August 8, 1997
First workshop on science education for K-12 teachers to be held in Forks Aug. 18-22
A one-week intensive workshop, designed to help teachers interpret and implement new state and national standards in science education, will be held at the Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks Aug. 18-22.
The Summer Science Institute, offered by the UW in cooperation with Western Washington University and the Quillayute Valley School District, is the first of its kind held in this state. It will emphasize the incorporation of hands-on, inquiry-based science into the school curriculum, an important part of the state’s new Essential Academic Learning Requirements.
The institute also will focus on the uses of technology to enhance science instruction. Electronic online discussion groups for teachers will begin after the institute. The institute’s lessons will be available on the World Wide Web via the Quillayute Valley School District’s home page.
Follow-up sessions will be held in October and March on teacher in-service training days. The Summer Science Institute in Forks will serve as a prototype for future such workshops, to be held in collaboration with interested school districts from around the state.
The Summer Science Institute is one of a number of initiatives undertaken by the UW to extend educational opportunities for upper division, graduate and professional development education to people who live in communities where such opportunities historically have been restricted.
The Olympic Natural Resources Center is a UW facility funded by the state legislature. In addition to conducting research on natural resource issues, the center’s personnel work with the elementary and secondary school system, and both Grays Harbor and Peninsula community colleges, to provide unique educational experiences. For example, the center is partners with Olympic Peninsula elementary schools in operating a demonstration forest near Sequim that is used for environmental education. The center also has implemented an Internet partnership with 16 school systems around the state to develop team projects on environmental issues involving students from different schools systems, using the center as an information resource.
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For information:
Louis Fox, special assistant to the president for inter-institutional initiatives, (206) 685- 4745. <!—at end of each paragraph insert
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