GK-12 Regional Conference
November 7-8, 2008
Purdue University
Purdue is hosting a GK-12 Regional Conference on November 7-8, 2008. NSF fellows, teachers, evaluators, and program staff are invited to share best practices; present talks and posters on their graduate research; discuss models for GK-12 program sustainability and institutionalization; and network with other GK-12 participants.

For more information: Visit the Conference website.

Evaluation 2008: Evaluation Policy and Evaluation Practice
Session:  Evaluating Math and Science Istruction
Presentation:  The Impact of a National Science Foundation-Funded GK-12 Inquiry-Based Science Program: Three Years Out and Beyond
November 7, 2008 
Hyatt Regency at Colorado Convention Center
Denver, CO
This presentation describes the methods, collaborative approach, and key findings of a 3-year formative evaluation of an NSF-funded university-schools partnership dedicated to encouraging scientific inquiry in high school classrooms through pairing university graduate STEM fellows with high school teachers and classrooms. The initiative aimed to increase the ability of graduate students to communicate effectively about science and research beyond the university setting and to provide the opportunity for fellows to bring their cutting-edge research and practice into the high school classroom to stimulate student interest in and engagement with the sciences and promote inquiry-based learning practices among teachers. The presentation examines the application of inquiry-based science in the classroom, highlighting the impact of the program on students, teachers, and graduate fellows—particularly the on-going impact of the initiative on teachers' professional growth and teaching approach after the conclusion of program.

For more information: Visit the Conference website.

Evaluation 2008: Evaluation Policy and Evaluation Practice
Session:  A Demonstration of Using High Technical Standards in Direct Observation: The Protocal for Assessing GK-12 Graduate Teaching Fellows' Presentation Skills
November 6, 2008 
Hyatt Regency at Colorado Convention Center
Denver, CO
This session demonstrates the 'Protocol for Assessing GK-12 Graduate Teaching Fellows' Presentation Skills' that assesses the presentation skills of scientists and other technical professionals while maintaining the American Evaluation Association's Guiding Principle on Systemic Inquiry. It addresses three key technical standards for direct observation as a qualitative evaluation method: the importance of objectively defining what are we looking for, how we know it when we see it, and how we capture it accurately. The session will demonstrate the protocol including an introduction to 11 criteria for effective presentations drawn from the literature, a rubric for assessing these criteria, and a process for recording and summarizing performance. Participants will use the protocol in observing and assessing two scientists' presentations, discuss their assessments, and consider how to use the protocol in their own practice. Participants will be invited to use the protocol and provide feedback to the developers.

For more information: Visit the Conference website.

STEMapalooza
October 24-25, 2008
Colorado Convention Center
STEMapalooza is a 2-day event that is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. It features exhibitors from around the state of Colorado that support STEM programs for students and educators and employ hundreds of thousands of jobs in STEM related careers. The goal of STEMapalooza is to bring industry, educational institutions and organizations together to:

• Create urgency and enthusiasm about the need for continuous and rigorous STEM education focused on the needs of the economy
• Develop awareness of opportunities in STEM education in Colorado
• Engage policy makers and the media in the STEM conversation
• Develop networks and partnerships among STEM providers
• Connect employers and job seekers with the thousands of available jobs/internships/externships that utilize STEM education and skills
• Highlight successes and generate a forum for sharing STEM practices across stakeholder groups
• Take responsibility for improving competitiveness in the international arena of STEM education

For more information: Visit the STEMapalooza website.

AAAS Annual Meeting
February 14-18, 2008
Boston, MA

The 2008 AAAS Annual Meeting, Science and Technology from a Global Perspective, will emphasize the power of science and technology as well as education to assist less-developed segments of the world society, to improve partnerships among already-developed countries, and to spur knowledge-driven transformations across a host of fields.

The Forum for School Science, a regular event at the AAAS meeting, will center on the GK-12 program. "Programs that Create a New Science Professional: The Ph.D. as Public Educator" is scheduled for Friday afternoon, February 15. Through a series of panels and a poster session, the Forum will:

• describe the GK-12 collaborations/partnerships;
• provide steps for developing and sustaining these partnerships;
• examine the value added for the institutions and the individuals involved; and
• offer data and analyses form projects and outside evaluators on the effectiveness of the program and the impact on graduate students, teachers, the universities, and the school systems.

8th Annual NSF GK-12 Meeting
February 29 - March 2, 2008
Renaissance Hotel
999 Ninth Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20001
ph (202) 898-9000

More than 500 people attended. They represented 104 projects from 42 states and Puerto Rico. You can view the following information from the 2007 meeting:

Agenda:  View 2008 Agenda with links to presentations

Communicating Science and Mathematics: GK-12 Teacher Professional Development Workshops
May 21, 2008
New Jersey's Science and Technology University (NJIT)

A FREE day-long series of hands-on activities, demonstrations, workshops and discussions led by teachers, graduate students and staff engaged in National Science Foundation education programs from around the NY-NJ metro area. Workshop audience: Science and Math Teachers, grades 6-12.

Registration:  Register online.

7th Annual NSF GK-12 Meeting
March 9-11, 2007
Renaissance Hotel
999 Ninth Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20001
ph (202) 898-9000

More than 500 people attended. They represented 104 projects from 42 states and Puerto Rico. You can view the following information from the 2007 meeting:

Abstracts of Graduate Student Posters (presented at NSF):  View abstracts
Abstracts of Project Team Members:  View abstracts
Agenda:  View 2007 Agenda
Iron Scientist Video:  View video, hosted on GO GK-12 website
List of Participants:  Download PDF

Both locations will feature presenters from the Centers for Disease Control, the National Coaches Clinics in Phoenix, organizers of the National Science Olympiad competition in Washington, D.C., and members of the Science Olympiad national rules committee.

Fall Seminar Series Highlights Innovative Engineering Education
September - December, 2006
Center for Engineering Education Outreach,
Curtis Hall, Tufts University, 474 Boston Ave., Medford MA

Registration Fees:   Free
Information Contact:  Kevin Staszowski | kevin.staszowski@tufts.edu |

Seminars scheduled at 3:30-4:30 p.m. on the following dates:
  
October 2: MFPYB: Picking a Winner
Stephan Turnipseed, Pitsco LEGO Educational Division

October 16: Active Physics Approach
Arthur Eisenkraft, U of Massachusetts

October 30: Design Squad -- Engineering Programming for PBS Kids
David Wallace, MIT

November 6: Teach Engineering.Com, Resources for K-12 Educators
Malinda Zarske, U of Colorado

November 20: Technological Literacy at the Boston Museum
Yvonne Spicer, Boston Museum of Science

November 27: Finding Results in the NSF Research Data
Paul Horwitz, Concord Consortium

December 4: Do Skills/Knowledge Acquired in Arts Transfer to Engineering?
Ellen Winner, Boston College