JASON National Conference 2017 1 JASON National Conference Comprehensive Information Hotel Information Chevron-Sponsored Attendees Embassy Suites Dulles North 44610 Waxpool Road | Ashburn, VA 20147 | *Educators should consult their district JASON coordinators to make hotel arrangements* http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/W/WASNLES-CHV- 20170619/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG General Attendees Homewood Suites by Hilton Dulles-North/Loudoun 44620 Waxpool Road | Ashburn, Virginia 20147 | Book your room by May 29th to receive our special conference rates! http://homewoodsuites.hilton.com/en/hw/groups/personalized/W/WASLDHW-ATL- 20170619/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG Shuttles: Shuttle service from Dulles is available on demand. Upon arrival, call for pick-up (703) 723- 5300. Shuttle service from the hotel to Dulles leaves on the hour and every half-hour. Shuttle capacity is 12. Amenities: Hotels include complimentary wifi, daily hot breakfast and evening cocktail reception every night. There is also a pool and fitness room. This property is walking distance to two shopping/restaurant plazas that offer a variety of types restaurants and stores. It is only a 5-minute drive to Dulles airport and a 10-minute drive to GWU, Science & Technology Campus. The property also offers round-the-clock shuttle service until 9 pm to the nearby Target shopping plaza. Attire General Sessions: Always comfortable clothes and shoes. Adventure Days: See detailed descriptions: * Update For SERC and Great Falls, you must wear shoes that have a back and that are attached to your foot (No crocs or flip flops). For SERC, they said Chacos, keens, and water shoes are fine, and recommended having a spare set of clothes just in case you get dirty or wet. After all, it IS an ADVENTURE! Evening Functions: Nice dinner attire and, of course, comfortable shoes! Registering for Breakout Sessions (See schedule at-a-glance for Adventure Day Links) https://goo.gl/forms/59jE1v43LK4fgkdM2
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JASON National Conference 2017 1
JASON National Conference Comprehensive Information
Hotel Information Chevron-Sponsored Attendees Embassy Suites Dulles North 44610 Waxpool Road | Ashburn, VA 20147 | *Educators should consult their district JASON coordinators to make hotel arrangements* http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/W/WASNLES-CHV-20170619/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG General Attendees Homewood Suites by Hilton Dulles-North/Loudoun 44620 Waxpool Road | Ashburn, Virginia 20147 | Book your room by May 29th to receive our special conference rates! http://homewoodsuites.hilton.com/en/hw/groups/personalized/W/WASLDHW-ATL-20170619/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG Shuttles: Shuttle service from Dulles is available on demand. Upon arrival, call for pick-up (703) 723-5300. Shuttle service from the hotel to Dulles leaves on the hour and every half-hour. Shuttle capacity is 12. Amenities: Hotels include complimentary wifi, daily hot breakfast and evening cocktail reception every night. There is also a pool and fitness room. This property is walking distance to two shopping/restaurant plazas that offer a variety of types restaurants and stores. It is only a 5-minute drive to Dulles airport and a 10-minute drive to GWU, Science & Technology Campus. The property also offers round-the-clock shuttle service until 9 pm to the nearby Target shopping plaza. Attire General Sessions: Always comfortable clothes and shoes. Adventure Days: See detailed descriptions: * Update For SERC and Great Falls, you must wear shoes that have a back and that are attached to your foot (No crocs or flip flops). For SERC, they said Chacos, keens, and water shoes are fine, and recommended having a spare set of clothes just in case you get dirty or wet. After all, it IS an ADVENTURE! Evening Functions: Nice dinner attire and, of course, comfortable shoes! Registering for Breakout Sessions (See schedule at-a-glance for Adventure Day Links)
JASON National Conference Schedule 2017 At-A-Glance (subject to change)
Wednesday, June 21: Pre-Conference: Chevron-Sponsored Districts in Texas
Wednesday, June 21st 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Registration 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. “Catching the Wave”, Donna Governor, PhD., Assistant Professor of Science
Education University of North Georgia 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. Breakout Sessions Chevron 11:30 - 12:00 p.m. Lunch (buffet style; have round tables there) 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions Chevron 1:00 – 6:30 p.m. Trip to Downtown Washington, D.C.: The National Academy of Sciences’
Marian Koshland Science Museum, Extreme Event Game & Explore D.C. 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Evening Reception at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Keynote Presentation: “From the Center of the Earth: One Student’s Journey
from Yellowstone Argonaut to Professional Paleontologist”, Dr. Paul M. Gignac, Former Student Argonaut & Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Vertebrate Paleontology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
Thursday, June 22 – Saturday, June 24: National Conference, All Attendees Thursday, June 22nd 7:30 – 8:00 Registration 8:00-8:30 JASON Welcome 8:30-9:15 “Sea-Level Rise and Citizen Science”, Dr. Simon Englehart, Assistant Professor in
Geosciences, University of Rhode Island 9:30-11:30 Breakout sessions A 11:30-1:00pm Lunch – Panel: Argonaut Program, Earthwatch Partnerships (buffet style; have round tables there) 1:00 – 3:30pm Breakout sessions B 6:00-8:00pm Evening Reception, Awards Ceremony & Keynote Presentations:
“The Passion of STEM”, Andre W. Thornton, Founder & CEO Whitman Consulting “Shifting Landscapes: Studying Climate Change in Diverse Plant Communities”,Dr. Lynn Sweet, Center for Conservation Biology at the University of California, Riverside - Palm Desert Center.
