99th ESA Annual Meeting (August 10 -- 15, 2014)

WK 17

Engaging K-12 Teachers in Authentic Ecology and Education Learning

Ecologists engage K-12 teachers in real ecology in college courses, teacher workshops, and research experiences for teachers (RET). Less common but equally promising is engaging teachers in research about ecology learning. This workshop will provide participants with first-hand experience in effective strategies for doing both from the Math Science Partnership project - Culturally Relevant Ecology: Learning Progressions and Environmental Literacy. Research with thousands of students at four LTER sites has produced compelling models of student learning (learning progressions) towards principle- and evidence-based reasoning in: 1) water movement and substances in water, 2) carbon cycling and ecosystems, 3) biodiversity and evolution, and 4) citizenship. Our knowledge and skills framework for effective teaching includes: content including science processes; pedagogy including responsive teaching strategies; and student learning including formative assessments and learning progression models. During the workshop, we will explore successful professional development (PD) strategies for developing these sets of knowledge and skills.

Workshop participants will: 1) discover what research says about effective teaching practices and knowledge/skills to support them; 2) engage in activities used successfully in workshops and RET programs to help teachers develop these pools of knowledge/skills; 3) explore strategies for productive attention and response to student thinking about environmental science; 4) learn about Learning Progression-based curriculum modules and PD resources (see: http://pathwaysproject.weebly.com/); 5) consider ways to incorporate these new strategies and resources into their own PD work with teachers; and 6) form a community of K-12 PD leaders within ESA to plan and carry out work in the future.