McDonald Observatory is happy to announce it’s Teacher Professional Development Workshops for the summer of 2010 are now online!
http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/profdev/
Most of the workshops have scholarships available for teachers, making this a very worthwhile one-of-a-kind and inexpensive experience!
Each multi-day workshop is presented onsite at McDonald Observatory under dark West Texas skies. McDonald Observatory is an active major astronomical research institution. An integral part of all programs are daily hands-on activities in a classroom setting, interaction with astronomy professionals and researchers, tours of research telescopes, night-time telescope observations (weather permitting), and lodging in the nearby Davis Mountains State Park.
All classroom activities are presented by experienced astronomy educators and are aligned with National Science Education Standards and Texas standards (TEKS). Continuing Education Credit hours are awarded to all participants.
Additionally, 2009 was designated the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) by the United Nations and UNESCO, marking the 400th anniversary of the first astronomical use of the telescope by Galileo. McDonald Observatory has been celebrating this event by offering K-12 teachers IYA content in teacher workshops as part of the international Galileo Teacher Training Program. We will continue to offer this same programming and other IYA materials throughout the 2010 workshops.
Six of the eight open-registry workshops in 2010 are aimed at middle and/or high school teachers, with topics ranging from extra-solar planets, to stellar evolution, to observing with remote telescopes, and more! Five of these six workshops have teacher scholarships available that cover instruction, materials, meals, and lodging (i.e. almost everything is paid for!). Teachers accepted into these workshops will only be financially responsible for their travel to and from the observatory. These scholarships are provided by generous funding from NASA, the National Science Foundation, The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation Education Endowment, The Carolyn Keenan and Charlie Gaines Endowment for McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach, and The Hugh Gragg Educational Endowment.
We have two open-registry workshop available for elementary and middle school teachers – Explore Our Solar System 1 June 25-27, 2010, and Explore Our Solar System 2 July 11-13, 2010. The fee for either of these workshops is $550, which covers all expenses (except travel). No funded scholarships are available for elementary level workshops this year. Please visit the website above for recommendations for raising funds for professional development.
Visit http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/profdev/ and follow the link to the application form. The application deadline is February 8, 2010. There is usually competition for the limited number of teacher spaces available, but there is plenty of room available right now. We also maintain waitlists for every workshop in the event that a registered teacher must cancel. Since participants are elected on the basis of merit, please fill out your application carefully, especially the essay portion. Make sure you mention your current teaching duties, and check for completeness before submitting the application.