Cohort 2 students from FIU and UM met with Museum Associate Teacher Internship (MATI) Master Teachers at the Museum to plan lessons for their internship classes. The workshop included activities to help them better understand the role of the teacher in planning and implementing hands-on, inquiry learning. They used an observation checklist to identify best practices in a short video of a science lesson. Participants also were given a tour of camp-related areas of the Museum, such as the classrooms, wildlife center, exhibits, and supply room, with Jennifer Fields, Vice President of Education at the Museum.

Supervising teachers for FIU and UM students, along with the Master Teachers for the Museum Associate Teacher Internship, spent the day at the Museum learning about handheld technology and inquiry-based, hands-on science. Participants received a handheld computer (Palm), and training on how to use it. They were then introduced to the PD3 science observation tool, and practiced using the tool by watching short video clips of classroom. Finally, they were introduced to four APEX Science investigations: Biome on a String, Soaring Rockets, Strawmendous!, and Toot Your Pipe. At each station, participants played the role of teacher, student, or observer using the PD3 tool.

Florida International University students and Miami-Dade County Public School classroom teachers explored the link between the physical, chemical and living components of an ecosystem, and observed South Florida and non-native species in the Museum’s Wildlife Center. They created a biome on a string” and used data collection journals to record observations of their biome. Working in collaborative groups, participants practiced online research and mathematics skills to design appropriate zoo habitats for selected animals, culminating in a tour of the TechnoZoo.

Florida International University students and Miami-Dade County Public School classroom teachers explored and compared three hands-on investigations about tops, and then identified and discussed three approaches to hands-on science. They explored ways to integrate force and motion concepts in the elementary science classroom by interacting with the Newton’s Notions exhibit at the Museum, and explored ways to integrate math with physical science during the CAT-apult challenge.