"This workshop has completely exceeded my expectations for any professional development. The worst part is that all future programs I attend will have this experience to top and I doubt any will!" – 2005 Smoky Mountains Science Teacher Institute participant
“I can’t thank you enough. You’ve opened up a new world to me and in turn I hope to open that same new world up to my students.” – 2007 Smoky Mountains Science Teacher Institute participant
Immerse yourself for one week in the biological diversity of the Smokies and return home with exciting new ideas for involving your students in hands-on science. Throughout the week, we will visit different Smokies habitats to learn about their amazing natural resources as well as the environmental problems threatening them. Each day you will become a citizen scientist, helping to inventory and monitor everything from salamanders to slime molds. Increase your own science skills and discover new ways to do the same for your students. This workshop is a collaboration between Tremont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Discover Life in America. Your instructors will include Tremont staff, NPS educators and scientists, and other scientists involved in research in the park. Program lasts from Sunday supper through Friday lunch.
This year we are also offering an Advanced Smoky Mountains Science Teacher Institute. Although outdoor fieldwork is still part of this workshop, more time will be spent inside learning how to interpret and manipulate field data. Topics include GPS/GIS, calculating biodiversity indices, basic ecological statistics, and field studies.
Cost: Funding is provided by North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation and other generous donors ($50 deposit is required, to be refunded upon completion of an assignment). Instruction, meals, and lodging are included.
To apply: A valid application will include this completed form and payment of the $50 application fee. Credit cards are accepted. Applications are due by April 1st, at which point we will review the applications and notify you about your status. The $50 fee will be refunded to any teachers not accepted for 2008 and to accepted teachers upon completing the workshop. Teachers from communities neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park will receive first priority. The workshop is designed for middle and high school teachers, but elementary school teachers may attend. The advanced workshop is designed for high school and middle school teachers. You may print this page and mail or fax your application or you may call and apply by phone. Deposit is required to confirm your application.
Science Teacher Institute Application form (PDF)
Overview of Goals
Goals:
• Provide teachers in communities neighboring the park with an awareness and understanding of
biodiversity in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, threats to that biodiversity, and biodiversity-
focused inventory and monitoring research such as the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory.
• Provide teachers with support to involve students in citizen science opportunities in the park.
• Develop and strengthen on-going relationships among the park, its partners, and local teachers.
• Train local teachers in the use of technology relevant to biodiversity research and provide ways for
them to use that technology to enhance their teaching.
Sample Institute format: The institute will be a 4 1/2 day and 5 night, intensive residential field school. Each day will focus on a particular ecological system in the Smokies. Participating teachers will learn about the resources associated with that system, threats to that system, and on-going research on that system. Hands-on activities will include citizen science projects that the teachers and students can participate in at the park or replicate back in their schoolyards. Activities will also highlight relevant technology that can be used for both scientific and educational purposes.