2024 Summer Professional Development Institutes: Southeast/Cape Cod Region - Wade Institute for Science Education | Inquiry-based, hands-on, minds-on, science, technology and engineering professional development for K-12 teachers and informal educators.

Science in the Field: Bringing Realtime Data Into the Classroom

A 5-Day Summer Professional Development Institute for Grades 6-12 Educators

Science in the Field: Bringing Real-Time Data into the Classroom brought educators from across Massachusetts together for an awe-inspiring week of exploring data, ecosystems, and research laboratories. Participants dove into wetland, estuary, marine, and forest habitats, collecting authentic data. Teachers discovered innovative methods to integrate data into their science curriculum and engaged in pedagogy seamlessly woven throughout the week.

The Institute’s home base was the Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth, MA, where four of the five days were spent exploring the flora and fauna of the center. Day one kicked off with the Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair (MSEF) sharing insights on incorporating science fairs into the curriculum. Teachers formed groups, chose investigative research questions, and began collecting data on a research topic, mimicking a typical science fair.

Day two, a guest speaker from Island Creek Oysters introduced aquaculture, sustainability practices, and oyster reproduction. Teachers had the opportunity to shuck oysters and examine them under a microscope. That afternoon, the Lloyd Center took the group to Barney’s Joy, a stunning private beach in Dartmouth, MA, where they used the Marine Debris Tracker app to log beach debris, contributing valuable data to this citizen science initiative.

On day three of the institute, participants spent the day exploring the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. Participants explored MBL’s striped bass tracking tools and delved into animal genotyping. The day ended with a private viewing of MBL’s rare book collection and participants even held a Nobel Prize!

The final two days back at the Lloyd Center were packed with data collection and exploration of more citizen science projects, including iNaturalist. Teachers observed and recorded an impressive 180 species of plants and animals. The week culminated in participants presenting their research projects and sharing creative ideas on how to bring these real-world experiences into their classrooms.