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BSTARS Course Syllabus
The BSTARS course includes a sequence of integrated events and activities which are described in detail in sections I – III below. Colorado School of Mines' Teacher Enhancement Program will grant 3.5 graduate-level relicensure semester credit hours to participants who successfully complete the course. The $140 cost of the credits must be paid by the participant. You may elect to take the course with or without the credit. Arrangements for course credit will be made during the BSTARS program.
I. One Day BSTARS Conference – December 5, 2007,
NCAR Mesa Lab
Agenda
| 8:00 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
| 8:30 – 10:15 | Plenary (1.75 hour lecture) 8:30 Welcome and introduction- Overview of atmospheric and climate research at NCAR, Tim Killeen, Director, National Center for Atmospheric Research 8:45 Orientation to BSTARS Program goals and activities, Dr. Roberta Johnson, Director, UCAR 9:30 Keynote – Challenges and opportunities of bilingual science education (speaker TBD) |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Break |
| 10:30 – Noon | Break out session I (.5 hour lecture, 1 hour lab)
|
| Noon – 1:00 | Lunch |
| 1:00 – 2:30 | Break out session II (.5 hour lecture, 1 hour lab)
|
| 2:30 – 2:45 | Break |
| 2:45 – 3:30 | Wrap up session (.5 hour lecture. .25 hour lab)
|
| 3:30 | Adjourn |
*NOTE: Break out sessions
Each break out session will present basic Earth and space science concepts important for building standards aligned comprehension of science in Middle and High School classrooms. The workshop will entail 1/3 lecture explanations and 2/3 hands-on lab experiences with UCAR’s bilingual science inquiry and education resources, including discussion about how these resources can build a scaffolding in the bilingual classroom, family, and community to enhance language and science literacy and interest in pursuing higher level classes, degrees, and careers in the geosciences.
II. BSTARS Online Course
Objective:
To connect bilingual science educators with online geoscience education resources while building geoscience content knowledge and providing a space for discussion between educators.
The online course will commence in December and conclude in April. Each month will include readings (and self-assessments for each), a graded quiz (participants can retake as many times as they want, to improve their scores) for each major topic area, a discussion forum for each major topic area, and a list of activities for each major topic area. We expect that teachers will spend about 8 hours on the course every month.
December - Educator participants become familiar with each other and continue to build community while also becoming familiar with the online course software, Moodle. Participants introduce themselves to classmates in a discussion forum and describe the regional climate of a place that they have visited or would like to visit.
January- The subjects of climate and Earth system science are broadly explored via online readings, self assessments, and links to classroom activities. Participants discuss topics in an online forum and complete a quiz based on reading content. Optional content about how we study climate and paleoclimatology is provided for participants as well.
February and March - Over this two month period, BSTARS participants explore the parts of the Earth system including the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the atmosphere, the geosphere, the biosphere, and Sun-Earth connections. Participants choose at least one of these topics each month and complete readings, self-assessments, and a quiz on that topic. Links to associated classroom activities, other resources, and a discussion forum complete each topic area.
April - The future of global climate change is explored through readings that focus on the latest IPCC reports, global climate models, and specific case studies of how future climate change will likely affect our planet and civilizations. Participants will complete a quiz to assess content understanding and participate in a final discussion forum to share thoughts about this subject.
III. One-day BSTARS Winter Teachers Workshop
Teachers will attend a workshop on Saturday, February 23, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM, at the NCAR Mesa Lab. The agenda is available as a PDF download.
With a goal of reinforcing the development of an ongoing community of BSTARS teachers, course participants will choose to take part in a Saturday workshop offered on February 23rd. The agenda will focus on extending understanding of the Earth system science and modeling and building on concepts shared to date in the December – January section of the online course. They will receive more in-depth information about the earth system, weather, and climate, and have guided practice in conducting more hands-on activities that illustrate these concepts to students.
Teachers will share their experiences in applying BSTARS resources in the classroom with their bilingual students. They will also describe their plans for students to develop projects to be shared with their community and families during the May 10 BSTARS Family Geosciences Learning Fair to be held at the NCAR Mesa Lab
NEW! Downloadable documents discussed in the workshop:
Opportunities in the Geosciences presentation by Roberta Johnson (.PPT file, 18MB), also available in a .zip archive
BSTARS Geoscience Fair documents:
