MITS Announces the 2014 PDS Series - Wade Institute for Science Education | Inquiry-based, hands-on, minds-on, science, technology and engineering professional development for K-12 teachers and informal educators.

Monday, December 16, 2013

For Immediate Release

MITS Announces Its 2014 Professional Development Seminar Series

The Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS, Inc.) is pleased to announce the lineup for their 2014 Professional Development Seminar Series.

MITS Professional Development Seminars (PDS) are designed for staff, volunteers and other professionals from science, technology, engineering, history and cultural institutions in New England. The PDS series provides content and teaching resources as well as networking opportunities for professionals in informal education settings. Each PDS is a full-day session, divided into 2 segments. The mornings are spent exploring STEM content areas with scientists and policy makers. Afternoon sessions are skill-based, focusing on turning real-life science into exciting, inquiry-based, minds-on, hands-on lessons and activities for K-8 students and teachers based on state frameworks.

This year, MITS is offering 4 full-day seminars at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts: January 30th, February 27th, March 19th and April 17th. January, February and April will be held in the traditional format of a scientific presentation in the morning and a skill-based session in the afternoon. March’s PDS will feature a special full-day workshop with Dr. Jacob Foster of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

January 30th will feature Eleanor Vallier-Talbot of the National Weather Service (What’s the Weather? The Science & Practice of Meteorology) and Dr. Yvonne Spicer of the Museum of Science (Igniting Student Interest in STEM through Engineering).

February 27th’s speakers are David J. Willis of UMass Lowell (STEM in Motion: Studying the Mechanics of Movement) and Michelle Scribner-MacLean of UMass Lowell (Meeting of the Minds: Teachers and Informal Science Educators Working Together).

March 19th’s full-day session features Dr. Jacob Foster of the Massachusetts DESE, Sandra Ryack-Bell of MITS and Rosemary Rak of MITS (The New Massachusetts Science, Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks: What Do They Mean for You, Your Programs & Your Institution?).

April 19th will finish out the PDS series with Dr. Aaron M. Ellison of Harvard University/Harvard Forest (Exploring the Biodiversity of Massachusetts: Ants as a Case Study of Exploration & Education) and Meredyth Babcock of Marmalade Productions (Science Out of the Shadows: Learning and Teaching Natural Science with Shadow Puppetry).

The registration fee for participants is $35 per full-day session. Discounted fees of $90 are offered for attending 3 sessions of your choice, or $120 for attending all 4. Registration is required. Interested educators may register online or print out a mail-in registration form at www.mits.org.

The Museum Institute for Teaching Science specializes in providing hands-on, minds-on, inquiry-based STEM professional development for formal and informal educators. For more information, visit www.mits.org or call 617-328-1515
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