We are back! Read on for some amazing and FREE professional learning opportunities both in-person and virtual. We'll let the table of contents speak for itself this month. As always, we're here if you need us. Reach out via the emails at the bottom of the newsletter.
Note: Resources are provided for informational purposes and not as recommendations from OSPI. Resources referenced here may be for educators or parents/families and may not be intended for use in the classroom. We recommend reviewing all educational materials for alignment with district policy and state law before using them with students. Articles and other resources are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints or policies of OSPI.
Table of Contents:
Washington's 3rd Climate Education Summit is happening on April 25-26th in Vancouver, WA! Friday the 25th is an optional day consisting of outdoor learning field experiences and a climate speaker. Saturday the 26th will have our keynote speaker on salmon recovery, lunch, a non-profit climate learning exhibit hall, and multiple climate learning sessions for you to choose from! Be on the lookout for opportunities to be a presenter, we would love to hear about any climate work you are already doing in your classroom.
Apply to attend here!
- Priority Deadline: February 3, 2025.
- Application Due March 21st, 2025.
- Applicants will be notified of their status on a rolling basis as of February 4, 2025.
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We are looking for presenters to share during our 50-minute sessions on Saturday. We are looking for sessions on any topic found in the 2024 Climate Literacy Guide and/or K-12 Climate Education in classrooms and informal or non-formal settings.
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Deadline: February 23, 2025.
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Proposal acceptance emails will be sent by March 7, 2025.
Registration and Travel Cost Information:
- The conference is grant-supported, so there is no registration fee.
- Clock hours for Washington educators will be free of charge.
- Travel, lodging, and substitute costs cannot be covered.
- Please see this support document to reference when discussing attendance with your district.
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Join OSPI in sharing the results of the SAGE (Science Assessment Grounded in Equity) Project. Over the course of multiple years, Washington middle and high school science teachers engaged in professional learning to design tools and resources for more equitable classroom science assessment. Three Washington teachers, Calvin Atkins, Colleen Lamotte, and Jenna Mobley, will lead you through ways to design assessments that support all students and pull your classroom out of that end of unit test funk. You'll come away with incredible and immediately usable resources as well as new frames of thinking about science assessment. Read more about the presenters and sessions here.
pdEnroller link is coming soon, you can earn 1.5 free equity clock hours per session! Please register via the link below and we will email you the pdEnroller link when it is available. Attend one session or come to them all. Questions? Email johanna.brown@k12.wa.us.
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Webinar 1: Assessment as a Caring Practice - January 28 4:00 - 5:30 pm
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Webinar 2: How to Tend to 3D Student Work - February 11 4:00 - 5:30 pm
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Webinar 3: What Role Do Feedback And Grading Play In Equitable 3d Science Classrooms? - February 25 4:00 - 5:30 pm
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Webinar 4: Introduction to Assessment in OpenSciEd - March 11 4:00 - 5:30 pm
Effect Change ⇒ Get a Sticker!
We have a special opportunity for you to take action this month. To celebrate Washington being the first state to have funded climate science education (going strong since 2018), we have a wealth of free resources and a robust offering of professional learning to incorporate climate into your classroom. The first 200 Washington educators who commit to climate professional learning and incorporating one climate resource this school year will be mailed a Climate Educator sticker (shown at right). First round of stickers will be sent out starting next week!
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Help OSPI Revise the Science Standards Clarification Statements on Tuesday 2/4 3:30 - 5:00 pm
We are looking for K-12 teachers who have the ability to use systems-thinking and equity lenses to virtually support the review and revision of the clarification statements that are part of the Next Generation Science Standards. Those wishing to participate should be knowledgeable of the science standards that they teach and have classroom experience in teaching the NGSS. You do NOT need to know about all K-12 standards or be an NGSS expert. Those able to collaborate and wordsmith would be ideal participants.
Those who participate can earn 1.5 equity clock hours. Depending upon need and interest, more sessions may be added in the future.
Register: Tuesday 2/4 3:30 - 5:00 pm
Save the Dates: Nonformal/Informal Science Educators + Teachers Workshops Near You!
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Come explore with us! Join local community-based organizations, tribes, agencies, and OSPI for exciting learning experiences. Learn to lead students in place-based learning and civic engagement with exemplary, place-based instructional routines that embody Culturally Responsive Education strategies. Our aim is to ensure each student in Washington receives outdoor learning opportunities aligned with state standards and environmental education best practices, rooted in local phenomena. Discover outdoor and environmental and sustainability education at its best!
Save the dates, registration coming in the next newsletter!
