Case Study Training in September

This is an excellent workshop for those interested in the sciences and case study. A by-product of your involvement with it will be the opportunity to turn your product from the workshop into an on-line case study.

-MG

Dear List Members,

Join us for our annual Fall Case Study Teaching in Science Conference, September 21-22, 2012 in Buffalo, NY, sponsored by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. Our conference offers sessions for both the beginner and advanced case study teacher along with a one day track for high school teachers. In addition to our distinguished group of session teachers, we have brought in two noted scholars to address the general conference; below is a summary of each plenary.

– Pat Marsteller, Director, Center for Science Education, and Professor of Practice, Department of Biology, Emory University; “Reinventing Science Teaching: Using PBL and Case Studies in Middle through Grad School”, No one learns anything unless they are engaged. This presentation addresses the use of PBL and case studies to create a compelling “need to know” in students from middle school through graduate school. Since 2003, Emory’s Problems and Research to Integrate Science and Mathematics (PRISM) program has offered graduate and undergraduate students fellowship opportunities to partner with local teachers to engage middle and high school students in science and math through problem-based learning. The teams develop and implement engaging lessons that connect science disciplines and highlight science in the real world. The primary goal of PRISM is to transform K-16 science education by enhancing the teaching, communication, and research-dissemination skills of future faculty; building sustainable university-community partnerships in which Emory students can be engaged; enhancing teacher content knowledge and pedagogy skills; and providing teachers and graduate students with opportunities and skills to take leadership roles in producing knowledge about pedagogical practice so that they can act as change agents within the K-16 educational system. This plenary will highlight the joys, benefits, and challenges of reinventing science teaching.

– Cathy Middlecamp, Associate Professor, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and Howe Bascom Professor, Integrated Liberal Studies Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison; “Unclear Nuclear”: We would have a different history – and different stories to tell – if we had been born with the ability to detect nuclear radiation. The fact that we weren’t is one of the many reasons why it is challenging to teach concepts relating to the nuclear sciences. When engaging students with a case study that involves nuclear something-or-other (e.g., medical radioisotopes, power plants, forensics, uranium enrichment, dirty bombs), instructors can do a better job if they know the difficulties that students experience when learning the underlying concepts and facts. If we slip into teaching these concepts and facts by simply “covering” them, we run the risk of landing right back into practices that made us seek alternatives in the first place. As my examples with radioactivity will show, leading students to develop an understanding of nuclear-related content requires a blend of detective work, creativity, good stories, and a knowledge of how people learn.

HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS – Our “mini” track is made up of three sessions on Saturday specifically designed for high school science teachers (though others, we think, will find it of interest too!).

Our conference will be led by Dr. Clyde (Kipp) Herreid, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and Director of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. The conference is open to anyone interested in science education including high school teachers and international teachers. See below for a full listing of the conference sessions and other information. Our conference also includes a poster session and we would be pleased if you submitted a proposal by August 30, 2012. Register now for this rewarding 2-day Case Study Teaching in Science Conference, which takes place on September 21 st and 22nd, 2012.

Please pass this announcement along to colleagues of yours who are may not be on our listserv.

Regards,
Carolyn Wright
Administrator, National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
University at Buffalo, State University of New York

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13th ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE
Presented by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
State University of New York at Buffalo
URL: http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/training/conference/
Date: September 21 & 22, 2012
Venue: Ramada Inn & Conference Center, Amherst, NY

DEADLINES:
-Poster session proposal submission: August 30, 2012
-Hotel room reservations: guarenteed room and rate until September 4, 2012
-Registration: September 4, 2012

The aim of our annual fall conference is to bring together people who are interested in teaching science using case studies. Our conference features two plenaries: Reinventing Science Teaching: Using PBL and Case Studies in Middle through Grad School, Pat Marsteller, Director, Center for Science Education, and Professor of Practice, Department of Biology, Emory University; Unclear Nuclear, Cathy Middlecamp, Associate Professor, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and Howe Bascom Professor, Integrated Liberal Studies Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison; a poster session, and a number of mini-workshops for the beginner, more experienced case teacher, and a high school teacher. It is your choice which sessions you attend (mix and match).

BEGINNER Sessions: Friday/Saturday
-What Is a Case? / Different Types of Cases (Kipp Herreid)
-The Discussion Case Method (Kipp Herreid)
-The Interrupted Case Method (Kipp Herreid)
-How to Write a Case (Kipp Herreid)

ADVANCED Sessions: Friday/Saturday
– Adopt and Adapt: Integrating Quantitative Skills into Cases (Pat Marsteller)
– CaseIt! (Mark Bergland and Karen Klyczek)
– Let’s Be Friends: Using Social Networking to Enhance Science Teaching (Aditi Pai)
– Involving Students in Case Study Writing: Naive or Brilliant? (Annie Prud’homme Genereux)
– Using Cases to Teach the Nature of Science: Alfred Russel Wallace & the Origin of Species (Douglas Allchin)
– Watts Up? (Cathy Middlecamp)

HIGH SCHOO)L TEACHER Track Sessions: Saturday Only
– Making a Case for Scientific Argumentation (Douglas Llewellyn)
– Learn by Doing: Using Case-Based Instruction to Integrate NGSS and Common Core Standards While Motivating and Engaging All Learners (Kathy Hoppe)
– Thinking Critically about Using Cases to Teach Critical Thinking Skills (Maureen Griffin and Eric Hall)

REGISTRATION
Two Day Registration is $550
One Day Saturday registration rate is $350

Registration includes buffet lunch, and morning/afternoon coffee breaks, as well as the Friday evening reception & banquet (for two day registrants). Additional $55 for Friday Banquet if registering for Saturday only or for guests. A full buffet breakfast is available to those staying at the Ramada Inn & Conference Center, compliments of the hotel.

Please note: A limited block of hotel rooms is being held at the Ramada for our group at the special conference rate of $75.00 until September 4, 2012, so plan on making your hotel reservations early.

For more information, including how to submit your poster proposal by August 30, 2012, see the conference website at: http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/training/conference

Questions about the conference can be directed to our Conference Coordinator, Carolyn Wright, at nccsts@buffalo.edu or (716) 645-4900, fax (716) 645-2975.