Congratulations to the newly elected APAST Board members!
Congratulations to our board members elected in the most recent APAST election: Treasurer, John Hunt; District 2 Director, Linda Smith; District 4 Director, Mirandi Squires; District 6 Director, Dwight Sieggreen; District 8 Director, Julie Olson; District 10 Director, Nancy Foote; District 12 Director, Dawn O’Connor.
APAST Thanks McGraw-Hill Education and Ward’s Science
Thank you to McGraw-Hill Education for sponsoring our breakfast meeting and Ward’s Science for sponsoring our business meeting and social at the 2013 NSTA National Conference in San Antonio. The Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching is grateful for the continued support and commitment of our sponsors.
Join APAST @ NSTA San Antonio!
The annual APAST Breakfast will occur during NSTA’s 2013 National Conference in San Antonio. All APAST members are invited to attend the breakfast on Friday, April 12 from 7:00-9:00am in the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel salon D.
Thank you to our breakfast sponsor
The annual APAST Business Meeting and Social will occur during NSTA’s 2013 National Conference in San Antonio. All APAST members are invited to attend the business meeting and social on Friday, April 12 from 5:00-7:00pm in the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel salon C.
Thank you to our business meeting and social sponsor
APAST supports NGSS
APAST President Kenneth Huff has released a letter that is intended to express the support of the Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching (APAST) toward the development and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards. We believe this is an important step to guide science teaching and learning in the 21st Century.
To view this letter, please click here.
Start Planning Today for Future NSTA Conferences!
National Conferences
- San Antonio, Texas: April 11–14, 2013
- Boston, Massachusetts: April 3–6, 2014
2013 Area Conferences
- Portland, Oregon: October 24–26
- Charlotte, North Carolina: November 7–9
- Denver, Colorado: December 12–14
Next Generation Science Standards
Upcoming NSTA Web Seminars on Preparing for the Next Generation Science Standards—Crosscutting Concepts
NSTA is presenting a series of seven web seminars on the Crosscutting Concepts described in The Framework for K-12 Science Education, released in 2011 by the National Research Council (NRC). The Framework describes the major practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas that all students should be familiar with by the end of high school and is being used to guide the development of the Next Generations Science Standards.
The crosscutting concepts included in the Framework (and the final version of the NGSS) represent current research about how students learn best. Teachers are encouraged to learn more about these crosscutting concepts now in advance of the final release of NGSS and begin incorporating them into instruction to provide students the skill sets they need to be successful in learning any content.
The web seminars will be a valuable professional development experience for any science educator, but will be especially practical for those at the middle and high school level. They will also be helpful for science coordinators, supervisors, state science supervisors and others.
The web seminars are offered free of charge and are designed so that participants can attend just one or all seven sessions. They will run from 6:30-8:00 pm Eastern Time every other Tuesday starting on Tuesday, February 19.
NSTA Web Seminars on Crosscutting Concepts Feb. 19: Patterns March 5: Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation March 19: Scale, proportion, and quantity April 2: Systems and system models April 16: Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation April 30: Structure and function May 14: Stability and change
For more information and to register visit:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/webseminar.aspx
Thank you to McGraw-Hill and VWR Education
Thank you to McGraw-Hill Education for sponsoring our breakfast meeting and VWR Education for sponsoring our business meeting and social at the NSTA National Conference in Indianapolis. The Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teaching is grateful for the continued support and commitment of our sponsors.
APAST @ NSTA 2012
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- APAST Members with our gracious hosts
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- APAST and PAEMST
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- Linda Smith- District 2 Director APAST
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- Melissa Collins, PAEMST
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- VWR Education welcomes APAST Members to Social
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- APAST & McGraw-Hill Education
STEMIE Awards presented by McGraw-Hill Education
EVERY TEACHER DOES EXTRAORDINARY THINGS!
• Do you have an innovative math lesson?
• Have an interesting idea for math game or science activity?
