Project Description and Timeline
WGBH, in collaboration with NASA, is presenting Bringing the Universe to America's Classrooms*, an initiative for the development of media-rich digital learning resources to increase students’ engagement with science phenomena and practices in the classroom. Produced by WGBH, these resources will be distributed free of charge through the PBS LearningMedia platform, reaching millions of students and teachers nationally. In each of the five years of the project, teams of 50 K-12 teachers will advise WGBH on the development of these resources, working with leading media producers and educational researchers to design new ways to engage students around topics in Earth, space, and physical sciences. Below is the timeline for the Teacher Advisors for Year 2 of the project.
Teacher Advisor Timeline for 2017
This timeline will be updated as the project progresses.
February 8, 2017
Teacher Advisor application deadline.
March 2, 2017
Applicants are notified of acceptance.
March 13, 2017
Completed application packet deadline.
March 17, 2017
Teacher Advisors are publicly announced.
March – June 2017
Teacher Advisors will be asked to review and give feedback on digital resources under development.
March 30 – April 1, 2017
NSTA – Los Angeles, CA
Teacher Advisor gathering Fri., March 31 from 5:30-7pm.
April 2017
Welcome packets are sent to Teacher Advisors.
April 12, 2017
Virtual project kick-off event for Teacher Advisors. Teacher Advisors can view the recording here:
http://wgbh1.adobeconnect.com/kickoffrecording/event/registration.html
April 19, 2017
Webinar on teaching the Solar Eclipse featuring Dr. C. Alex Young, NASA. Teacher Advisors can view the recording here: http://wgbh1.adobeconnect.com/e4ncx3hcyvq/event/registration.html
May 17, 2017
Webinar on integrating digital media resources into instruction on weather and climate - for all grade bands. A Certificate of Completion is available for two hours upon viewing the webinar and completing a post-webinar reflection activity. Register for the webinar here:
http://bit.ly/WeatherClimateWebReg
April – November 2017
A series of virtual Professional Development offerings will be scheduled. Teacher Advisors are asked to attend or view the recording of at least two of these four virtual events.
June 21, 2017
Webinar (one hour) to introduce Teacher Advisors to what is included in an Instructional Module and a sneak peek at the Instructional Modules being created for publication in August on topics of climate and weather.
August 10, 2017
Webinar (30 minutes) for all Teacher Advisors led by research partner, Oregon State University to introduce the types of questions and mechanism for gathering data that will be used as the TAs implement the new Instructional Modules with their students.
August 23, 2017
Webinar (30 minutes) for Teacher Advisors and educators nationwide to introduce the new Earth Instructional Modules. Webinar for grades K-2 is August 23rd at 6:30pm EDT; grades 3-5 at 7:30pm EDT.
August 24, 2017
Webinar (30 minutes) for Teacher Advisors and educators nationwide to introduce the new Earth Instructional Modules. Webinar for grades 6-8 is August 23rd at 6:30pm EDT; grades 9-12 at 7:30pm EDT.
August – October 2017
Teacher Advisors implement the Instructional Modules with their students and complete a feedback form here. Some in-class observations will be scheduled.
October 23, 2017
Instructional Module Feedback Form will close.
November 2017
Teacher Advisors complete a final survey and any remaining program requirements.
November 2017
WGBH shares evaluation findings to date with Teacher Advisors via webinar.
December 2017
Potential renewal of advisory participation for project year 3, pending project needs.
Project Kick-Off
On Friday, May 20, 2016, WGBH gathered project advisors and other collaborators for a project kick-off full-day meeting, which included a morning project overview, followed by a smaller group project planning session.
The project overview portion of the program was live-streamed and recorded. You can watch a playlist of recordings from the event on the WGBH Education YouTube channel.