May 22nd, 2009 Bob
Ag in the Classroom is rounding up all Pre-K through 8th grade teachers. You are invited to attend Ag in the Classroom’s “BACK AT THE RANCH” Conference on July 31, 2009 at the Moore-Norman Technology Center, S. Penn Campus. From 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., the day includes grade level/content specific/PASS correlated breakout sessions, current event round table discussion, lunch from 2 Olives Café and a magnificent “make and take mania”. There is no registration fee.
WHAT: BACK AT THE RANCH WITH AG IN THE CLASSROOM
WHEN: JULY 31ST 8:30 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. (LUNCH PROVIDED)
WHERE: MOORE NORMAN TECHNOLOGY CENTER – SOUTH PENN CAMPUS
REGISTRATION: ONLINE and by registration form
HOW MUCH: NO CHARGE TO YOU
WHY: SUSTAINABLE, AUTHENTIC, PASS SPECIFIC, USABLE AND FUN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
WHO: PRE-K THROUGH 8TH GRADE TEACHERS (ALL SUBJECTS)
Posted in Events, Opportunities | No Comments »
May 22nd, 2009 Bob
Friday’s scheduled end to the ’09 Oklahoma Legislative session has been delayed until after Memorial Day, and the education-related dealings are certainly continuing. After giving a veto to a measure to move Assessment and Accountability out of the OSDE, the Legislature has apparently managed a deal with Governor Henry to allow passage into law of another measure that accomplishes the same end… and then some. Find the latest version of the bill here, and while it downloads you can work on how much it will cost to fund the two standard setting committees of not less than 24 people that will meet each year for each of Oklahoma’s 44 tests.
Posted in Events | No Comments »
May 19th, 2009 Bob
Straight from her beautiful third floor office overlooking the State Capitol grounds at the Oklahoma State Department of Education is your May Janagram from OSDE Science Director Jana Rowland.
And to keep your collection complete, here is the April Janagram, (which somebody forgot to post…)
Posted in Janagrams | No Comments »
May 18th, 2009 Bob
Have you considered getting your masters degree? Oklahoma State University’s College of Education mathematics and science faculty would like to invite you to join a special cohort for new and current mathematics and science teachers. You would be completing a master’s degree in Teaching, Learning and Leadership with an option in mathematics/science education. The cost of this masters degree will be $8000 which will include books and instructional materials (with the exception of field trips); however, it is free to students who apply for and are eligible for the federal TEACH grant money. In order to be eligible for the TEACH grant you must be certified to teach either mathematics or science and complete a four-year teaching service obligation in mathematics or science in a low-income school upon the completion of the degree. During your four years of service, you must be teaching mathematics and/or science for more than 50% of the school day.
Please contact Juliana Utley with any additional questions or to request an information packet. In order for you to be fully admitted before summer school starts all application materials need to be submitted by May 22 otherwise you may have to enroll as a special student and this would require both a fee for special student enrollment and an application fee for applying to graduate school.
(Editor’s note: Apparently this program has admitted it’s maximum number of mathematics teachers but there are still several science teacher opening available)
Juliana Utley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Mathematics Education
233 Willard Hall, Oklahoma State University
Posted in Events | No Comments »
May 14th, 2009 Bob
The program guides for PASS it on!, the State Superintendent’s Master Teacher Project Regional Conferences are now available on the OSDE website. Click here to download the guides and to register.
Posted in Events | No Comments »
May 14th, 2009 Bob
The College Board and the Oklahoma State Department of Education are hosting two 5-day workshops in Norman this summer for middle and high school science teachers. The workshops are not focused on AP courses but rather the content students need to learn prior to AP. In addition, there will be time for teacher to work on curriculum alignment.
There is not a charge for Oklahoma public school science teachers and all materials are provided without cost to participants.
Location: Norman High School
Dates: June 22-26, 2009 and July 6-10, 2009
There are workshops at Booker T. Washington in Tulsa on June 1-5, 2009 and Del City High School. – The Del City workshop has reached maximum participation.
Download the enrollment form here.
In semi-related news, not all is well in the world of the CollegeBoard. See this article from the 5/14 Washington Post.
