Contra Costa County Office of Education

April 2015

Featured Sections

Contra Costa County Office of Education's Common Core State Standards Distinguished Speakers Series

Teacher Opportunities and Professional Development

Classroom Resources and Websites

Student Opportunities

STEAM News and Events

Greetings!

Thank you to all who made the 5th annual SF Bay Area STEAM Colloquium: Full STEAM Ahead: Designing for Learning a successful event. More than 300 educators participated in 36 breakout sessions, featured speakers, and the resource fair. Presentations and resources can be found at the STEAM Colloquium website. Enjoy the artwork of Laurie Marshall inspired by the day.

Plan to share your best practices in STEAM in 2016. Look for a save-the-date email. The planning committee consisting of educators from Contra Costa County Office of Education, Alameda County Office of Education, and Gateways East Bay STEM Network developed an exceptional day. I would especially like to thank Chevron and Gateways East Bay STEM Network for their sponsorship. Without their support, this event could not take place.

As we approach the spring, many programs are accepting applications for the summer. Check out the opportunities for educators, parents, and students to engage in STEAM.

Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
Resources for NGSS The Next Generation Science Standards website has resources for implementing NGSS into the classrooms. Current resources include the EQuIP rubric for evaluating lessons and units, sample classroom tasks and NGSS evidence statements. Sign up for NGSS Now, a monthly newsletter to stay informed.

California NGSS State Rollout #2

Save the Date for the NGSS Statewide Rollout Phase 2. This two-day Symposia will be offered several times around the state. Come explore the next steps in the journey toward NGSS Implementation. This is a collaborative effort that includes the California Department of Education, California Science Project, California Science Teachers Association, Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee, and the K-12 Alliance/WestEd.

Each district is encouraged to bring a team of 4-6 including an administrator, high school science teacher, middle school science teacher, elementary teacher and other science leaders in your district.

San Joaquin County Office of Education on April 27th and 28th. Click here for the event flyer Click here to register online.

Teacher Opportunities and Professional Development

Cal Alive! Explore Change Summer Institute

Join scientist, educators, and naturalists in the Sierra Nevada for a 6-day residential exploration of environmental change. The institute focuses on connecting NGSS, teaching practices, grades 4-12 learning progressions and resources. $99 early bird price for registrations expires on May 12.

The institute takes place on June 19-21 and 26-28. For more information and to register visit www.calalive.org.

IISME Summer Fellowship

Are you ready to experience a summer of innovation, collaboration, renewed energy and professional growth? Apply for an IISME Summer Fellowship! The IISME Summer Fellowship Program places eligible K-16 teachers from all disciplines into high-performance corporate and research environments for the summer. Teachers work full-time for eight weeks, complete a project for their Host organization, and are paid $8,200 for their work. Teachers devote 10% of their paid time to focus on how they will transfer their Summer Fellowship experience back to their students and colleagues.

For more information about the IISME Summer Fellowship Program and to apply, please visit www.iisme.org/teachers

Fun Exchanges and Activities for Science Teachers (FEAST)

Join secondary science teachers at Chabot Space and Science Center for networking and sharing science resources. FEAST meets once a month on Saturdays. The next two dates are April 25 (natural and earth science) and May 30. FEAST will be held from 9:00 a.m. to noon. There is a $10 per-session fee.

To register and for more information, visit their website.

Inventing our Future: Integrated Learning Summer Institute

Save the date for Inventing our Future 2015 at the Chabot Space and Science Center, sponsored by Alameda County Office of Education. Join educators on August 11-13, while building collaborative relationships and professional practice.

The institute promotes the thoughtful alignment of content standards, assessments and powerful learning across the curriculum through an engaging and cost-effective professional development model. Inventing Our Future is a project of the Alameda County Office of Education in partnership with Contra Costa, San Francisco, Napa, Marin, Solano and San Mateo County Offices of Education, in the CCSESA Region 4. For more information, visit their website.

Google's Education on Air: Free Online Conference for Educators

Join educators around the world on May 8th and 9th for Education on Air. This free conference is run by educators for educators. Topics include "increasing student collaboration" to "fostering innovation in schools."

