Here you can find information about the workshops that I have helped to put on either as a group or as an individual.
Transitioning to the New Science Standards
Roxbury CSD
Description: For six years I worked closely with the elementary teachers at Roxbury to help them transition to the new standards. I’ve given presentations on how to read the standards, I’ve sat down with many of them one-on-one to help them figure out what they will be required to teach, we brainstormed together, and I modeled what phenomena-based lessons could look like. Roxbury has an incredible staff and together we have worked hard towards this change in curriculum. I feel our proactive approach has put us ahead of most districts in this regard.
Connecting Science to Your Community – Virtual Field Experiences and Topographic Maps – October 26th, 2021
Link to video of this presentation
Description: Finding ways to make the curriculum relevant to students is an important component in motivating students. What better way to engage students than to relate the concepts to your community. Part of this workshop was devoted to incorporating Virtual Field Experiences into the classroom. The other part of this presentation was spent discussing how topographic maps could be used to explore your local topography as well as to look at how land use has changed over time. Both of these could be useful tools for classrooms that have had to go remote.
A Global Approach to Human Impacts – November 2nd, 2019
2019 STANYS Conference – Earth Science Institute
Description: The issues facing our globe are not ours to face alone. As our society becomes more interconnected it is important that the nations of the world come together to work towards developing solutions. To do this the perspectives and values of other cultures need to be considered. The goal of this presentation is to give a brief overview of how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations can be used as a framework to help our students become globally competent students. Ideas will be shared on how to use technology to expose students to new cultures and different ways of thinking.
Geology of the Castkills – August 2018
Michael Kudish Preserve, Stamford NY
Description: I taught an interactive lesson on the geology of the Catskills to the youth that were participating in a summer program at the Michael Kudish Preserve. By the end of the morning students had created flip books illustrating the geologic processes that formed what we see today. Each student left with a fossilized clam that I had gathered on a trip out west earlier in the summer.
Climate Change Across Curricula – May 11th, 2018
Bus Tour of the Schoharie Creek Watershed
Description: Climate change is going to change the way of life and it may impact the livelihoods of countless people. This workshop was designed to look at the potential local impacts of climate change. Participants spent the day traveling through the Schoharie Creek Watershed making several stops to learn about our region. There were teachers of all grade levels and disciplines. Local experts as well as area students joined the teachers on the trip and shared their knowledge. The diversity led to some powerful conversations and many new perspectives on this issue.
Workshop flyer
Workshop Agenda
Daily Star Article
A Student Centered Guide to Teaching Mapping – November 6th, 2017
2017 STANYS Conference
Description: Mapping is an important skill in so many fields that people may get into. Many students believe that being able to read a map is an obsolete skill because they can just use their GPS but this is not true. This session was aimed to demonstrate how to relate mapping to the individual interests students may have. Part of the presentation focused on showcasing work that my students had done. Next I modeled how to use some interactive mapping software. At the end participants had the opportunity to explore the resources.
What’s In Your Backyard?
A Showcase of some of the resources available to area teachers
Description: This was my first full-day workshop that I organized and led individually. The goals that I had set were to bring area science teachers together as well as to showcase what resources we have available in our community. We began at the NY Power Authority’s visitor center in Blenheim. Next we went to Minekill falls for a presentation on local geology by Dr. Robert Titus. Our day ended with a trip to the Gilboa Museum.
Science on the Sandlot – May 10th, 2017
National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum
Description: The first of our workshops that we have put on through the Catskill-Leatherstocking Chapter of the Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS). In the morning area teachers led workshops on topics ranging from photosynthesis, understanding the new science standards, and incorporating the new science standards within the elementary classroom. In the afternoon the Baseball Hall of Fame gave a presentation on the science of sports to the participants.