Posted in Conference, Events, Opportunities | No Comments »
May 9th, 2009 Bob
Governor Brad Henry vetoed the so-called “School District Empowerment Act” on Friday, May 8. In his signing statement he wrote “Senate Bill 834 would essentially turn back the clock on much of that important progress and weaken landmark reforms by allowing school administrators to create their own rules and ignore more rigorous state standards, including, but not limited to, the smaller class size mandates championed by former Gov. Henry Bellmon and Oklahoma voters in the historic passage of House Bill 1017 in 1990. SB 834 would also endanger such worthy programs as full-day kindergarten and alternative education in addition to making optional such critical personnel as school librarians and counselors.”
You can view the Governor’s statement as well as his press release reporting the veto here. You can send a message to the Governor here.
Read a response from the Oklahoma Education Association here.
Read articles about the veto in the Tulsa World and the Daily Oklahoman.
Posted in Events | No Comments »
May 8th, 2009 Bob
(from: Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast, May 8, 2009) A new study from the University of Minnesota finds that high school biology teachers greatly impact how college biology majors view evolution. The report, published in the May issue of BioScience, surveyed 1,000 students taking introductory biology classes at the University of Minnesota to gauge how biology majors view evolution compared to non-majors. Researchers found student views were quite close, and that high school biology teachers highly influence whether students question evolution based on creationism. The article incorporates prior studies that found more than 25 percent of U.S. high school biology teachers do not know it’s unconstitutional to teach creationism. One third didn’t major in biology in college and never studied evolution. One fourth believe creationism can be proven scientifically. There are few consequences for teachers who do not cover evolution or who teach creationism. “I was shocked that there weren’t bigger differences between majors and non-majors,” said Sehoya Cotner, associate professor of biology and co-author of the study. “Evolution is the foundation of the entire discipline. It leads me to believe that these students are probably interested in biology for reasons besides gaining a full understanding and appreciation of the science.”
Read more: http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1681554/teachers_influence_student_views_of_evolution__creationism/index.html See an abstract of the report: http://www.bioone.org/toc/bisi/59/5
Posted in News | No Comments »
May 8th, 2009 Bob
Online registration for BioBlitz! 2009 is open! And you are invited to register early ‑ if you register before July 15th, there is a discounted registration fee ‑ only $5!
The registration fee includes the Friday night cookout, one t‑shirt, camping in designated Bioblitz! group campsite for both Friday and Saturday nights, and 24‑hours of counting Oklahoma’s Biodiversity!
To register (and get other important information) go to the BioBlitz! website:
http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/bioblitz/BioBlitz.html
BioBlitz! 2009 ‑ Robbers Cave State Park, Wilburton, Oklahoma 3:00 p.m. Fri. Sept. 18th until 3:00 p.m. Sat. Sept. 19th.
Questions or comments about BioBlitz! 2009 can be directed to:
Priscilla Crawford, BioBlitz! Coordinator, Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma
Posted in Events, Opportunities | No Comments »
May 4th, 2009 Bob
Northeastern State University will be offering two graduate-level
courses this summer that you might be interested in.
SCI 5443 Trends and Issues in Science Education: This course is primarily online during the months of June and July. There are two meeting dates-June 12th 9:00 -11:50 am-and July 24th 9:00 am -4:00 pm. You can meet on the Tahlequah campus of NSU or on the Broken Arrow campus via videoconference technology. The rest of the coursework is available online. This class focuses on the National Science Education Standards, current science education reform issues, and how to collect and analyze data concerning your own students’ achievement. Come join other science teachers who are interested in being part of science education reform!
BIOL 5213 Investigative Biology: This course focuses on the Nature of Science and science inquiry. You will conduct hands-on inquiries in biology and investigate the nature of science. This course is designed to help you understand the nature of scientific inquiry more fully so that you conduct authentic inquiries with your own students. It will be taught face-to-face on the Tahlequah campus and via videoconferencing in on the Broken Arrow campus. A graduate assistant will help with hands-on instruction at the remote site. It is offered MTWTH July 6th-30th from 9:00 am- 12:20 pm.
You may sign up for classes for non-degree credit, or you may enroll in our M.Ed. in Science Education program and earn a Masters degree by Spring 2011. Check it out at
Posted in Opportunities | No Comments »