Friday, June 23rd ADVENTURE DAY! Full-day field experiences alongside inspirational STEM professionals and educators. Most Adventures will return to hotel between 5:00-6:00pm. (Click on a link to register)
• “Tracking Change”, Smithsonian’s Environmental Research Center (SERC), Edgewater, MD • “Land and Sea”, The Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, MD • “Flight!”, iFly & the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy, National Air & Space Museum, Chantilly, VA • “Innovations in Car Crash Testing & Safety”, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Car
Crash Testing facility, Ruckersville, VA • “Out of the Classroom and Into the Field”, Great Falls National Park, McLean, VA
Saturday, June 24th 7:30 – 8:00 Registration 8:00-8:45 “So What? How ‘Why’ Matters When Teenagers Study STEM”, Constance Adams, Space
Architect for NASA and commercial space ventures, Bechtel Corporation 9:00-11:15 Breakout sessions C 11:15-12:00 Lunch, Presentation “Rainbow of Learners, Spectra of Success”, Juliana Texley, Assistant
Professor, Central Michigan University and Lesley University 12:15-2:15 Breakout sessions D 2:15-2:30 All conference share-outs
To Register for Breakout Sessions: https://goo.gl/forms/59jE1v43LK4fgkdM2
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions
New Curriculum! A World of Waves Join Drs. Governor and Texley, and the rest of the team that created our new Office of Naval Research-funded World of Waves curriculum. Explore the physics of waves and sound, as well as their applications in information transfer, through the work and careers of STEM role models from a wide-range of fields, including music, robotics, and the navy. This new curriculum builds a broad, standards-aligned knowledge foundation and critical STEM skills, which are then applied to authentic, cutting-edge science and engineering challenges, such as evaluating and harnessing the energy of ocean waves, and using sound to make real-time decisions that keep us safe and secure. This curriculum session will include a review of the digital curriculum, as well as embedded hands-on activities, and will discuss best practices for implementation.
New JASON Website Navigation, Google Classrooms, & JASON*Family During this session, participants will learn to navigate the new JASON website and explore its features. We will show participants how to use single sign-on with google and JASON’s integration with Google Classrooms. Finally, participants will practice using JASON*Family, an exciting new application that engages students’ families in their child’s learning process. JASON*Family automatically extracts summary information about JASON lessons and pushes this content to family members on their smartphones as ParentGrams. Teachers may also insert their own content and create their own ParentGrams. JASON*Family engages parents with informative videos, textual content and offers suggested questions to encourage meaningful discussions with their children on STEM topics.
JASON for Newcomers Are you a JASON first-timer or novice? During the first part of this session, experienced JASON trainers will lead participants on the “grand tour” of JASON including an overview of our award-winning curricula and website platform, and the integration of videos, games, photo galleries, animations, and more. Trainers will explain how to access standard alignments, and take advantage of the powerful classroom management tool and teacher resources. The last half of this session will invite participants to try out a few hands-on activities from selected curricula and explore the connections to the TEKS.
