The education department at Stroud Water Research Center is excited to expand its professional development programs for educators. New programs that are part of this initiative include the WikiWatershed.org webinar series, workshops at the Stroud Center, and an emerging partnership with the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU). Educators can receive a certificate of documentation of hours for all professional development events, and some of the events also include Act 48 hours directly from the CCIU.
“The Stroud Center is in a unique position to offer hands-on inquiry-based professional development in science and environmental education,” says Steve Kerlin, Ph.D., director of education.
Educators can learn about current scientific findings and investigative processes in our professional development programs, as the Stroud Center’s education department routinely collaborates with the research and restoration staff and integrates new knowledge in freshwater ecology.
Within the last year, the education department has expanded from three to eight staff members with a combined 204 years of teaching experience in formal school and informal settings. Kerlin also leverages past experiences as a middle school and high school science teacher, university professor of science and environmental education, and environmental education researcher to co-lead the creation of professional development events following best practices for effective and impactful professional development for educators. Tara Muenz, assistant director of education, adds her vast experience in leading stream ecology and monitoring trainings for water professionals and educators to the creation of the expanded professional development programs.
New Webinar Series Launched
The new WikiWatershed webinar series features two Leaf Pack Network webinars led by Muenz each year (one in the fall and the other in the spring). The webinar series also features the Model My Watershed online GIS tool. Kerlin and Dave Arscott, Ph.D., Stroud Center assistant director, led the first Model My Watershed webinar for educators on October 19. Over 60 professionals from across the United States attended the webinar. The next Model My Watershed webinar for educators is scheduled for December 6 at 3:30 p.m. EST. To view recordings of earlier webinars, visit www.wikiwatershed.org/videos.
Save the Dates for 2017 Workshops
Face-to-face workshops include Leaf Pack Network trainings at the Stroud Center. During these workshops, participants learn the knowledge and skills to conduct stream studies in their local communities and submit their data to the international Leaf Pack Network® database. In a new partnership with Tricia Egner, math, science, and gifted staff development specialist at the CCIU, upcoming workshops include a three-hour workshop on technology in environmental education (to cover WikiWatershed and Water Quality mobile app) at the CCIU on January 31, 2017 and a full-day stream study workshop at the Stroud Center on April 13, 2017.
Tours of Stroud Center education facilities and information about education programs are now also offered the hour before all of the lectures in our Stroud Seminar Series, which are free and open to the public.
Please check the Stroud Center events page for all upcoming professional development opportunities.
