BRIT offers place-based workshops in life sciences, earth science, botany, environmental science and ecology for K-12 teachers and other interested educators. During workshops program leaders guide you through background information and activities to help your students reach the National Education Standards and explore concepts and practice skills specified in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Workshops provide a chance for you to prepare for science studies with your students in a relaxed, supportive community of learners after school and during the summer. BRIT organizes and facilitates place-based professional development conferences and retreats for REAL School Gardens. These events focus on inquiry learning in the outdoors. All teacher programs are accredited by the State Board for Educator Certification so that you receive Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit for attending.
BRIT’s professional development models a student-centered, inquiry-based, collaborative approach to learning. The workshops are interdisciplinary and lead teachers through hands-on activities, incorporate methods for teaching in the field, and promote collegial sharing. We encourage you to bring your learning journal or field notebook with you to use in the workshops.
Drawing Techniques for the Nature Inquiry Journal (Short Course 212)
Pam Chamberlain and Pat Dorraj
7 November 2008
8:00 - 11:00 a.m.
$25
Journaling is a valuable tool for increasing awareness, developing
observation skills, and sparking curiousity. Activities include
practicing techniques for overcoming the fear of drawing,
exploring drawing mediums that travel well, and analyzing
questions recorded in the journal for their value in triggering
science investigations. Drawing tool kit provided.
Sid Richardson Museum Field Trip (FT222)
Amber Keller and Mary Burke (SRM)
7 November 2008
10:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
$20
The study of science incorporates processes such as observing,
describing and interpreting information, the same methods used
to interpret artworks. Examine artwork depicting the journey of
Lewis and Clark and read excerpts from their journals. Explore
science connections, considering why it was important for Lewis
and Clark to observe and collect plants throughout their journey.
BRIT Education is currently coordinating sessions for REAL School Gardens professional development on January 10. Visit the RSG website for details after October 31.
Outdoor Inquiries® for K-8 Teachers, a First Hand Learning, Inc. Workshop
26 June 2008, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
BRIT Education
Firestation #5
503 Bryan Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104
"The physical environment in and around the school can be used as a living laboratory for the study of natural phenomena. Whether the school is located in a densely populated urban area, a sprawling suburb, a small town, or a rural area, the environment can and should be used as a resource for science study." National Science Education Standards, National Academy of Sciences, 1996
At every stage of development children need direct contact with nature for healthy physical, emotional, intellectual, and ethical maturation. How can we provide this in schools where contact with nature is indirect or vicarious? Through open-ended inquiry we can find wilderness as well as opportunity for scientific investigation in any schoolyard, vacant lot, or local park. Teachers came to our new, very urban environment to engage in close observation, journal keeping, data collection, database development, and formulation of investigable questions as they prepared to engage their students in these same processes of scientific inquiry in their most accessible outdoor setting. Tool kits and the book, Outdoor Inquires: Taking Science Investigations Outside the Classroom were provided to the participants through a National Science Foundation grant.