Monster Storms Part II This session is specifically designed for educators who have already attended a full-day standard professional development in Monster Storms and are ready to dig deeper into the field assignments and other features. Educators will have opportunities to share best practices and tips based on their experiences with this curricula, discuss challenges and questions they have about implementation, and discover alignments to the TEKS. Highlights include the following field assignments: Storm Surge, Build a Better Building, Predicting Severe Weather, and Profile of a Storm. Participants will also have a chance to explore featured digital labs and supporting resources in more depth.
1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Journey to Washington D.C. “On Your Own” Exploration
All attendees from Chevron sponsored districts will be transported to the Mall area to enjoy the wide variety of museums and sites offering vast opportunities to engage with STEM and our American heritage before the evening event. Optional: The National Academy of Sciences’ Marian Koshland Science Museum Upon arrival to downtown, participants will have the option of joining us for a special program and tour of The Koshland Science Museum, whose mission is to help people use science to solve problems in their communities. The Museum's state-of-the-art exhibits, public events, and educational programs, provide information that stimulates discussion and sheds light on how science supports decision-making. While here, we will have the unique opportunity to participate in a role-playing Extreme Event Game that gives participants a taste of what it takes to build community resilience in the face of disaster. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during an engaging, fast-paced hurricane disaster simulation. After the game, teachers can try out the unique, interactive exhibits and hands-on activities. These exhibits and interactive displays illustrate the role of science in informing public policy that affects our lives. Earth Lab: Degrees of Change —Delve into the causes of climate change, its impacts, and potential solutions. Life Lab - Explore the science of healthy living and learn how your brain works. Idea Lab – Immerse yourself in the culture of resilience in this multimedia space and give us your feedback. See more about this Extreme Event Game at https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/explore-the-science/extreme-event. This optional experience will take approximately 2-2.5 hours. Following the Koshland Museum, participants are free to explore on their own. Be sure to select this option on your form if you wish to attend!
Recycling Activities Collection & Overview ISRI — the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries — and JASON Learning are proud to partner to help students and educators understand the importance of recycling and the recycling industry, as well learn key STEM topics related to recycling. This session will provide an overview of the Recycling Activities with particular emphasis on the collection for grades 5-8. Participants will sample several activities, discuss best practices, tips and strategies, and make connections back to JASON’s core curricula. Climate Change Across Curricula Using lessons from Climate: Seas of Change, Tectonic Fury, and Infinite Potential, participants will explore how different JASON curricula can be woven together to create a cohesive unit of instruction. Begin with how climate is created and modified, and consider the important role of earth’s energy budget and the greenhouse effect in making earth habitable. Next, we’ll take a closer look at how humans have fueled an energy-hungry world, and our warming planet. We will dive deeper into renewable, nonrenewable, and inexhaustible energy supplies and consider innovative technologies and ideas to reduce or store carbon. Try your hand at Energy City, one of Infinite Potential’s featured digital labs, as you weigh the trade-offs and attempt to power a chosen city for generations without degrading the environment. Finally, you’ll develop a local action plan for reducing your own carbon footprint, and share ideas, strategies, and tips for classroom implementation. Thursday Morning Sessions A
9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Best Practices in JASON and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Title: Resilient Planet: Protecting Our Ecological Future Presenters: Xandra Earlie, L’Tunya Bernard Jamie Spates, Aldine ISD TEKs: Grade 6: 6.12EF, Grade 8: 11ABC, Biology: 12C, Aquatic Science: 11AB and Grades 6-8, Aquatic Science and Biology – Scientific Investigation and Reasoning Standards Are you interested in protecting our ecological future? If your answer is yes, attend this this session. As a participant you will be engaged in a variety of instructional and assessment brain-based practices that will stimulate you to re-think how you involve students in their learning. During the session, presenters will used a variety of high yield strategies for all learners such as English Language Learners, Regular and Gifted / Talented, and Special Education. The content of this session will focus on academic vocabulary, major ecosystems of the world, how energy flows through a system and how to investigate the connection between biotic and abiotic components of the Earth through cycles. New Curriculum! A World of Waves Join Drs. Governor and Texley, and the rest of the team that created our new Office of Naval Research-funded World of Waves curriculum. Explore the physics of waves and sound, as well as their applications in information transfer, through the work and careers of STEM role models from a wide-range of fields, including music, robotics, and the navy. This new curriculum builds a broad, standards-aligned knowledge foundation and critical STEM skills, which are then applied to authentic, cutting-edge science and engineering challenges, such as evaluating and harnessing the energy of ocean waves, and using sound to make real-time decisions that keep us safe and secure. This curriculum session will include a review of the digital curriculum, as well as embedded hands-on activities, and will discuss best practices for implementation.