- February 26 with Puget Sound ESD 121 at Seward Park Audubon Center, Seattle
- March 13 with ESD 123 at the Water and Environmental Center in Walla Walla
- Spring TBD with North Central ESD 171 at Paschal Sherman Indian School
- August 5-7 with ESD 105, Summer Institute, Yakima and surrounding area
Questions? Care to collaborate and share your work? Reach out to Sheila Wilson (sheila.wilson@k12.wa.us) or Elizabeth Schmitz (elizabeth.schmitz@k12.wa.us)
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EarthGen a Washington-based environmental education non-profit has multiple career opportunities!
2/6, 2/8, 3/6, & 3/8 - Salmon Heroes to Schoolyard Heroes
Teacher Professional Development Workshop
- Location: 2/6 and 3/6 on Zoom, 2/8 and 3/8 Seahurst Park in Burien - Cost: FREE, $150 Stipend (with option for $100 more) - Clock Hours: 15 STEM - Grade Levels: 4th - 8th
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Registration is now open for the Environmental Science Center’s free teacher professional development workshop series! During our four-part workshop titled Salmon Heroes to Schoolyard Heroes, teachers will learn how to use the schoolyard as an outdoor classroom. Our NGSS-aligned lessons, designed for 4th-8th grade, guide students in exploration and science investigations that focus on the local phenomena of salmon and watersheds. All materials needed to teach the lessons are given to the teachers and designed to fit in a five-gallon bucket. The workshop series wraps up with how to facilitate student-led environmental action projects on school grounds.
- Part 1 - Thursday, February 6th, 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm over Zoom
- Part 2 - Saturday, February 8th, 8:30 am to 1:00 pm at Seahurst Park in Burien
- Part 3 - Thursday, March 6th, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm over Zoom
- Part 4 - Saturday, March 8th, 8:30 am to 1:00 pm at Seahurst Park in Burien
- More Information and Register Here!
2/8 - Hope & Resilience: Watersheds & Salmon
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Location: Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, Bellingham, WA - Time - 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. - Cost: FREE, $100 Participation Stipend & Lunch Included! - Clock Hours: 3 STEM - Grade Levels: 3-12
- These field-based workshops will focus on equitable solutions currently being implemented for the health of Whatcom County watersheds. The Teaching for the Climate Collaborative will guide participants through classroom-ready STEM activities that connect students to the outdoors and illustrate how climate change is affecting different stakeholders and ecosystems. Tribal partners will share their expertise and a variety of take-home resources will set teachers up to integrate workshop learning with the Since Time Immemorial Curriculum.
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Register Here
2/Variable - 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade OpenSciEd Initial Use Professional Learning (one in person and two virtual sessions.)
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Location: Olympic ESD, Bremerton, WA - Time - In-Person 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. - Virtual 4:00 - 5:30 pm Cost: FREE, $100 Implementation Stipend & Unit Kit Included! - Clock Hours: 9 STEM - Grade Levels: 2,3, & 4
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Join us for a look at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade OpenSciEd elementary science kit released in August of 2024. You will get the opportunity to learn about the unit, receive a unit to teach in your classroom, and join a cohort of teachers from around the region. Sub reimbursement is available.
We are inviting teachers from the Olympic ESD region as well as adjacent regions to take part in this opportunity.
For further information please email jryan@oesd114.org
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Register for Your Grade's Sessions Below:
3/8- Localizing Your Science Unit
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Location: Brightwater Education Center in Woodinville, WA - Time - 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. - Cost: FREE - Clock Hours: 6.5 STEM + 1 Equity - Grade Levels: K-12
- Are you looking for an opportunity to map out specific ideas for connecting your science unit to your region, community, and students? Would you want to gather in-person with your peers to brainstorm ideas together? Do you need STEM and Equity Clock Hours? Join us for a FREE Saturday session (including lunch and travel) on March 8th at the Brightwater Education Center in Woodinville.
- Staff from IslandWood, NWESD and OESD will facilitate a series of short introductions to opportunities, followed by ample time to brainstorm and develop ideas for localizing your unit to YOUR community. You will have an opportunity to expand on ideas for unit specific related phenomena, adapt unit transfer tasks and develop ideas for connections to local community assets. Leave with a plan for ideas to try out when you teach the unit with your students.
- This workshop is a follow up to our online “Introduction to Localizing OpenSciEd for Secondary Teachers” or “Introduction to Localizing National Science Units” workshops. If you have not attended one of our Introduction to Localizing workshops you will need to watch a recording before the Saturday session and can earn an additional 1.5 clock hours for doing so.
