Professional Learning Opportunities

HYBRID

The rapid pace of change to Earth’s climate, as well as the constant presence of climate emergencies and worrisome projections in media including social media, make the subject of Earth’s climate a very important one for students, and for science educators and their colleagues in adjacent subject areas. The subject is an important one for academic achievement, for developing students’ sense of social justice, and for contributing to healthier social-emotional outcomes of students and providing a space in which students can initiate and cultivate a healthy sense of agency. The complex subject matter also makes it advantageous to plan for multi-year learning in which existing units are modified and redirected to highlight connections to the larger theme of climate change. This course will explore guiding questions that will help educators plan strong learning sequences and will explore areas of content that are applicable to climate change.

Museum Facilitator: Hudson Roditi

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

Graphic novels and comics have become tools that help students engage in visual, critical, and creative thinking. In this session, participants will discuss the potential of science-themed graphic novels and comics in helping students explore, understand, and remember various science concepts and practices. Participants will discuss science literacy, sequential art, and visual storytelling, visit the Museum halls to practice close observation, as well as view and analyze various titles provided by the instructors. Participants do not need any experience with drawing to participate in this session. All are welcome!

Museum Facilitator: John Sapida and Jay Holmes

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

During this three-day workshop, we will dive deeply into the instructional shifts teachers need to make to support New York State’s new science standards by using a curriculum that is aligned to the standards. We will work to articulate the three dimensions of science teaching and learning presented in the standards and explain how these dimensions work together to support students in sense-making about science phenomena. At the end of the institute each participant will design a phenomenon-based learning experience for their students using the Museum halls.

Museum Facilitators: Adriana Aquino, David Randle, and Bridget Murray
Teacher Facilitator: Marie Suchan (Department of Education)

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IN PERSON AT THE MUSEUM

Research indicates that on average, museum visitors spend 30 seconds in front of an exhibit. In this session, teachers will participate in an immersive experience in the new Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation focused on helping learners slow down on Museum field trips as a means of building descriptive language, practicing empathy, and connecting with themselves and their peers.

Museum Facilitator: Colleen Owen

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HYBRID

In this three-hour in-person session, we will investigate the Museum’s Collections Core. Spanning three floors, the Collections Core houses fossils, artifacts, specimens, written interpretation (in multiple languages), and digital interactives. By exploring and interacting with the displays, participants will be tasked with finding something that connects to their curriculum. How can this exhibit complement the curriculum taught in the classroom? Through sharing ideas, teams will diversify perspectives, engage with differentiation, and expand their understanding of the Museum as a classroom.

Museum Facilitators: Adriana Aquino and Dave Randle

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Virtual Talk

From teachers, we hear about their concerns regarding the post-pandemic disengagement of students with teachers and with each other. Students are acting out and unable to work collaboratively. Students are unwilling or unable to disconnect from their screens, social media, and the internet. From school leaders, we hear about their concerns regarding the social and emotional well-being of their students but also of their teachers and themselves. Join us on Zoom as we hear from sociologist Pedro Noguera on how we can help educators think about restorative strategies to address their concerns and the low morale of their communities.

Speaker: Pedro Noguera, Ph.D.

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Join us for a day in the park!

During this workshop, we will explore the geology of Central Park to learn field techniques for making observations of local rock formations. Teachers will analyze and interpret these observations to make inferences about the geologic origins of Central Park rocks.

We will share our Teacher's Field Guide for Central Park, produced by the Museum, which provides location information and student-facing materials for middle and high school Earth Science class field trips to Central Park.

The workshop will start in the Museum, where we will become familiar with the guide and how to use it. Then we will head out to Central Park, where we will spend several hours making observations on rock outcrops using the guide.

The field portion of this workshop requires some strenuous activity, so we suggest the following:

• Wear comfortable, weather-appropriate clothes and shoes for walking 2 to 4 miles through the park  We will be mostly on paved roads, but this will involve some amount of walking on uneven surfaces and paths.
• We will provide breakfast and a bagged lunch, but bring any walking snacks you’d like
• Bring a water bottle!
• Bring sunscreen 
• We will be going out into the park rain or shine, so please dress appropriately based on the weather forecast for this day 
• You will not need a laptop or tablet, so you can save yourself the trouble of lugging it through the park and leave it at home! Phones for taking photos are ok and encouraged!

We are committed to accommodating all participants' needs during our professional learning days. Components of this offering are physically and mentally demanding, as this session includes an extensive Central Park visit that requires time outside in the Sun, walking on uneven ground, and mild elevation changes.

Please let us know at least 7 days in advance if you have any concerns or need accommodation so that we can ensure that you will have a positive experience.

Agenda

8:30 am - 9:15 am: Sign-in and breakfast reception
9:30 am - 10:15 am: Dr. Steven Jaret gives an overview of the field guide
10:15 am - 10:40 am: Walk to Central Park
10:40 am - 2:15 pm: Exploration of Central Park (including 30 min break for lunch)
2:15 pm - 3:00 pm: Return to the Museum for a debrief

Museum Facilitator: Steven Jaret

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