Hello to All,
Our start time is coming quickly! It is terrific that we are connected
and thinking together before we gather in Princeton. I am Susan Blunck
from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). I have been working
on the WW Environmental design team from the beginning - sharing my
ideas/experiences related to teacher development and pedagogy. I am
excited to read the module ideas that the everyone has been sharing. I
have been monitoring the exchange carefully and will continue to do so.
I have to let the Iowa team know that before coming to UMBC two years
ago, I was at the University of Iowa Science Education Center working as
director of outreach and teacher development - born and raised in Iowa -
12 years a classroom teacher in Des Moines, IA!
I am looking forward to being with all of you for the first two weeks of
our conference. My role will be one of a pedagogical and curriculum
engineering coach. I am eager to get to know about you, your students,
your school, your curriculum, and the environmental issues that you
identify that could make your science teaching more personal, local, and
relevant. We will work together to design creative contexts for
exploring key environmental science concepts.
One of the greatest challenges we face in our work this summer is to
rethink conventional linear conceptual course outlines and try a design
conceptual frameworks for our modules that are dynamic and nonlinear. We
also need to be thinking how we can develop experiences for our students
where they are able to test their own questions, to gather evidence,
interpret data collected, and revise tests. We will also have the
opportunity to create meaningful assessments to measure the changes in
our students. From what I am reading, you are well aware of these
challenges and are up to meeting them this summer. I look forward to
getting to know you better during our workshop this summer. Welcome to
everyone - see you very soon!
Susan M. Blunck. Ph.D.
University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Assistant Professor Science Education
410-455-2869
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250