• Want to share your most intriguing science project?
McGraw-Hill Education is celebrating extraordinary STEM teachers like you, with the 2012 STEM Innovative Educator Awards (STEMIE Awards for short). All you have to do is record a 2-minute video demonstrating something innovative you’ve done in the classroom along with a short essay and lesson plan, and submit it on this site. First place wins $15,000, second place gets $5,000, and third place will win $2,500, plus we’ll grant up to $2,500 more in fun awards like Honorable Mentions.
You can learn more on the Contest Details page, or if you’re ready enter now!
http://stemie.mcgraw-hill.com/
PAEMST Book Published
The Making of a Presidential Mathematics & Science Educator
Edited by Sean Nank, Ph.D.
To order, visit http://www.discoveryassociationpublishinghouse.com/Purchase_the_PAEMST_book.html
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) was first awarded in 1983. It is the only K-12 education award issued by the President of the United States. It is the highest award in the entire nation that anyone can bestow on mathematics and science teachers. One mathematics teacher and one science teacher can win the award from each state, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, United States territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity.
When a teacher has been nominated, s/he completes the application process and is judged at the state level. Between zero and three finalists are chosen at this level. From there, the finalists are judged again at the national level. Either one winner is chosen or the award for that particular state goes unfilled. The PAEMST is considered the Nobel Prize for educators.
When I was honored at the week-long award ceremony in Washington DC, I was surrounded by some of the best educators in the nation. Being in a room with PAEMST awardees, one cannot help but experience the excitement for education, dedication to teaching, and the vast amount of pedagogical and curricular knowledge, reflection, and appreciation for being a professional educator. These teachers’ pedagogical strategies, perspectives on math and science curricula, and personal teaching stories intrigued me. I was in awe at the insight and professional dedication and was compelled to learn as much as I could from these PAEMST teachers. I wanted to hear their stories and understand their journeys. This camaraderie and admiration for the importance of their stories is what motivated and is captured in this book.
During one of the award weeks in Washington DC, a guest speaker told the new awardees that when they returned to their schools and communities, people might wonder, “What makes you so great?” This book is, in part, is an answer to the query.
The PAEMST awardees’ climb to excellence began long before their recognition in Washington DC. These teachers measure their success by the time and support given to students as they share their honor with the myriad of people, contexts, and influences that made them the teachers they have become. Every chapter describes the teachers’ commitment to students, colleagues, and the profession of teaching.
This book is a collection of 50 autobiographical stories of PAEMST educators’ journeys through life and their educational experiences, both as students and as teachers. Nineteen of the award years are represented. Also represented are 28 states, Washington DC, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. Teaching experiences range from younger teachers and new awardees to retired teachers who were awarded the PAEMST over 20 years ago. Life experiences range from people who were born under communist rule and vividly remember the launch of Sputnik to people who were born after the Vietnam War ended.
Teleconferences and individual conversations with the authors in this book greatly influenced the organization of the chapters. The editor and many of the PAEMST awardees voiced concern that the mathematics and science chapters not be segregated. There is a consistent dialogue of segregation familiar to mathematics and science educators. The integration of mathematics and science chapters endorses a Deweyan approach of avoiding the artificial separation of subject matters. Mathematics and science are intricately entwined in research, discussions, pedagogical strategies, and curricula. Their symbiotic nature serves as a catalyst to foster greater integration in educational settings both in and out of the classroom.
The product of their efforts is a collection of chapters in which PAEMST awardees candidly describe their experiences, influences, and motivations, first, to become teachers and, then, to become great teachers. Each chapter provides a window into the making of a teacher of PAEMST status. The chapters are inspirational, educational, and candidly honest. Some awardees had “normal” lives while others lived through tragedy. Some had fond memories of their time as students and others recalled negative experiences. Although their stories vary greatly, the one commonality though all the chapters is that somewhere along their journey, they became outstanding.