1,200 teachers at the 2017 Texas Stem Conference have opportunity to hear about the Texas Aquatic Science Education Pathway.
The 10th annual Texas STEM Conference was held January 19-21, 2017, In Dallas. About 1,200 teachers attended the STEM Conference and had an opportunity to hear all about the Texas Aquatic Science Education Pathway. Rudolph Rosen, from the Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology at Texas A&M University in San Antonio and Johnnie Smith of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department presented the paper: STEM Pathway for Aquatic Science: Experiential Learning In-Out of Classrooms.
In brief, Texas Aquatic Science is a pathway for water STEM education. Support from over 20 partners resulted in a comprehensive textbook in print and online, a teacher guide, technology enhancements, over 250 videos, enhancement and assessment materials, and a field site program connecting aquatic science in the classroom with educators and outdoor place-based experiential learning. Materials meet TEKS for geology, geography, chemistry, physics, ecology, biology, aquatic science and more.
For a look at the presentation and copies of all materials provided teachers at the STEM Conference, please go here (or just click the button): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BzsnCEIDPF-yTG1xY1ozNHFiZkE
Aquatic Science Materials for Teachers
Texas Aquatic Science is a comprehensive curriculum for water and aquatic science education studies for middle and high school use, plus application at the university level for non science majors.
The curriculum consists of a textbook in hard copy and fully on line, a massive teachers resource and activity guide that includes assessments, specially produced aquatic science video, and 220 online video lessons all fully aligned with Texas teaching standards. It’s become the top-ranked curriculum and source for information on aquatic science on the internet today.
Aquatic science students and adult learners may navigate the online student portal. For teachers, the Teachers Guide is loaded with science investigations, games, models, cooperative learning activities, Internet projects, readings from the student guides, short aquatic science education videos, science journals, and field based assessments of water quality and environmental conditions in a variety of outdoor education field trips. Most time is spent doing hands on activities from the Teacher Guide, over 700 pages of TEKS aligned, hands-on activities designed to engage all learners and all learner types. Lessons in each chapter begin with an activity to allow the teacher to assess what students know about the concepts to be studied. Lessons embed higher order thinking skills, provide depth and complexity of learning, and provide a wide variety of hands-on activities that engage students in many contexts and methods. Each lesson includes an opportunity for students to apply what they have learned by synthesizing the information and demonstrating their learning by developing creative products or performances.
Texas Aquatic Science education includes the Texas Aquatic Science curriculum textbook, teacher guide and activities, aquatic science videos, on-line lessons, and curriculum website.