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We know that everyone is totally consumed by budget
challenges, staff layoffs, and how to keep our education
enterprise working effectively during this challenging
time.
But we also need to take the time to reflect on the many
quality events and successes that keep us energized on
our goal of having an effective science education
program in every school district in the state. This
eNewsletter gives you some time to do exactly that.
All the best for an enjoyable and productive summer.
Dennis and Jeff
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2009 Science Education Advocate Awards |
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The 2008-2009 Science Education Advocate Award, the
third year of the program, was given to two individuals,
two organizations and one project team. This award
recognizes outstanding individuals, organizations,
and/or project teams who have exhibited exceptional
support and advocacy for science education in the State
of Washington.
In addition to receiving recognition at statewide and
local events, these five awardees were each given $5,000
to be awarded to the not-for-profit organization or
public education entity of their choice for use in its
efforts on behalf of science education. The monetary
reward, as well as funding for the awards process, was
generously supplied by the Boeing Company.
Congratulations to:
 Kim
M. Fowler
Senior Research Engineer, Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory (PNNL)
Kim Fowler's $5,000 donation will be awarded to: Yakima
Valley/Tri-Cities MESA
Edmund O. Schweitzer, III Ph.D.
President, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories,
Inc.
Ed Schweitzer's $5,000 donation will be awarded to:
Palouse Discovery Science Center
Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI)
SBRI's $5,000 donation will be awarded to: BioQuest
Northwest Association for Biomedical Research
(NWABR)
NWABR's $5,000 donation will be awarded to: Student Bio
Expo
Spokane Youth Environmental Conference Project
Team
Spokane Youth Environmental Conference Project Team's
$5,000 donation will be awarded to: the Spokane Youth
Environmental Conference
For more information about the 2009 Washington Science
Education Advocate Awards,
click here.
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WA State LASER Invited to National Academies
Convocation |
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On April 29-30, 2009, WA State LASER was featured in a
panel presentation at the National Academies
 Convocation
on Sustaining Effective Education Program in Science
Education for Grades K-8. The Convocation took
place at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine,
CA. Its focus was on science education in California,
and WA State LASER was one of the outside sources
invited to present. Jeff Estes
represented WA State LASER in two sessions:
- A panel discussion focusing on examples of "What's
working in K-8 science education?" Three examples were
presented: Washington LASER, the Beckman@Science program
in Orange County, CA, and the Merck Institute for
Science Education in New Jersey.
- A facilitated breakout session where conference
participants could interact (Q&A session) with one of
the programs presented during the panel discussion.
A National Academies report will be produced about the
convocation. If you would like more information,
click here to go to the
National Academies to see the entire Convocation agenda
and materials, including the LASER presentation.
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LASER Faculty Member Honored |
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 Bruce
Cannard, Edison Elementary Principal in
Kennewick, was selected to be the Washington State
Elementary Principal of the Year. Bruce is a member of
the LASER Strategic Planning Institute faculty.
Congratulations, Bruce! For more
information,
click here.
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LASER Statewide Middle School Symposium to Advance
Science Education Reform |
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 On
May 17-19, 2009, principals, Alliance Directors, and
ESD Regional Science Coordinators worked together to
create building, school, and/or regional action plans,
to improve science teaching and learning at the middle
school level.
Frances Eberle , the National Science
Teachers Association Executive Director, made a case
for effective science instruction. Dr. Andy
Shouse helped participants grapple with
current research on teaching and learning and to
consider its implications for practice. Dr.
Phil Bell and Blakely Tsurusaki
shared the research that bridges informal and
classroom instruction. A panel of middle school
administrators shared the strategies that have been
used in their schools that have met with success.
Washington State LASER would like to thank
Merck Institute for Science Education for
their support of this event.
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LASER Alliance Events |
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Teachers,
Administrators, and State Leaders Attend Page Keeley
Events
 On
April 28 and 29, the South Sound Alliance hosted over
100 science leaders to learn with Page Keeley,
the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
President and Executive Director of the Maine
Mathematics and Science Alliance. The program had two
focuses. Curriculum Topic Study (CTS), a National
Science Foundation (NSF) funded project, was one
focus. The project developed a set of tools and
processes, using professional resources, to bridge the
gap between national standards, research on learning
to classroom practice and state standards. Teachers
who participate in CTS improve their understanding of
science content and increase opportunities for all
students to achieve student literacy.
The second focus was Assessment
Probes. Assessment Probes are used to elicit students'
thinking about specific ideas in science. With this
information, teachers can adjust their teaching to
help their students' conceptual learning.
This event was sponsored by Intel.
For more information about CTS,
click here.
Northeast Washington LASER
Alliance Principal's Symposium
 Principals
and other instructional leaders attended the symposium
held at ESD 101 in Spokane, WA. Phil Bell
and Andrew Shouse, both from the
University of Washington, were two of the speakers. They
spoke about the current views of science learning and
implications for instructional leadership. This session
was a follow-up to an administrators' eight-week on-line
book study group on Ready, Set, Science!
South Sound/North Sound
LASER Alliances Collaborative Educational Forum
South Sound and North Sound collaborated to bring
Dr. Robert Tai to an educational
forum. Dr. Tai, University of Virginia associate
professor, shared his research on what factors
influence college science success.
For more information, contact Kim Klinke
at
kklinke@systemsbiology.org or Andrew
Schwebke at
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