Massachusetts Marine Educators

Commonwealth Corps members with the Buzzards Bay Coalition will serve 10.5 months in a fulltime capacity. What they have in common is a desire to put their talents and ideas to use in the service of their communities and the Commonwealth.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition seeks two Commonwealth Corps Service Members who will be a core part of our Education and Public Engagement department with an overall goal of engaging the community in active and on-going stewardship of the Bay and watershed. Specifically, members will be serving with our youth and family education initiatives which seek to strengthen the ethic of environmental stewardship in the region while also improving academic achievement in the classroom through increased school engagement.

Spend 2 weeks this summer developing exciting inquiry-based STEM investigations for your classroom.

Join MITS and 4 of their partners for this unique Professional Development Opportunity in the Lowell/Merrimack Region July 8-19, 2013

Teaching STEM Through the Past, Present & Future

Explore the stories surrounding the ingenious science and engineering feats that have impacted Massachusetts’ changing landscapes from farms to factories.

Learn about plant and animal domestication, experiment with agricultural technology and explore the practices of land management.

Investigate the technology and engineering of Lowell’s water power system as you create and test model waterwheels, explore the mills and follow a power train of gears, axles, pulleys and wheels.

See how the Merrimack River has been “engineered” and find out what is really in that canal water. Examine the machinery of mass production and complete an engineering design challenge from what you have learned.

While doing all this, sharpen your science inquiry skills with interdisciplinary activities for your students that bring together science, engineering and history. Take home great resources to enliven and enrich your teaching.

Graduate Credit Available:
Cambridge College: $200/4 credits Framingham State University: $300/4 credits

Partners: Amoskeag Fishways, American Textile History Museum, Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm, Tsongas Industrial History Center/Lowell National Historic Park

Course Tuition: $400, 60 PDPs (discount for 2 or more teachers from the same school district.) Graduate Credit Available: Cambridge College: $200/4 credits Framingham State University: $300/4 credits with 90 PDPS

Visit www.mits.org to register or for more information.

Join us this summer for one of our courses!

On the Waterfront: Integrating Science Standards through Classroom and Field Investigations

Dates: July 9-12 with two callbacks (Sept. 28 and Dec. 7)
Time: 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Location: New England Aquarium
For: Educators, grades 3-7
Cost: $350 (includes Boston Harbor Educators Conference fee and MME half-year membership)
Credit: 41 PDPs or 4 science graduate credits from Cambridge College (additional fee, $200)*
Registration deadline: June 28, 2013

Learn how to incorporate local coastal ecosystems into your existing curriculum by joining the staff of the New England Aquarium for our On the Waterfront course, where we will learn of all things related to the shoreline. Participants will conduct field- and in-classroom investigations, apply inquiry skills and learn content knowledge through hands-on activities. Boston Harbor will be used as an example to teach concepts such as linking science and literacy, marine biodiversity, adaptations, ecosystems, properties of water, human impacts, and conservation efforts as well as much more!

Activities include: Behind-the-scenes tour of the Aquarium, exploring local tidepools on the Boston Harbor Islands and/or a visit to a local salt marsh. Each person will receive copies of activities and resources to take back and use in their classroom.

Watershed Investigations

Dates: July 16-18 plus two callbacks (Sept. 28 and Dec. 7)
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: New England Aquarium
For: Educators, grades 8 - 12
Cost: $300 (includes Boston Harbor Educators Conference fee and MME half-year annual membership)
Credit: 34 PDPs or 3 science graduate credits from Cambridge College (for additional fee of $150)*
Registration deadline: June 28, 2013

Our Watershed Investigations course is a field- and classroom-based program that will provide participants with the knowledge and skills to teach students about local watersheds. Programming includes field trips to the Charles River and Belle Isle Salt Marsh as well as science labs investigating water properties and water quality (dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity, pH, etc.). In addition to resources and ideas for classroom lessons, participants will leave with a greater understanding of watersheds and tips on how to bring students into the field.

Ocean Science for Early Elementary Educators

Dates: August 5–8, plus one Saturday callback (Nov.23)
Time: 9:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Location: New England Aquarium
For: Educators, grades K–2
Cost: $250
Credit: 30 PDPs or 3 science graduate credits from Cambridge College (additional fee, $150)*
Registration deadline: June 28, 2013

The ocean, filled with mystery and wonder, is the perfect way to engage young students and excite them about science. Participants will explore essential scientific concepts such as water properties, ocean habitats and animals, while making connections to literacy, math and art. Programming will include engaging hands-on investigations and a field trip to a local coastal habitat. Participants will walk away with knowledge about the ocean, ideas on how to incorporate ocean life into existing curriculum as well as activities and resources to use with young children!

* In order to qualify for PDPs or graduate credits from Cambridge College, participants are required to attend all course sessions, complete all homework assignments (i.e. readings, journal reflections, etc.) AND complete a final project. The final project for our summer courses is to develop a Teacher’s Guide which includes both an introduction and a three-part lesson plan that revolves around one of the concepts discussed during the program. A template will be provided and the lesson plan must be implemented in your classroom.

Students participate in the deployment and retrieval of a naturalist benthic dredge and plankton net to discover the rich variety of marine animals living in the waters off Woods Hole. A Naturalist assists in the identification of the organisms collected and provides an overview of the local natural history. Students also participate in making oceanographic measurements and observe tidal currents around Woods Hole. An additional side-trip to the Sippewissett Salt Marsh can be arranged to discover the diversity and importance of the estuarine environment.

Through collaboration with research institutions in Woods Hole, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, we engage the class in the techniques, results and relevance of current research projects.

The Zephyr Education Foundation is a non-profit organization created to support marine science awareness and education through hands-on field activities. Areas of interest include marine biological, environmental and oceanographic field data collection studies.