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Day of Design On October 6 2017, JASON Learning and STEMconnector will team up to engage over 3 million students in the "Day of Design" initiative to help them build skills they will need to access and thrive in the workforce of tomorrow. Guided by leading-edge innovation and design thinking materials, participants will imagine, develop and test solutions to some of the most important issues their generation will face, from mitigating natural disasters to reducing chronic disease to creating more livable cities. In this session, you will get a taste of what "Day of Design" will be like, and have an opportunity to work with our team and your peers on ways to get your students involved in this next generation initiative. New JASON Website Navigation, Google Classrooms, & JASON*Family (Computer Lab - Room 146) During this session, participants will learn to navigate the new JASON website and explore its features. We will show participants how to use single sign-on with google and JASON’s integration with Google Classrooms. Finally, participants will practice using JASON*Family, an exciting new application that engages students’ families in their child’s learning process. JASON*Family automatically extracts summary information about JASON lessons and pushes this content to family members on their smartphones as ParentGrams. Teachers may also insert their own content and create their own ParentGrams. JASON*Family engages parents with informative videos, textual content and offers suggested questions to encourage meaningful discussions with their children on STEM topics. Suration/GDT: Leveraging Technology to Manage Content and Enhance Student / Teacher Collaboration and Learning Join us for the public release of a new classroom and home educational product set by SURATION and Cisco. The SURATION search platform curated educational resources from over 200 content providers. School districts can align content to their standards and pacing guides. Teachers can create collections of resources personalized for their students. Students can search the database knowing all resources are high quality. The result is motivated students and higher levels of achievement. GDT has sponsored this SURATION/Cisco event and is a cisco gold-certified technology integrator. This is the first integration of its kind targeted to K—12. The goal of the breakout session is to take give you hands-on experience using SURATION, WebEx and Spark. Presented by Jeremy Hudgeons from GDT and Caleb Schutz, former President of JASON. All participants will be given free access for one-month to SURATION. Laptop recommended. Thursday Afternoon Sessions B
1:00 - 3:30 p.m. Best Practices in JASON and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills: Amendments to TEKS & JASON Learning Alignment The Texas State Board of Education approved the amended TEKS in April 2017. Implementation for the changes is set for the 2018-19 school year. In this session led by Deb Hill, Cypress-Fairbanks’ Secondary Science Coordinator, educators will have an opportunity to review the JASON Curriculum in light of these changes. This will also present the opportunity to review more recent JASON curricula: World of Waves, Climate: Seas of Change, and Wetlands: Race to Restore, and discuss vertical alignment. Curriculum embedment tools and strategies will be shared and discussed. Tectonic Fury Sampler Unlock Earth's mysteries by understanding its geologic processes. This curriculum features scientists from the Smithsonian Institution, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and NOAA. Themes include: rocks, minerals, and properties of matter; locating rare minerals that drive technological innovation; weathering and erosion and land formation; geologic time; volcanoes and earthquakes, plate tectonics; and exploration. This curriculum session includes a sampling of hands-on activities, best practices for implementation, and an opportunity to explore JASON’s interactive, supporting online resources. Best for educators new to Tectonic Fury.
