Thursday, November 3, 2016 - Classroom Teacher Workshop: Create Your School Eco Plan

Join Keep Philadelphia Beautiful and the School District of Philadelphia on November 3rd from 4-7pm for a professional development opportunity to help you become an Eco School!

In community with other educators, learn about best practices in greening your school and creating student leadership opportunities around environmental stewardship, including:

– Conducting environmental audits in your school buidling
– Writing an eco code with your students
– Building an eco team in your school

This PD opportunity will give you a chance to learn and do some real-time planning so you walk away with new tools to apply right away in your school community. This workshop is one in a series of three throughout the school year; they may be taken separately, or as a series for the greatest impact.

All SDP teachers participating will be eligible for ACT 48 credits for this workshop.  Space is limited to 12, so RSVP now!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/classroom-teacher-workshop-create-your-school-eco-plan-tickets-28423514497?aff=es2

Thursday, November 3, 2016 - Digital Badging Interest Forum
Digital badges are an innovative way for learners to show the skills they've learned and the competencies they've demonstrated in a training or educational program.  Join Digital On-Ramps to learn more about how digital badges are currently being used with youth and adult learners, employers, and in higher education in Philadelphia.  For more information and to register, click here.

Saturday, November 5, 2016 - For SDP Teachers Only
SDP Collaborative K-12 Science Event - PRNP Sponsored!
Please join us for a short, high impact morning of turnkey science workshops presented by fellow district teachers.  Get lessons and demo ideas that you can turn around in your class.  9:00 am - 12:00 pm at George Washington High School.  Register on the PD Planner #1000009587, or, come the day of.  Click here for more information about PD Offerings.  Great give-away bags for teachers with materials and tools for classroom use! 

Thursday, November 10, 2016 - STEM Networking Meeting at the Ed Fund

Monday, November 14, 2016 - Science on Tap:  The Man Who Forged Ben FraMnklin

All Science on Tap events take place at 6pm the second Monday of the month at National Mechanics, 22 S. 3rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106, unless otherwise stated. Be sure to arrive early to get seats!

Joseph Cosey, an Irish-American from
the Depression Era, has the dubious distinction of being the most successful and prolific forger in U.S. history. While most perpetrators struggle to duplicate the signatures of one or two individuals, Cosey mastered the handwriting styles of virtually all the nation’s founders, a score of latter-day statesmen, and a number of prominent writers—both male and female. A “printer’s devil” apprentice in his youth, Cosey success stemmed from his understanding of the delicate relationship of paper and ink. Cosey’s criminal career began…and ironically ended…with forgeries of Benjamin Franklin.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Philadelphia Area Math Teachers' Circle
At each workshop, we engage in recreational math by tackling one outlandish problem together. No matter what your level of experience or comfort with math, we guarantee that you can start the problem, have fun with it, and stretch it as far as you'd like.  For more information and to register click here.

Thursday, November 17, 2016 Chemical Heritage Foundation Presents:  Searching for Meaning in the History of Planetary Science

Why do we explore our solar system? Whose stories help explain the history of planetary science?

Matthew Shindell has been pondering these questions while teaching the history of exploration at Harvard and Georgetown Universities, and more recently while curating the Exploring the Planets exhibition of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.

In this Fellow in Focus lecture Shindell uses stories from explorers of our solar system to broaden the historical perspective. Moving beyond the well-known accomplishments of the “space race” and the oft-cited platitude that exploration is part of human nature, he connects planetary exploration to the larger history of the 20th century.  For more information and to register click here.

Saturday, November 19, 2016 - PA Earth Science Teacher's Association Conference
PAESTA is introducing a new format for its fall conference in 2016. The PAESTA Science Conference will have three invited scientists come speak to PAESTA members about the basics of climate science, how scientists are currently studying climate, the climate of Pennsylvania, and the climate and possible habitability of exoplanets.  For more information and to register click here.

Upcoming Webinars

From the comfort of your home, enjoy these dynamic and thought provoking Webinars!  If times conflict with school hours or you will not be at home, check the links for when they will be accessible again.

Learning at the Intersections of Science, Literacy, Gaming, and Making - November 9, 2016, 4-5 pm
Museum educators and teachers from Philadelphia will share some of the things they have learned from designing learning for middle school youth in out-of-school time spaces at the intersections of science, literacy, gaming, and making. This webinar will discuss experiences and questions that emerge from the GAME ON!  For more information and to register, click here.

NSTA Free Webinars:
NSTA Web Seminars are 90-minute, live professional development experiences that use online learning technologies to allow participants to interact with nationally acclaimed experts, NSTA Press authors, and scientists, engineers, and education specialists from NSTA partner organizations.  Click here to access their archives.

The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence

November 10, 2016, 3:00 p.m. eastern time

Register now

Based on Baruti Kafele's new ASCD book The Teacher 50: Critical Questions for Inspiring Classroom Excellence, this empowering, introspective webinar takes teachers on a reflective journey designed to challenge them to think deeply about their current practices relative to how they inspire classroom excellence.

NASA Free ‘STEM in 30’ Webcast -- Scientist or Guinea Pig: Science on the Station
Audience: Grade 6-8 Educators and Students
Event Date: Nov. 16, 2016, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST
Category: Education Webcasts, Museum Events and Exhibits, Contests and Things to Do
Do you like being poked, prodded and analyzed? If you said yes, then you may have a future as an astronaut. Astronauts on the International Space Station don’t just conduct scientific experiments -- they are part of an experiment themselves. Learning about the human factors of spaceflight is an important element to a future trip to Mars. Join the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum for this fast-paced webcast to explore the effects of space on the humans who travel there.

Igniting Passion for STEM - A Pearson Free Seminar - Watch at your convenience

In this session hear about ,

• The lack of student motivation in STEM coursework and Spark 101’s research-based solutions
• The STEM Inspiration Challenge: Bringing STEM to life in inquiry-based learning without the resources
• Pipeline vs. Pathway: The STEM education goals of educators and employers and how to find common ground to best support students

Personalized Learning in Project-Based Math Classrooms

This webinar took place on October 11, 2016 @ 2 p.m. ET    View this on-demand webinar now.    Download the PowerPoint presentation.

There is an emerging opportunity to boost student achievement and improve working for teachers here in the U.S.—and a huge opportunity to expand access to quality learning to every young person on earth. The opportunity is to make learning more compelling, customized, connected, and competency-based. Combining personalized and project-based learning creates an environment that supports both individual growth and passion in meaningful ways.