Top > Minnesota Dept of Education Science Update > October-November, 2012 Update
Science Update, October - November 2012
This periodic update from the Minn. Dept. of Education (MDE) is being sent to a few email lists, including the Minn. Science Teachers Assn. (MnSTA) and district/organization contacts. We encourage you to forward this to other teachers and science leaders. The Science Updates are archived at www.scimathmn.org/stemtc - Resources tab and www.mnsta.org. See MDE contacts at the end of this document.
Elementary Engineering Conference, Nov. 12
Don’t miss the 5th Annual E4 (Excellence in Elementary Engineering Education) Conference on Nov. 12th at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus. Check out the preliminary program at http://www.theworks.org/files/docs/e4program_2012_prelim.pdf. Sessions include ideas for integration of arts, technology, science, and mathematics with engineering. Keynote this year will be the hosts of the popular Discover Education HowStuffWorks podcast series, Stuff to Blow Your Mind. Join over 300 elementary educators in an exciting day of STEM learning.
Green Schools Workshops
MDE and several partners are providing regional workshops for K-12 Administrators, Staff, Teachers and anyone else interested in making schools more healthy, efficient, and effective. The workshops will be held at Minnesota’s 2012 Green Ribbon Schools nation award winners.
Monday, October 29: St. Joseph – Kennedy Community School
Monday, November 5: West St. Paul – Garlough Environmental Magnet School Wednesday, November 28: Duluth – North Shore Community School
Time: 3:00 pm – 6:00pm
Cost: Free. Clock hour certificates available.
See first-hand the benefits of green schools and learn about resources available in the areas of green buildings and energy, health and safety and environmental education. Also learn about the Green Ribbon Schools program and the application process.
Register by sending an e-mail to Terry Alvarado at terry.alvarado@state.mn.us with the following information: name, school, position, email and phone number. For more information, please contact Jeff Ledermann at jeff.ledermann@state.mn.us or 651-582-8602.
Explore the Universe: Astronomy in the Classroom, November 10, 2012
Learn how to utilize the Bell Museum's ExploraDome to meet your Earth and space science standards. We will also demonstrate web-based, hands-on and kinesthetic astronomy activities you can use to enrich the ExploraDome experience or use as stand-alone lessons. This workshop and others are presented by the Bell Museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Time: 9 a.m. – Noon Cost: $10 per person Earn .3 CEU's Registration – call (612) 626-9660-
Northeast MN STEM Network, Nov. 8, Proctor
The Northeast Minnesota STEM Network will meet for the first time this fall. The meeting will take place on Thursday, November 8th from 8:00 – 11:30am at the Blackwoods Conference Center, 195 Highway 2, Proctor, MN. The program, planned by a local ad-hoc committee, includes a panel presentation on regional workforce needs, employer, educator and youth development perspectives, and examples of collaborations across sectors. Networking will be included before and during the meeting, as getting to know other stakeholders is a primary goal of the network. Small group discussions will focus on the top priorities for regional goals.
Registration is now open until October 31st.
Minnesota Conference on Science Education, Feb. 22 – 23, Duluth
Plan to join us in Duluth, Minnesota for the annual Minnesota Conference On Science Education. MnCOSE is the premiere professional development event that brings Minnesota science education professionals together for sharing and growth! The program includes many sessions organized by content area strands and several Saturday field trips.
The Keynote speakers are
Mike Lynch, popular meteorologist at WCCO radio for over 30 years. He is also an astronomy fanatic, offering classes and star parties in many locations.
Stephen Pruitt, the leader for the development of the Next Generation Science Standards. He is an entertaining and practical presenter
Darci Harland, author of the NSTA book “STEM Student Research Handbook.” As well as the virtual space www.STEMmom.org. She will present a Saturday workshop on using student labe notebooks and tips on how to redesign existing activities into higher-level inquiry labs, especially for K-8 classrooms.
Further information and registration are at www.mnsta.org. MnSTA Science Teaching Award
The Medtronic Foundation Science Teaching, Presented by the Minnesota Science Teachers Association provides $1000 for materials for a classroom project. This year there will be two awards – elementary and secondary. The awardees are recognized at the Minnesota Conference on Science Education. Application materials will soon be posted at www.mnsta.org.
Apply Today for the 2013 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy
Each summer, teachers from around the country attend their very own math and science camp to learn new ways to inspire their students in these subjects. The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy is an all-expense paid professional development program open to third- through fifth-grade teachers in all 50 states. Nominate a teacher or apply yourself at www.SendMyTeacher.com. Hurry, the deadline to apply is October 31!
Nominations now open for the Presidential Awards
This year secondary science and mathematics teachers are eligible to apply for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teachers. This is the most prestigious awards in these fields and features receptions in Washington DC (including the White House) and a $10,000 cash award. Information, nominations and applications are at www.paemst.org.
MCA Science results and Item Sampler update
The Science results for the 2012 Science MCA III are posted on the MDE website. Since this was the first assessment based on the 2009 Science standards, new achievement levels were determined. Hence MCA II and MCA III data are not comparable. Moreover, there are some changes in how strand and substrand scores are reported that must be understood in order to correctly interpret those scores.
For Science MCA-III, all scores (overall, strand and substrand) are reported as scale scores. The raw score point total earned on each scale is converted to a scale score. The conversion takes into account the number and difficulty of items scored on the scale. A scale score has equivalent meaning and provides a basis for valid comparison from year to year for a given grade and reporting category. For Science MCA-III, sub-scores are reported at the strand level for grades 5 and 8. Sub-scores are reported at the strand and substrand level for high school.
The school, district, and state averages for these sub-scores are available at the MDE website under Data Center > Data Reports and Analytics in the following locations:
Accountability and Assessment > Assessment and Growth Files (Excel and tab- delimited data download files)
Accountability and Assessment > Sub Score Report
MDE Secured Reports > Test Results Summary (login required to access)
Item samplers are now upgraded to including a scoring option. The samplers, the test specifications and other test administration materials are at http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/EdExc/Testing/index.html
Contact Jim Wood or Dawn Cameron for more information. See contacts below
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MDE Contacts:
John Olson, Science Content Specialist, john.c.olson@state.mn.us
Dawn Cameron, Science Assessment Specialist, dawn.cameron@state.mn.us
Jim Wood, Science Assessment Specialist, jim.wood@state.mn.us
Doug Paulson, STEM Integration Specialist, doug.paulson@state.mn.us
Jeff Ledermann, Environmental & Outdoor Ed. Specialist, jeff.ledermann@state.mn.us MDE Website: http://education.state.mn.us .
Send submissions for the Science Update to John Olson
Other Minnesota Connections:
Minn. Science Teachers Association http://www.mnsta.org
Frameworks for Science and Mathematics Standards http://scimathmn.org/stemtc Connections between schools and businesses http://www.getstem-mn.com Environmental Education resources http://www.seek.state.mn.us
Minnesota science teachers should know about:
