Quarter 3

Title: Science Regional PLCs- 3rd Quarter, Investigating Routines and Rigor for Science

Description: During this regional PLC, together we will introduce participants to the investigation routine from our standards framework and walk through how it can help to determine appropriate rigor for our students. The morning will provide a scaffold for this approach and the afternoon will provide support for implementation in specific classrooms with collaboration from those in attendance.

K–5 Container Gardening 

With their ease of accessibility, low cost, opportunities for space maximization, and numerous potential plants to grow, container gardens are a great way for teachers to do school gardening with elementary students. The Elementary Educators’ Guide to Container Gardening—a 21-page publication produced collaboratively by KidsGardening.org and Crescent Garden, a planter and gardening supply company—presents the basics of container gardening with students, covering topics such as container-garden design, planting tips, and curriculum connections. The guide also features ideas for kid-friendly themed container gardens, including salsa garden, sensory garden, tea garden, pollinator garden, and even a prehistoric dinosaur garden with plants that originated when dinosaurs were alive!

Learn more here: (LINK)

National WWII Museum’s Summer Seminars

This summer, the National WWII Museum will host two weeks of seminars for teachers of science and STEM on-site at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Both programs are free for teachers: Travel, lodging, and most meals are paid for.

The first week (July 2–8) will be open to teachers of K–8 science. Participants will learn how to use the Little Engineers and Real-World Science curriculum guides and best practices in science education. Participants will discuss activities in physical, Earth, and life sciences and engineering and learn how to integrate literacy practices and social studies into science investigations with students.

Learn more here: (LINK)

Celebrating Women in Science

Alexis Will is a marine biologist whose work focuses on protecting seabirds around the Arctic. Her team member, Elisabeth Kruger, works with communities and scientists to learn about Arctic marine mammals and help ensure their populations stay healthy. In honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, join the World Wildlife Fund on February 9 as Will and Kruger share some of their favorite experiences in the science field protecting Arctic wildlife, what science means to them, and what interesting research they look forward to working on.

Learn more here: (LINK)

CDC Museum Summer Programs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Museum will offer two free summer programs for high school students during the summer before their junior or senior years. Disease Detective Camp, a free one-week academic day camp, will be held at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC Museum also will hold the Online Summer Course, a web-based course with both synchronous and asynchronous components. 

During both camp and course, students are immersed in the diverse field of public health, including topics such as infectious disease, chronic disease, environmental health, laboratory technology, outbreaks, scientific communication, and public health law. They will have the opportunity to interact with CDC professionals who are working in various roles within public health. Applications are due by March 31. 

Learn more here: (LINK)

Toshiba America Foundation Grants 

Teachers of grades 6–12 can apply online for a Toshiba America Foundation grant of less than $5,000 to help bring an innovative project into their own classroom. If you have an innovative idea for improving STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning in your classroom, and if your idea involves project-based learning with measurable outcomes, apply by March 1. Grant decisions will be made by April 15. 

Learn more here: (LINK)

Sally Ride EarthKAM @ Space Camp Mission 

EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students), an educational outreach program, allows middle school students worldwide to take pictures of Earth from a digital camera on board the International Space Station (ISS). During EarthKAM missions (periods the EarthKAM camera is operational), middle school students request photos of specific locations on Earth. The next mission is scheduled for February 14–17. All students and educators are welcome, including participants in after-school programs. 

Learn more here: (LINK)

The Kansas Department of Education is excited to offer this grant opportunity to support existing and potential HOSA chapters and high-quality health science instruction. This grant will allow for the purchase of equipment for the biotechnology event (link) including micropipettes and electrophoresis kits as well as a training piece and stipend for teachers.

An informational zoom will be held on February 14th at 3pm (attendance is not required to apply). (LINK)

Questions? Please reach out to Meg Richard, mrichard@ksde.org or Kathleen Mercer, kmercer@ksde.org

Link to Grant Application: (LINK)

Great news for Perkins Recipients!  The KSDE CTE Team is excited to share the opportunity for school districts to apply for a grant to pay for professional development for staff involved with CTE.  This can apply to administrators, teachers, para educators, collaborating special education teachers, counselors, etc. As long as the work ties back to the state approved pathway and/or career planning for students including IPS. 

