Professional Development
Conferences and Seminars
National
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
The U.S. Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers includes sessions led by Supreme Court experts, journalists, authors and lawyers, who give teachers an in-depth understanding of how the Court chooses and decides cases, and what it is like to argue before the Court. This exciting opportunity culminates with a visit to the Court to hear decisions handed down and a private reception at the Court. The Institute prepares teachers to use innovative teaching methods as well as cutting-edge technology.
Beyond the content-rich sessions and activities, teachers also are equipped with the skills and tools to train fellow teachers at home. Each year, Street Law selects 30 applicants for each of two five-day institutes. The process for admission into the Supreme Court Institute is competitive, based on the information each applicant provides in her or his application. To be eligible for admission, teachers must:
- Be employed by a public, private or parochial secondary school or by a law-related education (LRE) program;
- Teach or supervise secondary school social studies, law or government;
- Be willing to train other secondary school teachers;
- Submit a letter of support from a principal, school district administrator, or supervisor;
- Complete the application at the link above
The Gilder Lehrman American History Institute-Summer Seminars for Teachers
The Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminars are designed to strengthen participants' commitment to high quality history teaching. Public, parochial, independent school teachers, National Park Service rangers, and college faculty are eligible. These weeklong seminars provide intellectual stimulation and a collaborative context for developing practical resources and strategies to take back to the classroom. Seminars are tuition-free. In addition, seminars offer: Stipends of $400 (international seminar stipend of $500), books, room and board in college dormitories. Visit the Gilder Lehrman website to learn more about seminars offered.
Statewide
Ashland University
Ashland University recognizes its responsibility to contribute toward the professional growth of educators throughout their careers. To that end, Professional Development Services collaborates with nearly 400 Ohio school districts and professional organizations. Last year there were over 27,000 teachers and administrators enrolled in over 2,389 graduate credit workshops. In addition, Ashland offers on-line opportunities for teachers to participate in professional development. Due to the extensive list of opportunities the OSSRC has offered a link to your regional professional development provider. Here you will find various workshops to participate in. You will also find information about how to apply to facilitate a workshop. Ashland University has built a reputation for giving college credit to teachers who attend these workshops.
- South West Region (serving Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Fayette, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Warren counties)
- Ashland Main Campus District (serving Allen, Ashland, Crawford, Hancock, Hardin, Holmes, Knox, Marion, Morrow, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Seneca, Van Wert, Wayne, and Wyandot counties)
- Ashland Elyria Campus (serving Cuyahoga, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Henry, Huron, Lorain, Lucas, Medina, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams, and Wood counties)
- Ashland University Columbus Center (serving Adams, Athens, Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Gallia, Guernsey, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Madison, Meigs, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingham, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Union, Vinton, nd Washington counties)
- Ashland University Massillon/Stark Center (serving Ashtabula, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Geauga, Harrison, Jefferson, Lake, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Tuscarawas counties)
The Ohio Council for the Social Studies
Mark your calendar now! the Ohio Council for the Social Studies (OCSS) is anouncing that their 2008 conference: "Vote Social Studies" will be April 10-12, 2008 at the Holiday Inn in Worthington, Ohio. Please follow the link above to view more information about the conference and to learn how to register.
Earth Expedition
Earth Expeditions is accepting applications now for its 2008 tuition-free graduate field courses offered by Miami University’s Project Dragonfly and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.
Our Field Expeditions take educators to signature conservation sites in Mongolia, Thailand, Trinidad, Costa Rica, Belize, and Namibia. Our new location for 2008 is Kenya, the original safari destination and one of the most spectacular landscapes on the planet--home of elephants, lions, giraffe, and other wildlife. In past years, Earth Expeditions students have explored Buddhism and conservation in Thailand, joined cheetah conservation efforts in Namibia, monitored blue-and-gold macaws in Trinidad, and radio-tracked Pallas cats in Mongolia. Students exchange teaching experiences with peers in other countries, and make connections with local people, while collaborating on educational approaches that make a difference.
Miami waives all tuition for these extraordinary experiences, which are open to educators from all disciplines and settings, from pre-K-12 teachers, school administrators, and university faculty, to educators and naturalists from non-school settings, such as zoos, environmental centers, businesses, youth programs, parks, and museums.
The application due date is January 28, 2008. To learn more & to apply, please visit: http://www.EarthExpeditions.org.
The Global School Bus Program: Speakers' Bureau
The Global School Bus program is the Office of International Affairs (OIA) Speakers' Bureau, a chance for the academic community at Ohio State University and the Area Studies Centers to share knowledge and expertise with pre-school to college (P-16) teachers and students, community and governmental organizations. The school, colleges and organizations use this program to distribute knowledge that prepares students and the public at large to be enlightened, articulate, and engaged citizens in a global society. The OIA speakers' Bureau "Global School Bus" program taps into the knowledge, experience, and expertise of international students and scholars, study abroad alumni, faculty and staff with international cultural experiences. Teachers, community and governmental organizations may request a speaker or project volunteer from the OIA Outreach Coordinator, who in turn fills the request by drawing on a large pool of resources and speakers/volunteers' profiles. Our speakers are trained and proficient in leading activities about other countries and cultures and engaging a variety of audiences. They come with materials and relevant artifacts to share and experience. To request a speaker: Presenters and Project Volunteers may be requested with two weeks notice. E-mail global101@osu.edu or call the OIA Outreach Coordinator, Saba Sohail, at (614) 292-6053.
