NEWPORT NEWS, Va., UPDATED August 4, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab is currently accepting applications for its science enrichment program for fifth-, sixth- and eighth-grade teachers of science.
The program, designed to increase teachers' knowledge of the physical sciences and strengthen their teaching skills, runs from September 2010 through May 2011 and is called Jefferson Lab's Science Activities for Teachers, or JSAT, program.
The after-school program builds teachers' skills in the physical sciences, according to Lisa Surles-Law, program administrator.
"At the elementary and middle-school level, teachers, with little or no formal background in science education, often find themselves tasked with teaching the science curriculum," she said. "This program is a primer for them and a refresher for those with a formal education in science. JSAT provides attendees with a wealth of materials and activities to take back to their classrooms, and a chance to network with other teachers.”
The 2010-11 program will include interactive activities to enhance physical science instruction at the upper-elementary and middle-school levels, and lectures by Jefferson Lab staff on the applications of science. Topics will include matter, atomic structure, energy transfer, force and motion, magnetism and electricity, waves and sound, simple machines, and watershed and optics. Program participants will receive supplies and materials so they may conduct all the planned activities in their own classrooms.
The program, funded by a grant from the Jefferson Science Associates Initiatives Fund, addresses components of National Science Education Standards and the Virginia Standards of Learning.
Fifth-grade teachers will meet on Tuesday nights during the program. Sixth-grade teachers usually meet on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Eighth-grade teachers are scheduled to meet on the second and fourth Wednesdays every month. The sessions take place between 5-7 p.m. at Jefferson Lab, located at 12000 Jefferson Ave. in Newport News.
Additional information and the application form are available at: http://education.jlab.org/jsat/ or by emailing Surles-Law at surles@jlab.org. The application deadline for the 2010-11 program is Friday, Sept. 17. Surles-Law may be reached by phone at 757-269-5002.
- Session dates for fifth-grade teachers are set for the following Tuesdays: Sept. 28, Oct. 12 and 26, Nov. 2 and 16, Dec. 7 (2010), Jan. 4 and 18, Feb. 8 and 22, March 8 and 22, April 13 Teachers Night, and May 3 and 17 (2011)
- Sixth-grade teachers will meet: Sept. 22, Oct. 6 and 20, Nov. 3 and 17, Dec. 1 and 8 (2010), Jan. 5 and 19, Feb. 2 and 16, March 2 and 23, April 13 Teachers Night, and May 4 and 18 (2011)
- Session dates for the eighth-grade teachers are: Sept. 29, Oct. 13 and 27, Nov. 3 and 17, Dec. 1 and 8 (2010), Jan. 12 and 26, Feb. 9 and 23, March 16 and 30, April 13 Teachers Night, and May 4 and 18 (2011)