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ARRi Mars Rover Simulation (limited to 24 participants) Explore the martian surface through a new curriculum for middle school STEM classrooms from educational robotics startup ARRi Bot. Chris Russell, PhD Candidate, from Northwestern University Department of Radio, Television, and Film, will introduce participants to a modular series of activities oriented around a simulated mission to discover the geological characteristics of Mars. In this simulation, teams will design a remote control robotic-rover to complete a simulated scientific survey mission while making informed choices in the design that optimizes the use of resources in the rover. The session will include a hands-on robotic-rover build as well as gameplay. Day of Design On October 6 2017, JASON Learning and STEMconnector will team up to engage over 3 million students in the "Day of Design" initiative to help them build skills they will need to access and thrive in the workforce of tomorrow. Guided by leading-edge innovation and design thinking materials, participants will imagine, develop and test solutions to some of the most important issues their generation will face, from mitigating natural disasters to reducing chronic disease to creating more livable cities. In this session, you will get a taste of what "Day of Design" will be like, and have an opportunity to work with our team and your peers on ways to get your students involved in this next generation initiative. Suration/GDT: Leveraging Technology to Manage Content and Enhance Student / Teacher Collaboration and Learning Join us for the public release of a new classroom and home educational product set by SURATION and Cisco. The SURATION search platform curated educational resources from over 200 content providers. School districts can align content to their standards and pacing guides. Teachers can create collections of resources personalized for their students. Students can search the database knowing all resources are high quality. The result is motivated students and higher levels of achievement. GDT has sponsored this SURATION/Cisco event and is a cisco gold-certified technology integrator. This is the first integration of its kind targeted to K—12. The goal of the breakout session is to take give you hands-on experience using SURATION, WebEx and Spark. Presented by Jeremy Hudgeons from GDT and Caleb Schutz, former President of JASON. All participants will be given free access for one-month to SURATION. Laptop recommended.
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Saturday, June 24 (All Conference Attendees)
Saturday Full-day Sessions:
9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Immersion Learning JASON’s Immersion Learning series is an engaging and fun science program for kids, traditionally delivered in after-school venues and in Boys & Girls Clubs of America for middle schoolers, but more recently, in the classroom at elementary school levels. Also started by famed oceanographer and explorer Dr. Robert Ballard in 2002, the Immersion series consists of eight different modules built around inspiring kids to take care of our ocean planet and includes themes such as food web dynamics, conservation, ocean exploration, and engineering and design. Titles include: Ancient Eruptions; Dolphins; Secrets of the Gulf, Marine Mammals of the Arctic; Nautilus Live; Life at the Extremes, Monterey Bay; and Return to the Titanic. This workshop will provide educators with an overview of Immersion with a sampling of hands-on activities from a variety of the modules. Best for elementary level. Also appropriate for middle school students in afterschool or summer camp settings. New Curriculum! A World of Waves Join Drs. Governor and Texley, and the rest of the team that created our new Office of Naval Research-funded World of Waves curriculum. Explore the physics of waves and sound, as well as their applications in information transfer, through the work and careers of STEM role models from a wide-range of fields, including music, robotics, and the navy. This new curriculum builds a broad, standards-aligned knowledge foundation and critical STEM skills, which are then applied to authentic, cutting-edge science and engineering challenges, such as evaluating and harnessing the energy of ocean waves, and using sound to make real-time decisions that keep us safe and secure. This curriculum session will include a review of the digital curriculum, as well as embedded hands-on activities, and will discuss best practices for implementation. Saturday Morning Sessions C
9:00 - 11:15 a.m.
Best Practices in JASON and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Title: Texas TEKS with a Fury – Streamlined in 2017 Presenters: Valerie Wolterman and Julia Dolive, Fort Bend ISD TEKS: Focus: 6.10B, 7.8B, 8.9B with link to 6.5A & 8.5D This session will allow participants to experience how the new streamlined TEKS can be aligned with the Tectonic fury curriculum. Lessons will include Minerals Lab for 6th grade, that falls into TEKS 6.10B; classify rocks as metamorphic, igneous, or sedimentary by the processes of their formation. Erosion Modeling for 7th Grade that fall into TEKS 7.8B; analyze the effects of weathering, erosion, and deposition on the environment in ecoregions of Texas. Plate Movement for 8th grade that fall into TEKS 8.9B; relate plate tectonics to the formation of crustal features. These labs also link with chemistry TEKS 6.5A and 8.5D. Design Thinking - Hackathons: A Collaborative Approach to Spurring Innovation and Collaborative Problem Solving (Room TBA) Join Eric Winkler (lead software developer and hackathon guru at MIT's Sana Global mobile Health program) and JASON's own Dr. Luk Hendrik (R&D Lead) for a brief introduction to hackathons and how JASON is using them to provide our K-12 students a burst of exposure to authentic, leading-edge STEM practices and personal connections to STEM practitioners and career role models. Through a "mini-hackathon" gain first-hand experience with the strategies and tools that are employed at these events to foster creativity, innovation and teamwork, and how they are applied to help participants imagine new solutions to important and engaging STEM challenges. This will be a "low-tech" session with an emphasis on concepts and process.