PEAK Student Energy Actions Professional Development

PEAK is an exciting STEM-based education program that teaches the science of energy and empowers students to become smart energy managers and explore eco-careers through hands-on lab and action activities!

PEAK is thrilled to be enrolling new teachers into the program and holding a workshop at the Contra Costa County Office of Education on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015! To sign up for this workshop, please register online. To learn more about PEAK, please contact Audrey Knox at (510) 444-5060 ext. 15. You can visit them online at www.peakstudents.org.

Technology Classes at Krause Center for Innovation (KCI)

Join the excitement! Take a FASTtech class at KCI's state-of-the-art facility located on the Foothill College campus or select an online course! These low-cost short courses enable educators to learn and enhance technology skills to support their curriculum and further inspire and engage their students. You will learn to use a variety of computer software for both your personal and professional use and can earn professional growth units.

Pay a once-per-quarter $36 basic fee plus $31 per unit tuition. For more information and to register, visit their website.

2015 Teacher Research Academy (TRA)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Teacher Research Academy (TRA) is now registering teachers for the 2015 TRA. The TRA offers middle school, high school, and community college faculty unique professional development experiences at LLNL. TRA teachers participate in a continuum of standards-based instruction, enabling them to progress from novice to mastery in exciting scientific disciplines while they experience the application of real world science in an environment teachers seldom experience.

There is a $20 registration fee for hospitality. Courses include biotechnology, computer modeling, fusion, and astrophysics, and technical writing for science class. Visit their Web pages to view the schedule and to register.

2015 San Francisco Bay Area Project ASTRO Summer Astronomy Institute

Project ASTRO presents Space Science and the NGSS: a hands-on workshop for teachers in grades 5-12.

The workshop is schedule for August 3-6, from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Participants will receive classroom activities, The Universe at Your Fingertips DVD, and 10 Galileoscopes. Registration fee for the institute is $300, but free with scholarship. For more information and to register visit their website.

Classroom Resources
Connections Academy Blog - Visit the Moon, Virtually Elementary students can take a virtual trip to the moon. The interactive resources include tracking the moon, exploring multi-media resources and a hands-on experience re-creating the moon's surface. To learn more, visit their website.

National Education Association Foundation Global Learning K-12 Lesson Plans

Created by Learning Fellows, these lesson plans engage students in science, social studies and language arts while they learn about global issues.

For info, visit it their website.

Nano-Link: Center for Nanotechnology Education learning modules
Students grade 6-12 explore modules on topics that include unit cells, polymers and memory metals. Go to their website, www.nano-link.org for more info.

Student Opportunities

Expanding your Horizons

Register for the 2015 Expanding Your Horizons conference at DVC. This program is for 6-8 grade girls and their parents to explore careers in STEM. Attendees will engage in hands-on activities and interact with women in STEM fields.

Expanding Your Horizons will be held on Saturday, May 2, from 9:00 a.m. -2:30 p.m., at Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill. To register, visit their website for more information.

Maker Fair Bay Area
Celebrate a decade of making at the Maker Faire Bay Area 2015. Join makers from around the bay area and the world as they showcase their creativity and resourcefulness. Maker Fair 2015 will be held at the San Mateo Event Center on May 16-17. For more information, go to http://makerfaire.com/

The CCCOE STEAM enews is published regularly, highlighting news, events, and resources that enhance STEAM education for all students. If you received the STEAM enews from a colleague, please join our mailing list to continue receiving updates. This publication does not signify that the Contra Costa County Office of Education endorses the event or program mentioned.

For more information regarding CCCOE STEAM, please visit our website.

Sincerely,

Hilary Haugen Dito
CCCOE STEAM Coordinator

Associate Superintendent, Pamela Comfort, Ed.D.

925-942-3358

STEAM Coordinator, Hilary Haugen Dito

925-942-3396

Published by the Communications Office of the Contra Costa County Office of Education

Layout/Design, Diane Morrell; Web Developer, June Stephens;
Writer/Editor/Media Relations, Jonathan Lance