[SEMCO] Professional Development Workshop

[Robert Rocha]

The New Bedford Whaling Museum, in partnership with the Museum Institute
for Teaching Science (MITS), will host a workshop for teachers in grades
3-6 during the weekend of March 16 & 17. This 10 hour workshop will
introduce teachers to whale related topics which can be used to teach
concepts prescribed by MA science and mathematics frameworks. Details,
including contact information, are below:

 

 

 

Whales may not travel in schools the way that fish do. But, they can be
used within several disciplines in a school building to help us teach
several important concepts. This ten hour workshop will demonstrate ways
to use whales and their kin to teach food chains, math, geography,
reading comprehension and taxonomy. You'll leave with a packet of
activities, links to useful web sites and a greater appreciation for
whales, dolphins and porpoises.

 

Target audience: Teachers of grades 3-6

 

Graduate credit and PDPs: Teachers may choose to earn one graduate
credit or 10 PDPs for 10 hours of class time. Credit is optional and
costs $50.00 payable to Cambridge College. PDPs are free and will be
granted by Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS).

 

Meeting time:   Saturday March 16, 2013    8:30a - 4:30p and 

   Sunday, March 17, 2013      12:00p - 4:30p 

 

Location:   New Bedford Whaling Museum

                   18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA

 

Instructor:  Robert Rocha, Science Director, New Bedford Whaling Museum

 

Cost:    $30.00 tuition payable to New Bedford Whaling Museum

$50.00 one graduate credit from Cambridge College

 

Course description: This ten hour course will introduce teachers to
whale/cetacean related topics which can be used to teach concepts
prescribed by state science and mathematics frameworks. Each session
will include information, practice of math and science activities for
students, and take-home resources for teaching each concept.  

 

Course objectives: Participants will be able to:

1.                  Explain the anatomical differences between toothed
and baleen whales.

2.                  Use inexpensive props to teach these features to
their students.

3.                  Utilize a conversational story about young whales to
teach comprehension and reading skills.

4.                  Use a dichotomous key to identify several cetacean
species.

5.                  Explain transfer of energy through marine
ecosystems.

6.                  Utilize a variety of cetacean facts as the basis for
mathematical comparisons, conversions and calculations.

7.                  Use historical whaling data as the basis for
mathematical word problems.

8.                  Understand the historical whaling connection between
this region and the Azores.

9.                  Take absolute locations from a primary source
document and plot them on a map.

10.              Describe the natural history of several species of
whales found in New England.

 

Course expectations: Participants taking the course for credit will be
expected to:

1.	Attend both classroom sessions
2.	Take a pre- and post-workshop assessment quiz to gauge
effectiveness of the course.
3.	Complete reading and homework assignments and submit lesson plan
by due date.
4.	Participate in class activities and discussions
5.	Develop a lesson plan for their own use

 

 

 

Robert C. Rocha, Jr.

Science Director

New Bedford Whaling Museum

18 Johnny Cake Hill

New Bedford, MA 02740

(508) 717-6849

rrocha at whalingmuseum.org

 

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