Science summer institute offered for middle and high school teachers

Hagerstown Community College has announced a new workshop series available to middle and high school teachers in July 2010 through the Maryland Space Grant Consortium. The Maryland SATELLITES Summer Teacher Institute will be offered from July 26 through July 30 at Towson University in Baltimore.

The summer institute will focus on geospatial technologies and earth science observation and measurement and is intended for science, geography, technology, and mathematics instructors teaching grades six through 12. Special emphasis will be placed on the use of geospatial technologies in the classroom. Guest speaker will be Don Thomas, former NASA shuttle astronaut and director of the Hackeman Academy of Mathematics and Science at Towson University.

Participants will receive a GPS instrument valued at $125; an infrared thermometer (IRT), also valued at $125; a stipend of $500; GIS and remote sensing software; course and classroom materials including digital geospatial data for Md. counties; and GLOBE certification in cloud, snow, and surface temperature protocols. A continental breakfast and lunch will also be provided. Teachers may earn three graduate geography credits during fall 2010 from Towson University.

To receive their stipend, participants are required to complete all activities offered during the summer institute; participate in a GLOBE project and inquiry-based investigation through a specified local field campaign in fall 2010; submit a classroom project created from the GLOBE field campaign investigation in spring 2011; and submit a reflective document describing the outcomes of their classes’ participation in the field campaign and classroom project.

For more information or to register, contact Jay Morgan, Department of Geography and Environmental Planning at Towson University, by calling 410-704-2964 or by e-mailing jmorgan@towson.edu.

HCC has been an affiliate member of the Maryland Space Grant Consortium since 1994. To learn more about the Maryland Space Grant Consortium, go to
http://md.spacegrant.org.