UWG Receives Grant Funds to Train Teachers

The University of West Georgia received $100,000 in Higher Education Improving Teacher Quality grants to offer three professional development workshops for elementary, middle and high school teachers.

The programs are funded approximately 80 percent in grants from the PL107-110 Title II-Part A, No Child Left Behind Act.

Dr. Sharmistha Basu-Dutt, associate professor of chemistry, Dr. Joy Black, assistant professor of mathematics and Dr. Gail Marshall, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, will use these grants to train teachers from around the state in effective methods of teaching and learning in the sciences and mathematics.

Dr. Roy Forbes, director of the Evaluation Center in the College of Education, will assist with evaluation of the programs and implementation of training in the K-12 classrooms. Programs funded through these grants will be available beginning this summer and are titled: “Helping Teachers to Incorporate Inquiry and Nature of Science in the Elementary Classroom;” “Training for Technology Integration in Middle and Secondary Science & Mathematics;” and “High School Chemistry Laboratory: A Contextual & Inquiry Based Teaching Approach.”

Teacher Quality funds are used to strengthen and deepen teachers’ content knowledge, teaching practices and student learning in academic subjects including science, mathematics, language arts, reading and social studies at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in public and private schools.

For more information about the grant and workshops, contact the professors at sbdutt@westga.edu, jblack@westga.edu and gmarshal@westga.edu. To learn about other Teacher Quality programs, visit http://www.coe.uga.edu/teacherquality/projects.html.

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Rivers to Reefs Educator’s Workshop 2009

Dates: June 14th – 19th or July 12nd – 17th
Maximum Participants: 16 per workshop

Due to the limited number of spaces, interested teachers must apply and be accepted into the workshop to participate. Applications are due by April 15th.

Ever wonder where your rain water goes? Or how you are connected to the Georgia Coast? This weeklong teacher workshop led by the Georgia Aquarium and NOAA’S Grays Reef NMS staff will immerse teachers in a way like no other workshop. Teachers will wade into the watery world for a six-day, jam-packed teacher’s workshop full of fantastic field experiences and empowering classroom lessons.

The workshop begins in Atlanta with a visit to the Georgia Aquarium’s Learning Loop where participants get a little preview of the watery world they are going to immerse them in.

Field experiences include water quality monitoring, a kayaking trip to the convergence of the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers, a boat ride through the Altamaha River Delta to explore the watershed that directly influences Gray’s Reef, a trawling trip through the marsh, and a ferry ride over to Sapelo Island to explore the marshes and estuaries. On Sapelo Island participants are immersed in the cultural history of the native islander while investigating the ecology of beach and marsh communities. During our night hike on the beach we may even have the opportunity to observe a female Loggerhead sea turtle laying her eggs as the species has done for over 180 million years!

At the end of each day you will be mentally and physically exhausted, sweaty and perhaps even dirty; however, you will have experienced the watershed, coast and ocean thoroughly. You will explore and investigate with your hands, feet and sometimes your entire body and always with your spirit and mind and sometimes even your soul!

Each day will conclude with a group discussion on how the day’s experiences can be incorporated into classroom lessons. We hope this type of group sharing will inspire some great ideas and questions to answer.

PLU credits are awarded teachers completing the requirements of the workshop.

Leaders for the workshop are: Cathy Sakas, Education Coordinator, NOAA Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Kim Morris-Zarneke, Manager of Education Programs, Georgia Aquarium

Cost: Free

Selected participants will be notified on or about May 1st.

Send completed applications electronically or by mail to:
Kim Morris-Zarneke, Education Dept, Georgia Aquarium,
225 Baker St,
Atlanta, GA 30313
E-mail: kzarneke@georgiaaquarium.org
Phone: 404-581-4192 Fax: 404-581-4199

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