Engineering: It's Elementary
Marriott Ballroom 1, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown
Pre-Conference Session
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
Are you looking for ways to add enthusiasm and motivation to your science classes? This CESI session will help you get hands-on with two NEW elementary engineering programs. Join us in a day filled with exciting engineering investigations you can take right back to your classroom. Come learn about the latest in STEM initiatives:
- Engineering is Elementary (EiE) is a project from the Boston Museum of Science. EiE lessons not only promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning but also connects with literacy and social studies. Unit storybooks feature characters from around the world and encourage children to delve into an engineering design challenge.
- Family Engineering is an after-school program modeled after the successful Family Math and Family Science programs. These innovative, hands-on lessons help teachers facilitate informal events where families can explore engineering skills while they engage in inquiry, creativity, and problem-solving activities together.
Our goal is to send you home ready to teach an EiE lesson and to lead an evening of informal engineering experiences for your students and their families. You will leave with free instructional materials – to include a sample EiE literature book and the complete Family Engineering activity guide ($45 value). Registration includes lunch. Cost: $75
Register Online (pay by credit card)
https://secure.touchnet.com/C20271_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=1146
Registration Form (pay by check or Purchase Order) - See Attachment
 Registration Form | 87 Kb |
Making a Science Foundation Elementary
From NSTA Reports, January 2012 - Vol 23 No. 5
By Judy McKee
“You just gave me goose bumps! I do think the story needs to be told. Almost anyone can tell you who his or her elementary teachers were. And they will remember the moment they discovered they were ‘doing’ science,” commented Barbara Tharp, president of the Council for Elementary Science International (CESI), NSTA’s elementary affiliate, after hearing former early-elementary teacher recount how students have thanked her for making science an exciting linchpin to their classroom achievement.
During a keynote speech at a recent Illinois Science Teachers Association conference, National Geographic’s Brady Barr, PhD, choked up as he recalled several elementary school teachers who nurtured his scientific interests and sense of wonder. He claimed to be an average student growing up in middle America, far from the exotic expeditions he would undertake to search for the most unique reptiles in the world. None of his teachers could have predicted he would be the first scientist ever to capture and study all 23 species of crocodilians in the wild. Simple things – like being in charge of the second-grade aquarium and studying biodiversity in a classroom rain forest in fifth grade – piqued his interest and inspired him to pursue his dreams and aspirations.
Though many of us will not know if former students reach Barr’s level of achievement, we do know the intrinsic rewards of opening a child’s eyes to how the world works. Young children have a natural sense of curiosity. They deserve excellent science experiences guided by teachers who can lead them from curiosity to understanding.
A former elementary science lab teacher reports, “Many challenged students bloomed as they worked on real problems in the varied open-ended situations science provides.” She remembers a struggling learner who proudly discovered a real talent for gently picking up crayfish, garnering well-deserved credit from classmates during a pond study. Another boy experiencing learning and emotional difficulties was overjoyed to receive an answer from his hero, Stephen Hawking, after being encouraged by his teacher to write to him.
One NSTA retiree explained, “Working with kids on a science concept, engaging them in experiences, knowing what to do and say to get them to one of those ‘aha’ moments was just the best. Honestly, remembering those times with children is enough to bring tears to my eyes, and it is what brought me the greatest joy and satisfaction.”
Science taught well in elementary school establishes the foundation for middle and high school teachers to achieve their goals. If they have to start from scratch, those teachers cannot be expected to prepare students to be well-informed citizens or to participate effectively in an increasingly scientific and technological world.
Children do not forget their outstanding teachers. At the end of the year, one first grader recalled his teacher fondly. “She was awesome. She taught us all about the world and space. And speaking of space, I think she is the best teacher in the universe!”
Barbara Tharp encourages elementary teachers, telling them, “Whether it is turning celery leaves red or blue, blowing up a ‘volcano,’ or counting the legs on a bug with children, elementary teachers leave a lasting impression – hopefully a positive one! Teachers need to be reminded that they are pivotal in the lives of young children. They set the stage for inquiry from the little ‘whys’ to the inventions of the future. As president of CESI, I hope to encourage more elementary science teachers to the set the tone for science.”
Elementary Extravaganza
Friday, March 30, 2012 - 8:00-9:30 AM
500 Ballroom, Indiana Convention Center
This Extravaganza is not to be missed! Join elementary groups of professionals for an exceptional opportunity. Gather resources for use in your classroom immediately. Engaging hands-on activities, strategies to excite and encourage your students, a preview of the best trade books available, information about award opportunities, contacts with elementary science organizations, sharing with colleagues, door prizes, and much more will be available to participants.
Walk away with a head full of ideas and arms filled with materials.
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2011 NSTA National Conference - Indianapolis
Council for Elementary Science International Luncheon Speaker: Michael DiSpezio
3D Illusion Madness! The History, Science, and Everyday Application of Perceiving 3D!
3D movies, TVs, cell phones, and classrooms! What's the scoop and science underlying this eye-popping technology and how is it most effectively ported into the science classroom? In this fun, engaging and hands-on/minds-on session, you'll experience 3D magic as you learn how to take your own 3D photographs using an ordinary digital camera! Appropriate for all grade levels, learn tips, techniques and inexpensive ways to add depth to your teaching - plus get a heads-up on what to expect in the 3D consumer market.
Michael DiSpezio Bio
Michael is a renaissance educator, speaker, television host and author. A former marine biologist, Michael completed his graduate studies at the Marine Biological Lab at Woods Hole and worked as a research assistant to a Nobel prize winner. Leaving the laboratory, he celebrated his passion in education as a K-12 classroom teacher for nearly ten years. Towards the end of that tenure, he began writing textbooks and was awarded his first authorship on a high school chemistry series. Extensive travel has taken him from the Emmys with an award nominated show on HIV to the Bahamas where he developed the Discovery Channel Camp at Atlantis. He has hosted numerous broadcasts and worked on a range of shows and products for clients that include NSTA, National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, PBS, MTV, Exxon, DuPont, and the Weather Channel. To date, he is the author of over 30 trade books and has co-authorship on nearly 4 dozen science textbooks including the newly released Science Fusion, a K-8 science series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.