workshop Presenters

Amy is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, where she teaches science and math to pre-service elementary and secondary teachers and co-directs the environmental policy and decision making program. Her research interests include environmental education, science education partnerships, and teacher learning. She has worked with the Pacific Education Institute to develop a comparative model for field investigation.

Patricia is an Environmental Educator for the Pacific Education Institute and Washington Forest Protection Association providing professional development for teachers in Project Learning Tree and Forests of Washington curricula. Working with various districts around the state, Patricia provides support to integrate environmental education and the use of study sites into districts’ curriculum to provide students with outdoor learning opportunities. Patricia has also presented numerous workshops around the state on field investigations and has recently written a guide with Amy Ryken and others on field investigations.

Jessica Thompson, Ph.D. Faculty, University of Washington
Jessica is a faculty member at the University of Washington, College of Education. Her research and teaching focus on engaging underserved students in science and science teacher education. She has a background in Biology and Chemistry and she taught high school and middle school science as well as a drop-out prevention course for eight years in North Carolina and Washington State. Jessica will discuss how culturally responsive teaching is based on the idea that culture is central to student learning.

Clancy Wolf, Ed.D. Head of Educational Technology and Sustainability Education
As a teacher who has taught across the United States, Clancy Wolf has challenged students to think about how they fit in the world around them, and explored how to use technology to help students create better understandings. An example is an activity he designed and supervised for the University of Michigan’s Columbus Odyssey—where students followed reports from a family retracing Columbus’ route. As a team member of the National Consortium for Environmental Education & Teaching, he created EELink, a major website for Environmental Education information. Most recently, as President of the Northwest Council of Computer Education, Clancy initiated NCCE’s DigiTalkies digital media competition co-sponsored by Apple Computers.

The registration fee of $295 is based on triple occupancy and includes all meals, accommodations, conference registration, and materials. The conference is limited to 100 participants. It is highly recommended that schools send teachers in a team. Educators may also register online and administrators are encouraged to attend. A scholarship rate of $150 is available for IslandWood School Overnight Program participants, Powerful Schools and other partner schools. Graduate credit and clock hours are available through Seattle Pacific University for an additional fee.

Click here for a printable version of this page.

Click here for a registration form. Registration deadline is July 1.