Miscellaneous Information
Teachers will work in teams to enhance local ability in
inquiry-based biology and environmental science integrated
with technology. Middle and high school teachers receive a
$1200 stipend for a four-week institute in July 1999 with
travel and most expenses covered. The institute is funded by
the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute. Visit the Woodrow Wilson National
Fellowship's Leadership Program for Teachers web pages,
http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/ to access the applications
(for more details) and teacher web products. Or we'll be
happy to mail the applications. For more information contact: Mary "Meddie" Apodaca, PhD;
Director, Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program for Teachers; CN
5281, 5 Vaughn Drive; Princeton NJ 08543 E-mail: apodaca@woodrow.org; Web site: apodaca@www.woodrow.org Phone: 609-452-7007 X19 South Carolina Teachers' Tour:
Teaching Sustainable Forestry in Environment
Education EDUC-687-K60 Course Description: Spend four days touring the
forests of South Carolina, examining forestry practices, and
the forest industry. This outdoor environmental education
course is designed to provide an unbiased look into the
impact forests have on our state's environment, economy, and
quality of life. Key topics include forest management;
emphasising sustainable forestry; ecosystem management and
bio-diversity; wildlife conservation, including endangered
species protection; forest product production, including
harvesting and processing into products; and the
contributions of the forest industry on S.C.'s economy.
Classes include tours of private and public forest land,
lumber, paper and other wood product mills, along with
cultural events highlighting the history of South Carolina.
Participants will receive resource materials to use in their
classrooms along with training in Project Learning Tree, an
activity-based multi-disciplinary environmental education
curriculum designed to teach critical and creative
thinking. When and Where: Sumter, S.C.-June 15th through
18th Eligibility: Preference will be given to full-time
certified school teachers for grades 3 to 8 specializing in
environmental studies. Secondary teachers specializing in
environmental studies, life sciences, biology, Tech Prep, or
natural resource education will also be considered.
Interested educators must complete an application and submit
it by the deadline of March 31. Successful applicants will
be notified by April 15. Due to the large number of
applicants, participants are encouraged to submit their
applications early. The tour is limited to 30
participants. Requirements: Participants must: •Be available to participate in a four day course
with overnight stay and travel. Individual participation
only - spouses and/or children, etc. not permitted. •Actively participate in all activities which will
include walking, hiking, summer temperatures, insects,
etc. •Be able to disseminate the information learned to
schools, community, and professional associations. •Have proven leadership skills and involvement in
student and teacher extracurricular activities and
professional associations. Cost: All meals, lodging, materials, and
transportation during the tour are provided FREE by the
sponsors of the Teachers' Tour. Those wishing two hours
graduate credit, offered by the College of Charleston, will
be required to pay $40 upon acceptance into the tour. They
must submit a unit of study for their classroom by the end
of the summer term, incorporating the information gained
during the tour. (Credit is for graduate credit only-not
recertification credit.) S.C. Forestry Commission, S.C. Forest Foundation,
Bowater, Inc., Champion, Georgia-Pacific, Low Country Forest
Products, Society of American Foresters, International
Paper, Smurfit-Stone Container Corp, Santee Cooper, U.S.D.A.
- Forest Service in S.C., New South, Inc., Union Camp,
Westvaco, Willamette. USC Aiken Elementary and Middle
Schools Mathematics Awareness
Day Thursday, April 1, 1999; 9:00am-1:30pm USC Aiken's Department of Mathematical Sciences,
Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, CSRA Hub and the
Student Section of America Society of Mechanical Engineers
will host Mathematics Awareness Day. There will be hands-on
activities for students, exhibits, paper airplane
competitions, and bridge building competitions. To register
and receive more information, call Dr. Stephen King at
803-641-3446. Deadline for registration is Monday, March 22.
Participation will be limited to the first 20 schools that
register. Tox-RAP Workshops Toxicology, Risk
Assessment, &
Pollution Tox-RAP is an innovative, K-9 curriculum that
utilizes concepts from toxicology and environmental health
risk assessment to teach applied science. This curriculum
uses the scientific method to teach students how to observe,
measure, infer, predict, problem solve, communicate, reason,
and draw conclusions. This is accomplished by teaching
students how to apply the ToxRAP Framework to investigations
concerning environmental health problems relevant to their
lives. As students apply the ToxRAP framework to a variety
of situations, they follow the same thought processes and
techniques employed by environmental health scientists all
over the world. Students also develop basic skills in
critical thinking, decision making, scientific inquiry,
mathematics, language arts, and communication. Materials: Participating teachers in the K-3,
Case of the Green Feathers, module will receive a giant
story book , a notebook with lesson plans, and all the
materials needed to implement this curriculum in their
classrooms. Participating teachers in the 6-9, Mystery
Illness Strikes the Sanchez Household, module will receive a
notebook with ten developmentally appropriate,
interdisciplinary lesson plans and activities. Cost: Free. Refreshments will be served at the
sessions. Case of the Green Feathers Grade Level: K-3 Date: July 27-29 Time: 8:30 AM-4:00 PM Mystery Illness Strikes the Sanchez Household Grade Level: 6-9 Date: May 8 Time: 9:00 AM-4:00 PM To Register: Call the RPSEC at 641-3313 or (from Augusta)
278-1967, ext. 3313. The South Carolina Aquarium (SCA) is planning its second
ELP program for this summer. During the two week institute,
professionals will travel across SC, from the mountains to
the sea, exploring the natural wonders of our state which
will be depicted through exhibits at SCA in Charleston.
Participants will study the various habitats within the five
geographic regions of SC, as well as marine habitats.
Participants will work on curriculum which supports the
state standards at all grade levels and receive 3 graduate
credits. The institute will be held June 13 - June 25, 1999.
If you would like further information about this program,
contact Karey Santos at (803) 641-2580. She can give you
some informal perceptions as she completed it last summer.
If you would like an application, contact Holly Campbell at
South Carolina Aquarium (e-mail:
hscampbell@scaquarium.org). 1999-2000 Student
Programs We are in the process of updating our student programs
catalog to reflect our 1999-2000 program offerings. Catalogs
will be mailed to teachers by April 15, 1999. Teachers can
also visit our web site at:
http://rpsec.usca.sc.edu/Student/ to look at our
current offerings, and obtain pre/post-visit materials.
Online registration for 1999-2000 will be available April
15, 1999.
Copyright © 1999 by the Board of Trustees of the
University of South
Carolina. The Ruth Patrick Science Education Center Newsletter is a
publication of the RPSEC for educators. The Center
encompasses the CSRA HUB, CEET, Dupont Planetarium, and
NRSMEEP. If you have any information that would be
beneficial to the audience of this newsletter, or would like
to be added to the mailing list, please contact Cindy
Sparling, Editor, at (803) 641-3594. Deadline for submission
in the next newsletter is July 10, 1999. URL:
http://rpsec.usca.sc.edu/newsletter/Mar99/index.html
(March, 1999) Ruth Patrick Science
Education Center
Center
of Excellence in Educational Technology
University of South
Carolina Aiken
471 University Parkway
Aiken, SC 29801
803-648-6851