Those schools who are part of a consortium ARE allowed to apply directly for this grant as are those schools who manage the grant independently.

Funding for this grant depends on the needs for professional development identified in the narrative up to $3,000 per grant participant, no more than $6,000 per grant. (Example: You could have two participants at $3,000 each or four participants at $1,500 each, etc.)

Please check out the attached application and submit it for professional development activities  through June 30, 2023! 

In order to meet the fiscal timeline, registration and arrangements should be made by the end of May so that the funds could be drawn down within the grant timeframe.  Perkins can cover the following costs related to PD:

Registration Fee (not college tuition)

Hotel room cost (up to Conus rate level)

Per diem (up to conus rate level)

Airfare or mileage (at federal rate) AND uber or shuttle service to/from airport (if needed)

If training occurs prior to the release of school, this grant will pay for substitute teacher expenses as well.

Link to Grant Application: (LINK)

Great news for Perkins Recipients!  The KSDE CTE Team is excited to share the opportunity for school districts to apply for a grant to purchase EQUIPMENT for state approved pathways.  Those schools who are part of a consortium ARE allowed to apply directly for this grant as are those schools who manage the grant independently.

This grant allows the applicant to purchase not less than $5,000 and not more than $6,000 in Equipment (for one pathway or multiple pathways).  If you need equipment that exceeds the $6,000 limit, please send me an email for permission to exceed the limit  before you apply. 

Equipment includes items costing $5,000 or more.  Often, when purchasing these pieces of equipment, professional development is needed in order to operate or properly oversee the operation of the equipment.  That was the intention of this grant.  If the equipment you are purchasing requires an additional cost for professional development, we want to include that cost. 

The limit listed of $6,000 is intended for the actual equipment.  If you would also like to add pd for the item, please include that without concern for the cost (please use the CONUS guidelines).  We can discuss this upon approval.  Also, if your requested item exceeds $6,000, we can work through that because we want to make sure the field has equipment needed for your programs to be operating as close to the level of what is happening in business currently. 

Please check out the application link below and submit it for equipment for your pathways!

Link to Grant Application: (LINK)

Great news for Perkins Recipients!  The KSDE CTE Team is excited to share the opportunity for school districts to apply for a grant to purchase supplies for state approved pathways.  Those schools who are part of a consortium ARE allowed to apply directly for this grant as are those schools who manage the grant independently.

This grant allows the applicant to purchase up to $4,000 in supplies (for one pathway or multiple pathways).  Please check out the below application and submit it for supplies for your pathways!

Link to Grant Application: (LINK)

Ellen Ochoa—inventor, astronaut, and space center director—is a pioneer like no other. She made history as the first Latina to go to space, blazing a trail for other marginalized kids who dream of the stars. There were few minorities in leadership when she joined NASA—so she changed that, becoming the first Hispanic and second female director of the Johnson Space Center.

Dr. Ochoa earned a bachelor's degree in physics from San Diego State University and a master's degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Prior to her selection as an astronaut in 1990, she was a research engineer at Sandia National Laboratories and NASA Ames Research Center, where she investigated optical systems for performing information processing. She is a co-inventor on three patents and author of several technical papers. She flew in space four times aboard the Space Shuttle, logging nearly 1,000 hours in orbit.

The lecture will be in person at the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Registration will open March 9, 2023. 

Visit here for additional details: (LINK)

Shari Wilson, M.A. has been working on a transdisciplinary curriculum focused on supporting middle and high school students as change agents to increase biocultural diversity on school grounds. I am happy to say that it is nearly ready for review! Teachers, curriculum directors and those without classrooms but who serve middle or high school students, teachers and preservice teachers are invited to participate as reviewers.