- Register here: https://www.pdenroller.org/oesd114/catalog/179298
Applications for Summer 2025 Teacher Programs at Fred Hutch Cancer Center Due March 16
Interested in a paid summer program at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle? Our programs are designed for secondary science and STEM teachers. Now is a good time to explore our programs to learn more! Check out the Science Education Partnership (SEP), our three-week summer professional development program. Consider applying to our two summer research experience programs: the Hutch Fellowship for Excellence in STEM Teaching (HTF) or Partners in Science 2.0 @ Fred Hutch (PS2@FH), both which engage teachers in two summers of mentored biomedical research with additional activities and projects. Applications for all three programs open on December 2nd, 2024. The priority application deadline for all three programs will be March 16th, 2025. The Recommendation & Support Form for each program has a priority deadline of March 30th, 2025. Questions? Email sep@fredhutch.org.
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1/3 - 5/30 - Localizing your 4th Grade Amplify Science “Earth’s Features” Unit
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Format: Asynchronous - Cost: FREE - Clock Hours: 5 STEM + 2.5 Equity - Grade Levels: 4
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Do you teach 4th Grade Amplify Science? Have you been wondering how you could make Amplify more relevant, meaningful and culturally responsive for YOUR students? Are you interested in STEM and Equity clock hours? IslandWood is offering a free asynchronous online course for localizing the Earth’s Features unit. You can progress through it at your own pace between January 3 - May 30, 2025, as you implement the unit with your students. Those who complete the course will earn 7.5 Clock Hours (5 STEM and 2.5 Equity Clock hours).
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Register here.
1/14 - Equity and STEM Online Workshop: What does science have to do with race and racism?
- Time: 4-6pm - Format: Synchronous - Cost: Free + $50 Stipend! - Clock Hours: 3 Equity 1 STEM, Grade Levels: HS
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This workshop focuses on a curricular approach to anti-racist science teaching. It has both synchronous and asynchronous components. The asynchronous pre-work will be sent out the day before the workshop. During this session, we will introduce a curriculum for biology educators that explores how racism, the construct of race, the history of science, and human genetic variation intersect.
We will explore a curriculum developed by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and educators that explores what race is and what race is not. Students begin by examining the importance of race as a part of personal identity. They learn about the socio-political construction of race, and how the concept was created in part by scientists and how it has been used to justify oppression and exploitation. Through multiple lessons, students expand on this idea and consider how structural practices create and reinforce racist ideas and policies. Students also explore ancestry and its relationship to race. They investigate how race is a poor proxy for ancestry and begin to explore genetic ancestry and the evolution of human traits. By gaining an understanding of the biological basis of human variation and human genetic variation, students can begin to see how using the idea of “race” uncritically in science can reinforce racist ideas and practices.
- Register here by January 13.
1/16 - Cultivating Co-Design for Thriving Climate-Resilient Communities
- Time: 4:30 - 6:00 pm - Format - Synchronous - Cost: Free - Clock Hours: STEM Grade Level: K-12
- Are you ready to commit to climate action in an inclusive and collective manner? Join us in our coming virtual workshop where we will learn what effective and transformative co-design looks like within a grassroots #JustTransition vision.
- Our main facilitators, Kelsie Fowler (Institute for Science + Mathematics Education, University of Washington), Anastasia Sanchez (Puget Sound Educational Service District), Miguel Raimilla (EarthCorps), and Paul Tabayoyon (APIC Yakima) will integrate some fun exercises on storytelling and radical imagination. Isabel Carrera Zamanillo, Community Education Coordinator at Front and Centered, and our amazing interpreters (English-Spanish) will support this workshop! At Community Education In Action, we promote collective action through co-design and co-learning. Unleash your creativity as we craft inspiring learning resources to address climate change together through the lens of environmental and climate justice!
- All workshops and materials are offered in English and Spanish.
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📣Register Today!
1/1-1/31 Sign up now for IslandWood’s Community-Centered Climate Action Course for 3rd-5th Grade Teachers
2/25 - Introduction to Localizing for OpenSciEd Secondary Teachers
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Format: Synchronous - Date: 2/25 - Times: 4:00 - 5:30 pm Cost: FREE - Clock Hours: 1.5 STEM + .5 Equity - Grade Levels: K-12
- Are you teaching or supporting OpenSciEd Middle School or High School units this year? Have you been identifying local “related phenomena” with your students but wondering what else you could be doing to connect the unit to our region and your student’s communities? Would you like some help in thinking about how to make the units meaningful and relevant to your students?
- IslandWood, Olympic ESD, and Northwest ESD have been working with teachers, developers and school district partners on an approach to localizing national science units and we’d love to share it with you!
- Those who attend will have first priority to register for our free day-long in-person session where we will support you in applying the approach to an OpenSciEd unit of your choice.
