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2004 CfAO Professional Development Workshop

“Connecting Science Education Theory and Practice”

IntroductionLisa Hunter

Associate Director, Education & Human Resources (EHR)

Center for Adaptive OpticsMay 16, 2004

2/14

Without AO

Images of single cells in the living human retina

With AO

VISION SCIENCE

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY

ASTRONOMY• NSF Science and Technology Center. 1 of 5 funded in 1999, at $4million/yr for 5 years. Renewed until 2009.

• Headquarters at UC Santa Cruz– Director: Jerry Nelson– Deputy Director: Claire Max

• 11 university nodes– Over 40 partner institutions

(research, education, gov., industry)

• Integrates research and education into four major themes• EHR• AO for ELT’s• ExAO• Vision Science Instrumentation

Center for Adaptive Optics

EDUCATION

3/14

CfAO Education & Human Resources

Stars, Sight and Science Internships

Hawaii Partnerships Professional Development

Workshop

Education 286

Mini-Grants

Short Courses

4/14

CfAO Hawaii Partnerships

• Akamai Internship Program– Partnership between CfAO, Maui Community College

(MCC), Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site (AMOS), and industry/observatories in Hawaii

– Places Maui students at Maui high tech organizations

– Highlighted in our Maui High Tech Industry Education Exchange (Weds.)

5/14

Inquiry: At the core of CfAO EHR

• Mirrors research

• Involves students in investigative learning

• Students learn content and process skills

• CfAO incorporates an inquiry component into all programs

• During this workshop we focus on inquiry

6/14

Major CfAO Educational Programs

Internships:• Short Courses• Research

COSMOS:

Stars, Sight and Science

Broader access to CfAO fields

High school students

Univ. & CC students

“Teaching Labs” for inquiry-based teachingProfessional

Development Workshop

Inquiry:

How - Why -When

You gain:• Tools• Resources• Skills• Community

You are here

(return in new role)

Saturday Open Labs

7/14

Why Inquiry?

• What research tells us about how people learn– Doris Ash

• Connections between informal and formal education– Sally Duensing

• How inquiry is aligned with theory– Candice Brown

• Other reasons why we focus on inquiry– Barry Kluger-Bell

8/14

Major CfAO Educational Programs

Internships:• Short Courses• Research

COSMOS:

Stars, Sight and Science

Broader access to CfAO fields

High school students

Univ. & CC students

Professional Development Workshop

Inquiry:

How - Why -When

You gain:• Tools• Resources• Skills• Community

You are here

“Teaching Labs” for inquiry-based teaching

(return in new role)

Saturday Open Labs

9/14

What we hope you will get at this workshop

• The experience of learning through inquiry

• An understanding of the structure of inquiry

• An awareness of educational research and theory on how people learn

• Experience designing an inquiry activity

• Involvement in CfAO Hawaii partnership activities

• An expanded community that includes education

10/14

What we hope you will do after the workshop

• Incorporate inquiry into your teaching (lots of CfAO opportunities!)

• Be reflective about your teaching

• Connect education research and theory to your own teaching practice

• As the next generation of faculty members, become leaders in science education

11/14

Participant Introductions

• Name• Affiliation• Position• Why you are here - what you hope to gain

– Returning: what you have gained in the past• Something about yourself that is outside of work (e.g.

sports, music, hobbies, etc.)