Northeast Region
Economics America: Cleveland Center of Ashland University
“Funtastic” Math & Economics: Life Connections
“What do equivalent fractions and the Bermuda Triangle have in common? How about one playful dog, two dancing rabbits, three baking pies? Use these creative concepts to blend essential mathematics skills with basic economic concepts and give your students a lifelong foundation in economics and an appreciation for “real-world” math. From baking brownies to building kites to making choices tangible mathematical problem-solving techniques will be applied to everyday economic and personal finance situations. As it does in many sciences, the discipline of mathematics quite naturally represents a "language" for economics. Similarly, economics depends on mathematics to represent relationships, solve problems, and communicate ideas effectively. Many connections to children’s literature books will be explored. “Funtastic” will put it all together in a “fun” way! You will receive either the PRIME K-2 guide or the Mathematics & Economics: Connections for Life, 3-5 guide, teacher resource packet of activities and a CD-ROM with children’s literature lessons. Geared to Grades K-5 teachers, this course will be conducted April 11&12, 2008 at the
Choices and Changes
"Life if not a lottery” is a central theme to the Choices and Changes program. This series will help students develop the knowledge, reasoning skills, and confidence that will allow them to take responsibility for their futures and to understand that human behavior is a result of choices, not chance. You will help students learn that by investing in their skills and knowledge, and by learning to make sound decisions, they can gain control over and improve opportunities in their own lives. Choices and Changes uses interactive learning and hands-on activities to build students’ “human capital” skills. Lessons and activities will focus on the National and Ohio Standards in Economics and in addition, where appropriate, the English Language Arts and Math Standards. You will receive the Choices and Changes guide for the grade levels 2-4, 5-6 or 7-8. Geared to Grades 2-8, this course will be offered on February 29&
The Economics of Our Diverse Society
The Economics of Our Diverse Society: Lessons on Economic and Social Issues curriculum unit is designed for courses in social studies, economics, and civics at the secondary level. The goals of this unit are to demonstrate that economics can help students understand complex issues related to diversity and to apply economic analysis to a variety of topics such as immigration, entrepreneurship, poverty, boycotts and labor strikes. Interdependence among all nations as they face global issues related to scarce natural resources, the ecosystem and environment, nuclear weapons, poverty, immigration and human rights makes it necessary for future citizens of all nations to understand the importance of our culturally diverse world. You will have the opportunity to introduce your students to relevant economic concepts, including incentives, exchange, decision making and opportunity costs, broad social goals, human capital, investment in human capital, and entrepreneurship. For the traditional part of the course you will visit the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. The stories of individuals and families—past and present—come to life through state-of-the-art exhibitions, interactives and films, oral histories, photographs and artifacts. You will receive the curriculum guide The Economics of Our Diverse Society: Lessons on Economics & Social Issues to use with your high school students. Geared to Grades 9-12, this course will be offered on April 5 –
Southwest Region
University of Cincinnati / Economics Center for Education and Research
The
Southeast Region
Regional Teacher's Workshop: Integrating Local History Into The K-12 Classroom
On January 18th, 2008 the Ohio Council for Social Studies (OCSS) and the Buckeye Council for History Education (BCHE) will be sponsoring a workshop at the Campus Martius Museum for Washington County grades K-12 teachers on “Integrating local history into the K-12 classroom.” The one-day workshop includes sessions on: aligning instruction to Ohio Academic Content Standards (William Muthig, Ohio Department of Education); innovative lesson plans for elementary and high school teachers (OCSS members Dr. Mark Stewart, Dublin City Schools & Linda Graham, Cleveland Municipal Schools); and, local history content (Linda Showalter, Marietta College Special Collections and Dr. Jim O’Donnell, Marietta College History Department and Ohio Historical Society staff).
In addition, participating teachers will be exposed to best-practices in instruction, high-quality free online resources at the Ohio Social Studies Resource Center, National History Day in Ohio, local history education resources at Marietta College and local museums and historical societies, and representatives of OCSS and BCHE will be on hand.
All K-12 Washington County social studies teachers are invited to attend the workshop. Participating teachers will receive: breakfast & lunch, Program materials and a free one-year memberships to the OCSS and BCHE. Registration will be granted to the first 20 teachers who sign-up. This free workshop will be held from 8 AM to 4 PM at Campus Martius Museum. Teachers can register by contacting Marilyn Davis at the Ohio Historical Society at 614-297-2623 or mdavis@ohiohistory.org. Registration will be given to the first 20 elementary and 20 secondary teachers who register.