- Register here : https://www.pdenroller.org/oesd114/catalog/179294
2/27 - Introduction to Localizing Your Science Unit
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Format: Synchronous - Date: 2/27 - Times: 4:00 - 5:30 pm Cost: FREE - Clock Hours: 1.5 STEM + .5 Equity - Grade Levels: K-12
- Are you teaching or supporting science units this year using a national curriculum? Have you been identifying local “related phenomena” with your students but wondering what else you could be doing to connect the unit to our region and your student’s communities? Would you like some help in thinking about how to make the units meaningful and relevant to your students?IslandWood, Olympic ESD, and Northwest ESD have been working with teachers, developers and school district partners on an approach to localizing national science units and we’d love to share it with you!
- Those who attend will have first priority to register for our free day-long in-person session where we will support you in applying the approach to a unit of your choice.
- Register here: https://www.pdenroller.org/oesd114/catalog/179296
WSTA Is Now An OpenSciEd Professional Learning Partner
- Whether you’re piloting, launching, or introducing a new unit, WSTA is here to support you, your school, or your district. Our team includes national OpenSciEd Facilitators with extensive classroom, unit piloting, and unit writing experience. Let us guide you on your journey to implementing high-quality science instruction!
- Consider joining WSTA for a Professional Learning Experience in Zoom with units 6.4,7.4, 8.4, B.3, and C.3 starting in January and February. We need a minimum of 6 people to hold the sessions. Register at WTSA Event Calendar: https://wsta.wildapricot.org/EventCalendar
- WSTA also offers 2, 3 and 4 day OSE Launches along with 1 Day Unit Overviews. Contact Don Pruett, WSTA Professional Development Coordinator at WSTAOSE@gmail.com for questions.
Other Opportunities
APPLY FOR THE ACS-HACH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT
- High school chemistry teachers can receive up to $2,500 to fund professional development opportunities that enhance their skills and improve student learning. Use the grant to cover conference registration fees, travel expenses, tuition, books, or even substitute teacher pay. Applications are open now through January 21. Apply here.
Teacher Innovator Institute: Empowering innovative educators through authentic STEAM
- Spend two weeks in Washington, DC, working with education and STEAM experts to explore the connections between informal STEAM education and authentic learning.
- Learn more here.
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SUBMIT YOUR AP CHEMISTRY TEACHING RESOURCES for $200
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AP chemistry teaching resources are an important member benefit of the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT). Currently we are looking for new and unique ideas related to select AP Topics and Learning Objectives to help grow the AP section of the AACT classroom resource library. During the months of November and December, we invite teachers to submit an original AP chemistry teaching resource idea related to the following topics:
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6.2: Energy Diagrams
6.3: Heat Transfer and Thermal Equilibrium
6.5: Energy of Phase Changes
6.7: Bond Enthalpies
6.8: Enthalpy of Formation
Upon completion of the submission process, you will earn a $200 gift card! Learn more »
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💡Do not forget to apply to the Youth Mini-Grants!
As part of the Community Education in Action program, 12 selected youth groups interested in co-creating a learning resource that incorporates a Just Transition perspective will receive $800 and support from a mentor to complete their project and present it at our in-person workshops in March! The application is very simple, just fill out this form before February 7, 2025. Results will be announced on February 14th.
2025 EngineerGirl Writing Contest from the National Academy of Engineering
The 2025 EngineerGirl Writing Contest opened in September. The theme this year is “Innovating Smarter” and we’re asking students to write a piece describing a common object they would make “smart” and tell us what it would do, how it would help people, and what could go wrong. The contest is open to all students, of any gender, in grades 3-12 and the deadline is February 1, 2025. The prize for first place in each of three grade categories is $1,000. There is also a note for educators and tips for using the contest in a classroom on the EngineerGirl website.
Washington Tracking Network Youth Science Contest for High Schoolers
The Department of Health’s Washington Tracking Network (WTN) is launching the 4th year of the Washington Tracking Network Youth Science Contest. The WTN Youth Science Contest is an opportunity for high school students in Washington State to develop their science and communication skills by working with health and environmental data from their own communities.The contest was designed, with student input, to engage students across a broad range of areas of interest: health, equity, social and environmental justice, data science, etc.
Participants can choose from three tracks:
- Health Science
- Science Communication
- Program and Policy Design
Registration is open from February 1st to March 1st, and the official contest period is from February 15th through April 15th. Winners will be announced in late May.
Radon poster contest for 9–14 year-olds
In partnership with the NW Radon Coalition, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is sponsoring a contest for students to create informative posters about radon. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can buildup in our homes. The contest aims to raise awareness about radon and how to protect your household.
The contest period runs through January and February 2025. Submission forms, lesson plans, rules, and previous winning entries can be found here.
Winning posters will be featured on the DOH website and social media and entrants will receive prizes!
Pacific Northwest Student Space Design Competition
1/25 - 1/26 Raisbeck Aviation High School Tukwila, WA
This design competition is a high-intensity industry-simulation event, in which students adopt professional roles, are given industry specific challenges, and deliver real-world solutions.
More information here.
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