News on NCSCE and its initiatives is updated biweekly in the SENCER Digital Library (see link at right). 

Join us in DC this March for the 2012 Washington Symposium!

The 2012 Washington Symposium and Capitol Hill Poster Session will be held March 11-13. Our program will feature keynote addresses from the hosts of the popular radio program Talk of the Nation: Science Friday, and will link what SENCER community members are accomplishing to best practices recommended by seminal reports published by the National Academies. Participants will have the opportunity to meet with members of their congressional delegations, and to present their posters to representatives of government agencies, educational associations, and disciplinary societies. Visit the Symposium site to learn more.

New Article on Civic Engagement and Teacher Ed by Leadership Fellow

Sarah Haines, SENCER Leadership Fellow and Associate Professor at Towson University, recently released an article in the Journal for Civic Commitment. Her piece, “Pre-Service EdZoocation: Strengthening Teacher Education with Civic Engagement and Community Partnerships” documents a course for 18 pre-service teachers in their junior year. The course incorporates service-learning activities, and content focuses on biological concepts including living organisms in the environment. Additionally, books including Silent Spring, A Sand County Almanac, and Inside Out: Environmental Science in the Classroom & Field are read and discussed by students. Course assessments demonstrate that students viewed the experience positively. To read the article, please visit http://www.mesacc.edu/other/engagement/Journal/Issue17-Fall/haines--final.pdf.

Apply Now to Participate in SSI 2012

The 2012 SENCER Summer Institute will be hosted by Santa Clara University from August 2-6 in Santa Clara, California.  We invite you to apply to participate as an institutional team or as an individual.

During the Institute, SENCER will offer sessions designed particularly for the needs of newcomers, and those with advanced experience.  A suite of follow-up activities for teams is currently being developed and will support the post-Institute work back on campus during the fall following SSI 2012. The Institute program will also feature many opportunities for participants to present information on their own work to improve STEM education, including concurrent sessions and a poster reception. Networking opportunities and designated team time, often noted by past participants as two of the most valuable parts of the Institute, will be prioritized in planning.  Specific sessions will be determined based on needs and interests of invited participants. SENCER will also provide teams the opportunity for personal consultations with leaders to work intensely on the implementation of team planned project(s).

Applications have been posted to the SSI 2012 page at www.sencer.net. The deadline to submit an application is February 21, 2012. If you have any questions about the Institute, please don't hesitate to contact Amanda Moodie (amanda.moodie@sencer.net).

Campus Update: Focusing Student Talent on Environmental Issues

One SENCER alum’s training informed a course in environmental media that some students described as life-changing. Penny Bernstein, associate professor of biological sciences at Kent State University at Stark (North Canton, OH), and participant in the SENCER Summer Institute 2010 (Asheville, NC), developed the basic pattern for the spring 2011 class. The goal was to have students work with community partners to focus on specific environmental issues facing the region’s watersheds, producing short documentary films that addressed those problems.

A team of biology and journalism faculty worked together to teach the science of watersheds and the challenges they face, as well as videography and storytelling skills. Students from a variety of majors, including biology and journalism, pooled their diverse experiences and skills to form working groups. Community partner representatives lectured about specific issues they were seeking help with. The class moved fast. The first session coincided with a meeting of the Nimishillen Creek Watershed Partners, so students were immersed in their local watershed’s real-world issues from the start. Click here to read more.

Call for Nominations Open for 2012 Individual and Team Bennett Awards

NCSCE is accepting nominations for the 2012 William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Citizen Science.  The award was established in 2009 and named in honor of its first recipient.  The award is given annually to a individual and team whose SENCER and other related activities have made exemplary and extraordinary contributions to citizen science. The 2012 award recipients will be announced during the spring.  Nominations should include a CV for the nominated person(s), and a letter that will allow the review committee to assess the individual or team’s contributions to citizen science.  Up to two letters of support may be included but are not required.  Please send nomination materials to danielle.kraus@ncsce.net by February 28th.

 


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National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement Program under grant DUE-0717407.