Professional Development for Teachers

2012-2013 Academic Year

Sponsored by IDEAS Institute of Hofstra University

Adopt-A-Trout Workshops for Teachers of Grades 4 and above

Adopt-a-Trout builds upon Trout in the Classroom (TITC), a conservation-oriented environmental education program for K-12 students promoted by Trout Unlimited (TU), by extending student experience with the life cycle of the Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from the classroom to the stream. On Long Island, students participating in TITC raise Brook Trout from eggs to fingerlings, and release them into streams and lakes, including Shu Swamp Preserve, Long Island, NY, part of the Oyster Bay Stewardship area and their only known spawning ground in western Long Island.  Adopt-a-Trout allows students to participate in a radiotelemetry research  project monitoring movements of newly released 1) young of the year (YOY) within the Preserve  to determine microhabitat preferences and 2) mature Brook Trout (1+ year) to determine whether they migrate to brackish waters. Since the summer of 2012, we have been releasing radio-tagged and PIT-tagged YOY and mature trout provided by the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery. By Fall 2013 we will have tagged 30 YOY and over 200 mature trout. Movements of tagged fish are recorded by Hofstra University graduate students and faculty, school and local community groups, and TU volunteers. Stream characteristics are assessed using established survey procedures (Stream Visual Assessment Protocol) that are designed to be conducted by lay groups. All data is made available online at www.adoptatrout.com in the form of spreadsheets and interactive maps (ArcGIS Online). A curriculum guide aimed for middle to high school audiences has been developed and is available at the site. The curriculum guide introduces students to the uses of telemetry and guides them in developing hypotheses about the movements of Brook Trout that they then test with the online data. We also maintain a blog at the site, providing daily updates of research and educational activities supplemented by photos and movies.

Instructor: Dr. Peter Daniel, Biology Department, Hofstra University

1. Adopt-A-Trout Introduction              Wed. 4/24, 2013    4 - 8 pm

This workshop is a general introduction to the Adopt-a-Trout  program and the related classroom modules that are available.  Participants will learn about the research objectives and procedures of the Adopt-A-Trout study in which teachers and their students can participate. The program website and teaching modules developed for classroom use will be demonstrated, and will be available for use by attendees.  


2. Adopt-A-Trout Field Experience       Sat. 4/27, 2013  9 am - 1 pm

This workshop will present the “hands-on” portion of the program, including a live demonstration of the telemetry techniques that will be used to track the trout.  Workshop #1 is a prerequisite.

Cost: $50 per workshop for 4 hours toward professional development credit. 

To download a registration form, click here. [PDF]

STEM Studio Lesson Wednesday Workshops for
Teachers of Grades 3-7

The STEM Studio launches the 2012-13 season with a year-long focus on STEM unifying concepts. Through a problem-based, hands-on, minds-on format, students in grades 3-8 explore the following ideas and questions.
Stability & Change: Is there a balance?                                
Patterns: Where do they start?
Scale, Proportion, Quantity: What’s the big deal?                
Systems: How do they work?
Cause and Effect: Does one thing always lead to another?
Matter and Energy: Is there a difference?
These workshops are designed especially for teachers interested in learning how to offer problem-based challenges to students.  Each workshop will explore the questions listed above in the general content areas in the title of the workshop.

Instructors:  Kathy Chapman and Donna Migdol, Oceanside School District

All workshops will be held on Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m. in the Hofstra STEM Studio, Hagedorn Hall, Hofstra South Campus.  Register for each workshop separately, there are no prerequisites. 

#1     Growing and Changing: The Living Environment                            September 19, 2012

#2     Forces and Motion: The Physical Setting                            November 7, 2012

#3     Pushes and Pulls: The Physical Setting                            February 6, 2013
         
#4     Classifying and Modeling: The Living Environment                            April 3, 2013      

Cost: $50 per workshop for 2 hours toward professional development credit. 

To download a registration form for any of the STEM Studio Lesson Workshops for Teachers of Grades 3-7, click here. [PDF]