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Infinite Potential - Renewable, Nonrenewable, Inexhaustible Energies & Innovations Analyze emerging technologies designed to meet the needs of an energy-hungry planet. This curriculum features scientists from NOAA, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and National Geographic. Areas of focus include: types of energy; energy transfers and transformations through the lens of tsunami research; electricity and magnetism; renewable and nonrenewable energies, alternative energies; and engineering and design of energy efficient systems. This session will provide a broad-level overview of this curriculum including selected hands-on activities that focus on the quest for a sustainable energy portfolio. Great for both new and veteran JASON educators. Best Practices in JASON and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)- Engineering Design The NGSS are based on research of how students learn best. Whether your state has adopted NGSS or has decided to follow its own state standards, there are strategies and pedagogy shifts that will inspire all educators and promote both teacher and student learning and discourse. In this session, we explore the new engineering design standards at the middle school level. Using JASON’s modified version of a tool called the Pugh Matrix, participants will apply this strategy to systematically evaluate competing design ideas and trade-offs in the context of two different types of engineering design challenges: wind turbine design and habitat / natural resource management planning. Topics have implications for instruction reaching deeper into human impact on the environment and the availability of natural resources. Emphasis is on the process of evaluating competing designs and how educators might adapt this tool to meet the needs of a variety of engineering and design challenges. Participants will share ideas on how they might employ this method in the classroom. New JASON Website Navigation, Google Classrooms, & JASON*Family (Computer Lab - Room 146) During this session, participants will learn to navigate the new JASON website and explore its features. We will show participants how to use single sign-on with google and JASON’s integration with Google Classrooms. Finally, participants will practice using JASON*Family, an exciting new application that engages students’ families in their child’s learning process. JASON*Family automatically extracts summary information about JASON lessons and pushes this content to family members on their smartphones as ParentGrams. Teachers may also insert their own content and create their own ParentGrams. JASON*Family engages parents with informative videos, textual content and offers suggested questions to encourage meaningful discussions with their children on STEM topics. Saturday Afternoon Sessions D
12:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Terminal Velocity Sampler Investigate the dynamics of forces and motion. This curriculum features scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and NOAA. Areas of focus include: standard units of measurement; car crash physics, space exploration, and simple machines in action aboard a vessel used to clean up a devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This curriculum session includes a sampling of hands-on activities, best practices for implementation, and an opportunity to explore JASON’s interactive, supporting online resources. Best for educators new to Terminal Velocity. Wetlands: Race to Restore Sampler Discover earth science, life science, and engineering design through the lens of wetland ecosystems. This curriculum features scientists from NOAA, The Water Institute of the Gulf, USGS, The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Areas of focus include: Wetland ecosystems and ecology, including ecosystem modeling; physical and chemical properties of water; storm buffering and natural water filtration; economic activity supported by healthy wetlands; geologic processes of erosion, deposition, and subsidence; engineering challenges related to restoring wetland habitat; scientific tools and techniques for monitoring change over time; and approaches to recognizing and preserving essential habitats. This curriculum session includes a sampling of hands-on activities, best practices for implementation, and an opportunity to explore JASON’s interactive, supporting online resources. Best for educators new to Wetlands: Race to Restore.
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Resilient Planet Sampler Investigate the health of our environment and discover how to protect our planet's most diverse ecosystems. This curriculum connects with scientists from the Great Lakes WATER Institute, National Geographic, Ocean Exploration Trust, and NOAA. Areas of focus include: investigating ecosystems; abiotic and biotic factors, alien species; whale conservation; population and predator-prey relationships; and habitat management and conservation. This curriculum session includes a brief overview of this program, a sampling of selected hands-on activities, best practices for implementation, and an opportunity to explore JASON’s interactive, supporting online resources. Best for educators new to Resilient Planet.
Computational Thinking - MIT App Inventor as a platform to bring computational thinking, coding and innovation into the STEM classroom Join Eric Winkler, Suzan Dalgic (MIT App Inventor, Master Trainer), and Dr. Luk Hendrik for a brief introduction to the MIT App Inventor platform and how JASON is using this platform to support hackathons, and create computational thinking and coding resources tied to the JASON core curriculum. Through a hands-on "hacking" session gain experience with MIT App Inventor and explore JASON Learning resources available to help you seamlessly bring computer technology and skill building into your classroom. This will be a "tech" session. Computers will be provided. ARRi Mars Rover Simulation (limited to 24 participants) Explore the martian surface through a new curriculum for middle school STEM classrooms from educational robotics startup ARRi Bot. Chris Russell, PhD Candidate, from Northwestern University Department of Radio, Television, and Film, will introduce participants to a modular series of activities oriented around a simulated mission to discover the geological characteristics of Mars. In this simulation, teams will design a remote control robotic-rover to complete a simulated scientific survey mission while making informed choices in the design that optimizes the use of resources in the rover. The session will include a hands-on robotic-rover build as well as gameplay.
