DOE Academies Creating Teacher Scientists (ACTS) for Middle School Science Teachers as Investigators Program
Summer Activities:
The three-year program involves teams of two or three middle school science teachers from one middle school or district in Washington and Alaska. The program, based on the NSES Science Standards and AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy, immerses teacher teams in adult learning scenarios drawn from engineering, technology development, and scientific research efforts conducted at PNNL. The focus for this cohort of teachers is on physical science with an emphasis on sustainability. Teachers have the opportunity to deepen their own science content knowledge, skills and habits of mind by working directly with PNNL scientists and engineers in applied learning environments. Based on these scenarios as well as other workshops/seminars, teachers will explore how to use their learning at PNNL to enrich and extend the core science program they deliver to students.
Academic Year Activities:
Teachers, as well as a key administrator and a team coach, participate in the National Academy for Curriculum Leadership. This three-year professional development program in science education leadership is an intensive academic year course of study focused on curriculum reform through the implementation of standards-based instructional materials.
Length: Twelve days in summer and eight days in the academic year for three years
Discipline Covered: Middle School Physical Science
Target Audience: Middle School Science Teachers
For more information, please contact Peggy Willcuts peggy.willcuts@pnl.gov.