Oh! The Places You'll Go!

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

The stanza above was written by Dr. Seuss for the Poem titled Oh! The Places You'll Go!

The Grant Managers, Expanded Learning Program Providers, Program Directors, Site Coordinators, and front line practitioners have visited many places this year. They have visited the outer limits of our galaxy courtesy of the Discovery Museum Science and Space Center. They have soared to new heights within Earth's atmosphere via a trip to the Aerospace Museum of California. They have also visited the different biomes of the Effie Yeaw Nature Center. These are just a few of the known locations that the professional development in Region 3 has taken those in the Expanded Learning world. There are countless destinations that haven't revealed themselves yet; for when you invest in your craft, the destinations are limitless and do not always reveal themselves right away. Being a life long learner will take you to places that you have never dreamed of.


There are a plethora of life long learners in the Region 3 Expanded Learning Program field and here are  two courses that some from the region enrolled in during March of 2014:

Professional Development Training: Advanced Project WET (Click to view News Story)
(Water Education for Teachers) 

Trainer: Brian Brown: California Project WET Coordinator

Contact Information: projectwet@watereducation.org

Date of Training: March 12 and 13, 2014

Brief Description of Training: This was an advanced training for participants who have already attended a Project WET training in the past. Participants were encouraged to bring their copies of the Project WET instructor guide that they received at a prior training. At this training, Brian Brown, led the participants on an in-depth exploration of 10 Project WET activities at the site of the American River. This training not only focused on how to incorporate these activities into their Summer Learning Program, but also how to make their field trips more impactful. This training and the activities that were facilitated also helped these Expanded Learning Program educators make a stronger correlation between the drought that California is currently experiencing and the effects that it has on our local environments.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center was the site of this training.

Brian Brown leading the group towards the American River.

Participants conducted a simulated bio-assessment of the American River by sampling aquatic macro invertebrates.

Participants play a game of tag to stimulate the effects of environmental stressors on macro invertebrate populations.

Professional Development Training: California Teacher Pathway STEM Institute:
Module III (Moon Rovers)

Trainer: Ryan McCarthy: Statewide Training Director for California Teacher Pathway

Contact Information: ryan@cateacherpathway.org

Date of Training: March 27, 2014

Brief Description of Training: In this professional development training, the Expanded Learning Program educators worked in collaborative groups to experience this activity first hand. They were asked to think like scientist and explore the idea of how a car works. Through this activity they identified real world variables that had effects on their moon rovers that they built such as friction, weight distribution, alignment, etc. Also by experiencing this activity first hand, the participants were also able to trouble shoot any potential road bumps that some of their students might face. 

Participants are working on creating one of their concave moon rover wheels.

Participants have just finished adding all four of their concave moon rover wheels to the chassis.

Finished Moon Rover called the Rainbow Rover

STEM and Other Pertinent Articles:

1) What Keeps Students Motivated to Learn?

2) Introducing Programming to Preschoolers

3) Should Kids Learn to Code in Grade School?

4) Why Programming Teaches So Much More Than Technical Skills

5) Demand for Computer Science Classes Grows, Despite Digital Divide

6) Why It's Imperative to Teach Students How to Question as the Ultimate Survival Skill

7) Follow the School Funding Formula (LCFF)

8) Districts Develop Goals for Foster Youth

9) SB 1221 (Hancock) Would Prioritize Year-Round Learning

10) After-School coding program in Mill Valley crammed with kids

11) California STEM Learning Network Supports AB2319 
      (Supplemental funding for Common Core and NGSS)

12) Quality After School STEM Necessitates Quality Teaching and Learning

13) AB 1879 Would require after school consultation in LCAPs


STEM (and other Integrated Core Content) Activities/Videos/Websites/Podcast:

1) Does Teaching KidsTo Get 'Gritty' Help Them Get Ahead?

2) Learn to Code, Learn to Code

3) PBS How to Use Digital Tools Webpage

4) Student Science Resources

5) STEM-Finity (Free STEM Resources for K-12 educators)

6) Soap Souffle

7) Sun Science App from Lawrence Hall of Science (Free +Activities)

8) Lawrence Hall of Science Programs for Schools

9) Learning In After School and Summer (LIAS) in the News

10) Roadtrip Nation Career Roadmap

11) Natural Heroes Curriculum (KVIE)

12) SPARK Physical Activity Kit through CASRC 

13) Predators and Prey Kits through CASRC

14) Real Math Games Home Connection Kit

15) Discovering Science Through Inquiry Series



STEM Profesional Development Opportunities:

1) Techbridge Summer Institute ($800 per person)

2) STEM Academy for Elementary School Teachers ($450 per person)

3) Steve Spangler Story Time Slime / Online Training ($199.00 per person)
    Connecting Science and Children's Literature

4) Click2Science Professional Development Program (Free)

5) Technical Writing for Science Class (Free)

6) Edge Up University Provides Online Professional Development (Free)
    Professional Development training for Informal After School Educators
    provided by Region 8

7) Crafting a Winning Needs Statement: Give your grant proposals a competitive 
    advantage Webinar: April 23, 2014 10:00am PST (Free)

8) Beyond Sponsorship: How to Create Value Driven Corporate Partnerships
    Webinar: April 23, 2014 10:00am PST (Free)


STEM / Misc. / Events / Grants / Contest:

1) Speak Up! Speak Out! CalSAC's 10th Annual California Afterschool and Summer 
    Challenge (May 12 and 13, 2014) Register online

2)  Teichert Foundation Grants (August 2014 Deadline)

3) American Honda Foundation STEM Grants (May 1 Deadline)

4)  Batters Up USA (Baseball and Softball Gear) 
     (New Applications Posted May 1, 2014)

5) UC Davis Day of Service and Science (May 8, 2014)

6) Meet the Machines: Children of all ages have the opportunity to touch, climb on and 
    explore an expansive collection of machines and unique vehicles. (May 10, 2014)

7) Saucony Run for Good Foundation Website: Program: After School, 
    At-Risk/Character, General Education, Health/PE
    Maximum Grant: up to $10,000 (Deadline: June 13, 2014)

8) Best Buy Children's Foundation Program: After School, Arts, General Education, 
    Health / PE, Math, Reading, Science/Environmental, Social Studies, STEM, 
    Technology Maximum Grant: up to $6,000 (Deadline: July 1, 2014)

9) Innovation Corps Sites Program: After School, Arts, General Education, Health/PE, 
    Math, Reading, Science,/Environmental, Social Studies, STEM, Technology 
    Maximum Grant: up to $6,000 (Deadline July 1, 2014)

10) Procter and Gamble Educational Grants Program: After School, Early Childhood, 
      General Education, Health/PE Maximum Grant: up to $10,000 
      (Deadline September 26, 2014)

Thanks again for all that you do in the field. Please keep us posted about STEM events/activities in your area. Please feel free to contact us at any time.

Monica Gonzalez-William (SCOE: Region 3: After School Regional Lead)
@ mgonzalez@scoe.net

Phil Romig: (SCOE: Science Curriculum Specialist) @ promig@scoe.net

Mark Drewes: (SCOE: Project Specialist II: After School) @ mdrewes@scoe.net