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JASON National Conference 2017 - Adventure Day is Friday, June 23!
All you need are comfortable clothes and your sense of adventure!
Dear JASON Conference Participant:
Thank you for registering for JASON’s National Conference! We are looking forward to seeing and working with you. Please review the Adventure Day options described here in detail, and register for ONE. All field trip sign-ups are on a first come, first serve basis. Transportation and lunch is provided. Capacity for each field trip varies, so be sure to sign-up early so you can reserve your spot. This year, participants will choose from one of the following 5 field trip opportunities:
• “Tracking Change”, Smithsonian’s Environmental Research Center (SERC), Edgewater, MD • “Land and Sea”, The Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, MD • “Flight!”, iFly & the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy, National Air & Space Museum, Chantilly, VA • “Innovations in Car Crash Testing & Safety”, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Car
Crash Testing facility, Ruckersville, VA • “Out of the Classroom and Into the Field”, Great Falls National Park, McLean, VA
See the descriptions of each field trip on the following pages.
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center: Tracking Change (bus loads at 6:45am, capacity 35) Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tracking-change-registration-33813461975
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is one of the world’s leading research and education facilities focused on coastal ecosystems “to inform real-world decisions for wise policies, best business practices, and a sustainable planet. The world’s coastal zones are home to more than 70 percent of the global population and experience intense economic activity. The rate of environmental change is accelerating at an alarming rate. Since 1965, SERC has been conducting peer-reviewed research to understand the causes and consequences of rapid change in Chesapeake Bay and around the world.” SERC is a 2,650-acre campus located along the Chesapeake Bay, spanning forests, wetlands, marshes and 12 miles of protected shoreline. We will start our adventure by making sense of climate change with one of SERC’s resident scientists who will present to the group with an opportunity for Q & A. Then it’s off to choose two of your own mini-adventures (see options below). Lunch will be provided. The field trip will take place rain or shine so be prepared to get wet. Comfortable clothes and shoes that can get dirty, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a water bottle all highly recommended. Waders & nets provided by SERC for the waterfront activity. Please, no bug spray as this can be harmful to the water organisms (and the staff has indicated bugs are typically not an issue).
• Environmental Archaeological Dig: Educators will visit the Sellman Homestead and its surrounding 500 acres of farmland, SERC’s Archaeology Laboratory and host to research projects that explore the relationship between the land, the people that lived on it, and the complex ways they interacted with the environment. Information gathered helps humans address similar problems we face today. Educators will participate in a dig and learn about the major ongoing citizen science research projects focused on the following areas: erosion and sedimentation; species diversity; and coal usage.
• Wetlands Global Change Research Wetlands GCRW Walking Tour: Join a SERC expert on a walking tour of The Global Change Research Wetland (GCRW), “dedicated to unraveling the complex ecological processes that confer stability on coastal marshes as they respond to global environmental change. The 70-hectare brackish marsh is home to several long-term experiments designed to predict what the future holds for coastal wetland ecosystems as they cope with accelerated sea-level rise.”
• The Waterfront: Shoreline Connections: Roll up those sleeves and pants to explore the habitat and organisms in the Chesapeake Bay’s nearshore zone! SERC’s research efforts with particular attention to climate change will be highlighted. Seine along the shore of the Chesapeake to investigate the nearshore fish and invertebrate inhabitants, and sort and examine benthic invertebrates in an oyster reef community. Educators will consider how climate change is affecting the coastal ecosystems and the different biological & chemical drivers behind ocean and estuarine acidification. Instructors will share some simple demonstrations and resources.
