The community is invited to the Lake Superior Celebration at Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 23. The event is free and family friendly.
The event is sponsored by Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) and Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education in recognition of the Initiative’s five-Year anniversary.
Read more at Tech Today.
The summer course SS5150 Natural Hazards and Human Impacts will be offered from June 20-29, 2013. This 3 credit course can be applied to the M.S. degree in Applied Science Education. For more information, contact Lori Witting.
Two from Tech Among Top 25 Education Professors in Michigan
Professor Brad Baltensperger, chair of cognitive and learning sciences, and Joan Chadde, coordinator of education programs for the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, have been named among the 25 top education professors in Michigan. The list of top education professors was just released by a nonprofit organization called StateStats, whose mission is to advance education through the use of technology and information tools. StateStats provides education resources online, including lists of professors they have researched and nominated as the best in their profession.
Baltensperger was recognized for receiving a $3.8 million, four-year National Science Foundation grant, along with four colleagues, for the Michigan Teacher Excellence Program. Chadde was recognized for K-12 outreach efforts in Great Lakes education and stewardship, watershed management and stream monitoring.
According to StateStats, the top professors list is meant to highlight post-secondary educators who have been recognized recently for their excellence in the classroom, on campus or in the community.
From Tech Today.
Professor Kurt Paterson (CEE), Program coordinator Joan Schumaker Chadde (CEE) and Professor of Practice Mary Raber (ILI), “Collabroative Research: Model Curricula for Inspiring and Preparing University Students to Communicate STEM to the Public,” NSF.
From Tech Today.
Portage Library Hosts Family Science Night
The Portage Lake District Library invites all K-6 students and their parents for an evening of fun and science with the Michigan Tech Family Science Night program on Tuesday, April 9, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.
This event is sponsored by the Western UP Center for Science, Math, and Environmental Education and Michigan Tech.
Read more at Tech Today.
The Center for Water & Society World Water Day poster competition was held at the Great Lakes Research Center on Thursday March 21, 2013. In addition to the student posters, there were presentations by faculty on research and by Joan Chadde on outreach and teacher education with the Western UP Center for Science, Math & Environmental Education.
She discussed the Summer Institutes for Teachers, the Great Lakes Research Center Environmental Education teaching lab, the first ever Lake Superior Water Festival from October, and the upcoming 10th Biennial Lake Superior Youth Symposium in May 2013.
The National Society of Black Engineers Student Chapter (10 students) conducted classroom presentations at seven elementary, middle and high schools and Family Engineering Nights at three schools in Detroit during spring break week, reaching more than 2,000 students to promote college attendance and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
Joan Chadde conducted a Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS) Water Quality workshop on Belle Isle for middle and high school teachers from Detroit and metro area schools participating in the U.S. Forest Service funded project “Developing Middle and High School Students to Become Urban Forest Stewards.”
Pasi Lautala and Joan Chadde presented an Intermodal and Rail Transportation Workshop for 22 Detroit Public School teachers. The workshop is funded in part by University of Wisconsin Center for Freight Infrastructure Research and Education and included a tour of the Norfolk Southern railyards in Detroit.
From Tech Today.
It’s Not Your Typical Spring Break!
“This is a great way to increase diversity on our campus, but more importantly, to have students who can relate to these kids and show them that a college education and career in STEM is possible for them,” said Chadde.
Read more at Family Engineering.
Three new Summer Institutes are available for Teacher Professional Development. Choose
to attend this summer 2013. Application deadlines are May 20, 2013. The institutes are coordinated by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.
Alt “Spring” Break
One of the student groups ventured to Silicon Valley, where they visited high-tech giants, including Brocade Communications and their board chairman Dave House ’65.
The students also visited Autodesk, Google, Cisco, Kyocera, and Tesla, some of which employ Michigan Tech alumni. Students learned about the technology of these cutting-edge corporations, career paths in Silicon Valley, and successful business strategies.
Krista Anderson, a psychology major from Kingsford, agreed. “Being able to be part of this experience definitely reassured me that I want to work for a high-tech company someday.”
“The evening was a great success with over 130 parents and children!” said Joy Reynolds, science teacher at Ludington Magnet Middle School. Clippert Academy Middle School had similar numbers. Science teacher Tracy Ortiz said that they had nearly 100 students attending, plus their parents, at Family Engineering Night.
“This is a great way to increase diversity on our campus, but more importantly, to have students who can relate to these kids and show them that a college education and a career in STEM is possible for them,” said Joan Chadde, education/outreach coordinator for the Western UP Center for Science, Math, and Environmental Education, who accompanied the students.
Read more at TechAlum Newsletter, by Dennis Walikainen.
Spring Break: A Chance to Explore, Learn, Inspire Others
The Tech students held Family Engineering Nights at schools. These events are designed to involve the entire family in games that introduce participants to engineering and scientific principles in a fun and engaging way.
Seeing how excited the kids were by the activities inspired Niekeiya Williams. “This trip was a chance to do something rewarding,” she says. “It really reaffirmed my decision to further my education.”
Read more at Tech Today, by Travis Gendron.
Wondering what your kids will do over spring break? The Science and Engineering Spring Break Camp will be held April 2-4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the GLRC
Grades 1-2: Animals Around Us
Grades 3-5: Engineering of the Natural World
Registration is online: http://www.wupcenter.mtu.edu/ (under K-12 Students)
Read more at Tech Today.