Office of Communications

Contact: Amy Batheja

Communications Specialist

Office: (817) 531-4480

abatheja@txwes.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FREE DISCOVERY SCIENCE WORKSHOP FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS

A middle schooler's iPod won't play his favorite music without a charge from electricity, but how do you get him to care about what makes the music possible? And how do you translate that knowledge for Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) objectives? Texas Wesleyan University, through a Teacher Quality grant, is offering a Discovery Science Workshop for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teachers. You'll build content knowledge in the physical sciences (mass, matter, temperature, electricity, magnetism) and learn how to match hands-on science activities to math, reading and writing TEKS objectives.

Content: The workshop will cover a period of two years. The two-phase workshop will emphasize mass, matter and temperature in Year One and magnetism and electricity in Year Two.

Emphasis: The workshop will focus on building content knowledge, hands-on activities and materials to be taken to your classroom. It will provide opportunities to match hands-on science activities to math, reading, and writing TEKS objectives for your grade level developing your students' performance in those areas as well.
Cost: All tuition is covered by the grant. The grant will provide all books and $500 in supplies to each teacher, and will pay most of the travel costs to the Conference on Advanced Science Teaching 2009 and 2010.

Stipend: The grant provides a $300 summer stipend and reimbursement ($150) of travel. If the budget permits, an additional $2,000 stipend may be awarded to FWISD teachers at the end of each phase by the FWISD.

Level: The workshop does not assume previous university level preparation in the physical sciences. Its focus is on material useful to the middle school teacher.
Credit: The workshop carries with it 12 hours of graduate level credit in natural science which can be applied to a master's degree if desired (Three hours each in the summer of 2009, summer of 2010, fall/spring of 2009/10, and fall/spring of 2010/11).
Dates: The workshop is conducted in three weeks (1:30 to 5:30 p.m.) in the summer, Monday through Friday, June 8-June 26, and on Saturday mornings during the fall and spring terms (about 16 meetings will be scheduled in cooperation with the participants early in the workshop). Dates may change slightly for 2010-2011.
Deadline: Current interest indicates the workshop will fill quickly; please complete the application as soon as possible.

More information:

     TQ Physical Science web site

     TQ Physical Science application (online)

Questions:

Dr. Ricardo E. Rodriguez

(817) 531-4249

rrodriguez@txwes.edu

Chris Lewis

clewis@txwes.edu

Texas Wesleyan University

1201 Wesleyan St.
Fort Worth, TX 76105
Fax: 817-531-4258