The Calvert Marine Museum is a public, non-profit museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, research, and interpretation of the culture and natural history of the area with a focus on: regional paleontology, estuarine life of the tidal Patuxent River and adjacent Chesapeake Bay, and maritime history of these waters. Upon arrival, participants will join Dr. Stephen Godfrey, Curator of Paleontology on a walking tour of the museum. Then it’s off to hunt for fossils with Dr. Godfrey at the Calvert Cliffs. Spanning approximately 30 miles of shoreline along the Chesapeake, the sediments that now comprise Calvert Cliffs were laid down 10 to 20 million years ago when all of Southern Maryland was below sea level. Today, the now exposed and eroding cliffs reveal the remains of prehistoric species including mollusks, sharks and rays, and dolphins and whales. After returning to the museum for an outdoor lunch, educators will board the skipjack Dee of St. Mary to explore the natural history and ecology of the estuary. Once aboard, participants will help raise the sail, learn some basics of navigation, conduct water quality monitoring tests, and dredge for oysters while discussing conservation and management efforts.
Lunch will be provided. The field trip will take place rain or shine so be prepared to get wet. Comfortable clothes and shoes that can get dirty, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray, and a water bottle all highly recommended.
Come with us on a fantastic voyage to investigate the theme of flight. This multi-layover journey begins at the GWU campus to participate in a sampling of JASON labs to explore Newton’s laws of motion involved in spaceflight and the incorporation of free-body diagrams. Our second stop is not for the faint-hearted! At iFly, educators will experience what it’s really like to fly at this world-class indoor skydiving facility. Experience Newton’s laws of motion for yourself as you are suspended in air through iFly’s unique vertical wind tunnel. An iFly instructor will then lead a short STEM program, offering opportunities for educators to discuss and consider the physics involved. Our last stop is the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, in Chantilly, Virginia, Smithsonian’s companion facility to the Museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC. “Opened in 2003, its two huge hangars, the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar, display thousands of aviation and space artifacts, including a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a Concorde, and the Space Shuttle Discovery.” The Donald D. Engen Observation Tower gives educators a 360-degree bird's-eye view of Washington Dulles International Airport and the surrounding area. We’ll enjoy a personalized one-hour tour of the facility and a feature film at the Airbus IMAX theater, all the while considering how to translate these experiences back to our students at home. Comfortable clothes and shoes highly recommended.
Meet Matt Brumbelow, one of JASON’s very own featured host researchers from Expedition 2 of Terminal Velocity, at his work place - The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville, VA. The only facility of its kind, the research center is equipped with: a crash hall; a dummy calibration lab; testing labs to research roof strength, latch ease-of-use, booster seats, and a wide range of sled simulated crashes; and a state-of-the-art covered outdoor track. “Crash tests and other evaluations conducted at the Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville, Va., encourage auto manufacturers to make safer vehicles. The Institute's vehicle ratings program has helped consumers pick the best models since 1995.” Upon arrival, educators will enjoy a luncheon presentation by Brumbelow where he will describe recent research projects and new crash avoidance technology. Next, Brumbelow will take educators on a customized tour of the facility including an opportunity to witness an actual underride vehicle crash test, as featured in JASON’s curriculum! Finally, we’ll end the day at the covered track with demonstrations of new automatic breaking tests. Comfortable clothes and shoes highly recommended. And, oh, one more thing – be sure to fasten your seat belt!
How do we take the concepts we teach in the classroom and make them come alive out in the field? Adventure to historic Great Falls National Park, situated on 800 acres of land, along the Potomac River between Virginia and Maryland, to gain the strategies and tools necessary to bring field experiences to life for students in your own natural settings. In the morning, teachers will work with an expert from the Alice Ferguson Foundation, whose mission is to connect people to the natural world, sustainable agricultural practices and the cultural heritage of their local watershed through education, stewardship and advocacy. Educators will identify biotic and abiotic factors in the park as well as participate in a stream study using macro-invertebrates to assess the system’s health. After having lunch in the park, the group will journey to the visitor center and learn more about the natural history and significance of the area. This will include a film about the history of Great Falls and George Washington’s dream to build a canal, opening up a trade route between the east and the Ohio Valley. In the afternoon, participants will hike alongside a National Park Ranger to study the unique geology that makes the Great Falls so spectacular.
The field trip will take place rain or shine so be prepared to get wet. Comfortable clothes and shoes that can get dirty, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a water bottle all highly recommended. Boots will be provided for going into the stream with the kick seine nets. There will be hiking but it will be fairly light and on well-kept trails.