Schoobio is Shari's dissertation project for an Ed.D. in Educational Sustainability at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. By taking part in this curriculum, students will explore the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and apply them to their schools, understand the elements of an ecological school ground, take a biodiversity inventory of their school grounds, consider how the nature-culture connection is represented (or could be represented) on their school grounds, design their ideal bioculturally diverse school ground, and present their plan to school or community leaders. The curriculum is aligned to NGSS performance expectations.

Feedback received will be included in dissertation materials but most importantly used to improve the curriculum, which is intended for a global audience.Feel free to share with others who may be interested. For more information and questions, don't hesitate to contact Shari at sharilea51@gmail.com.

Click here to learn more and participate: https://forms.gle/wyMTuWPkUAYeG1e39

EdReports is a non-profit organization with a mission to empower educators with independent, credible, evidence-rich information about instructional materials to ensure students have what they need to be college and career-ready. They are now accepting applications for reviewers for reviews of K-12 science instructional materials starting in April 2023. Apply now to engage in deep professional learning on the Next Generation Science Standards with a national network of skilled educators.
Learn more about EdReports here and apply to become a reviewer here. 

Register for the MOSAiC Arctic research expedition virtual teacher workshop! 

Who: MS/HS science teachers, spots are limited

What: FREE virtual PD to engage with the MOSAiC-inspired "Arctic Feedbacks" storyline curriculum

When: Two synchronous meetings with some asynchronous work**

• Thursday, Feb. 2nd from 3-5 pm CT, 4-6 pm MT, 5-7 pm CT, 6-8 pm ET

• Thursday, Feb. 9th from 3-5 pm CT, 4-6 pm MT, 5-7 pm CT, 6-8 pm ET

**Participants are expected to complete ~6 hours of asynchronous work that they must submit via Google Classroom

Grad Credit options: Participants can choose to receive either a free certificate for 10 PD hours OR purchase 1 credit from the University of Colorado Boulder ($90 fee)

About: The Arctic is currently warming at a rate much faster than the rest of the world which has important implications for the global climate system. In this FREE teacher workshop, participants will engage with curriculum developers from the University of Colorado Boulder and Arctic scientists as they lead you through, "Arctic Feedbacks: Not all warming is equal", a storyline curriculum tied to NGSS Earth's Systems standards in which students explore important science concepts (e.g., Earth's energy budget, greenhouse effect, feedback loops) to model and explain the Arctic amplification phenomenon. Engage with immersive 360° virtual tours, authentic Arctic datasets, PhET simulations. and app-based labs in this interactive online workshop!

Register for the Arctic Feedbacks workshop Today!

Testimonials from past workshop participants

• "I want to give my students relevant and up-to-date learning. I want to be able to show the kids that this is something that is really happening in the world today and is something that will affect their future. This curriculum gives me the means to do this."

• "I really liked the virtual format of this workshop. It was an opportunity to meet people from different states and countries that I probably wouldn't have met otherwise. The breakout rooms really helped to focus on a portion of the unit and to allow time to talk through the different activities."

• "I love the hands-on where we participate as students! Working with other teachers is very valuable."

Questions? Email Jon Griffith at jonathan.griffith@colorado.edu

To help prepare new teachers and coaches for the 2023 Kansas KidWind Challenge, the Kansas Energy Program has scheduled the following six wind energy teacher workshops across the state. There is no cost to attend! Each person attending the workshop will receive a substitute stipend (if necessary), reimbursement for mileage to/from the workshop and your school, lunch, and a Vernier KidWind Basic Wind Experiment Kit (valued at $129). Learn more about KidWind with this quick overview video.

KidWind Challenges

• Southwest Regional (Dodge City) – Feb 14, 2023 (Tue)

• Northwest Regional (Oakley) – Feb 16, 2023 (Thu)

• Northeast Regional (Overland Park) – Feb 21, 2023 (Tue)

• Southcentral Regional (Hutchinson) – Feb 23, 2023 (Thu)

• Northcentral Regional (Manhattan) – Feb 28, 2023 (Tue)

• Southeast Regional (Burlington) – Mar 03, 2023 (Fri)

• State (Topeka) – Mar 25, 2023 (Sat)