Professional Development Opportunities

Conserve School, a semester school for high school juniors focused on the theme of environmental stewardship, offers an Advanced Placement Summer Institute at their 1,200-acre wilderness campus in Land O’ Lakes, Wis.

The Habitable Planet is a multimedia course for high school teachers and adult learners interested in studying environmental science. The site provides access to course content and activities developed by leading scientists and researchers in the field. Videos, interactive online labs, and an online textbook are available.

Science Objects are two hour on-line interactive inquiry-based content modules, developed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), that help teachers better understand the science content they teach. The Science Objects are free online and include such topics as Coral Reef Ecosystems and Ocean's Effect on Weather and Climate.

Original broadcast on March 30, 2011

Teaching Ocean Connections: Watersheds to Reefs was broadcast live on Wednesday, March 30, 2011.

During the webinar, experts Rob Ferguson, Paulo Maurin and Cathy Sakas from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared their knowledge and ideas for compelling classroom activities on watersheds and introduced participants to NOAA's Rivers to Reefs Program.

Webinar participants also learned about a series of lesson plans developed by Earth Day Network in support of EE Week's 2011 theme: Ocean Connections.

Original Broadcast on Wednesday, February 23, 2011

On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Young people are asking their teachers and parents difficult questions about the causes and effects of the spill, and many educators have elected to focus on the Gulf Oil Spill as a unifying interdisciplinary theme to explore throughout the school year.

Original broadcast on Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Have you ever wondered how far your water travels to get to your kitchen faucet? Or thought about how much energy is used for a hot shower? Did you know that water is a key ingredient in the process of producing electricity from coal and other thermoelectric sources?

On March 31, 2010, EE Week held its first educator webinar, titled Teaching the Water-Energy Connection. Webinar participants heard from representatives of River Network's Saving Water, Saving Energy program about the water requirements of electricity production, as well as the energy needed to treat, transport and heat the water we use every day. Participants also learned about water and energy conservation projects taking place in schools across the country as well as lesson plans developed by Earth Day Network on the water-energy connection.