Rider University to Co-Host Summer Institutes for Local Science and Math Teachers

Editor's Note: The following is a news release that was issued by Rider University.

This summer, local school teachers will have the chance to collaborate and enhance their knowledge of science and math through two professional development programs held in a partnership between Rider University and Princeton University.
 
The 2011 CONNECT-ED PLC Summer Leadership Institute will be held from Tuesday, June 28, through Thursday, June 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in Fireside Lounge in the Bart Luedeke Student Center on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus.

This three-day institute convenes all of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) Leadership Teams from 12 of the CONNECT-ED partner districts for leadership training. This marks the final PLC Leadership Institute in Phase II, which began in 2008.
 
“For the past three years, the goal has been to nurture and support science and math leaders in the districts so that 'Big Idea Thinking,' the CONNECT-ED approach to science and math, takes root in the district and in teachers’ classrooms where the work needs to happen for the long term,” explained Jean Kutcher, administrative director of the Teaching and Learning Center at Rider.
 
The 2011 QUEST & CONNECT-ED Summer Institute will be held from Tuesday, July 5, through Friday, July, 15.  Princeton University’s QUEST program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, will run from Tuesday, July 5, through Friday, July 8, and offer two sessions on its campus for teachers of grades 3 through 8 called Life and Chemistry in the Ocean and Energy in the 21st Century, and one session at Rider University for teachers of grades 6through 12 called RxeSEARCH.

The CONNECT-ED session, Data Analysis and Science Connections, will be held from Monday, July 11, through Friday, July 15, in Rider University’s Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning.
 
So far, about 35 K-12 teachers of science and math from many area school districts have registered to attend the CONNECT-ED session. Instructional teams of teachers from six area school districts and scientists from SRI International, Princeton University, and Montgomery Township Schools will engage participants in Big Idea Modules related to the topic. 
 
Participating school districts include Bordentown Regional School District, Camden County Schools, City of Burlington Public School District, East Windsor Regional Schools, Freehold Regional High School District, Hamilton Township School District, Hillsborough Township Public Schools, Hunterdon County Schools, Lawrence Township Public Schools, Princeton Regional Schools, Trenton Public Schools, Watching Hills Regional School District and West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District.
 
Established in 2003, CONNECT-ED (CONsortium for New Explorations in Coherent Teacher Education) is a consortium of 14 Central New Jersey districts/independent schools, Rider and Princeton Universities, Raritan Valley Community College, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and LearningForward (formerly the National Staff Development Council) dedicated to providing a coherent, sustained system of professional development for K-12 teachers of science and math that models the inquiry approach to teaching/learning, organizes content around the Big Ideas in science and math, and makes concept connections across grade levels and among disciplines. Rider University serves as lead institution for the consortium.
 
The 2011 CONNECT-ED institutes are made possible through support from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and The Martinson Family Foundation. QUEST is a collaboration of the Program in Teacher Preparation, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Geosciences, Princeton University, and the National Science Resources Center.