Stars and STEM Stories
Teacher Training Workshop in Montevideo, Uruguay
Twenty pre-service teachers preparing for careers in primary schools and secondary schools as well as biology and geography teachers from high schools throughout Uruguay, came together for a teacher training in Montevideo on 5-6 November 2013.
This was the first exposure the new teachers had to GLOBE and focused on Atmosphere, Land Cover and Phenology,Soil, Hydrology Protocols and other aspects of GLOBE Program methodology and implementation. Lic. Andrea Ventoso, Country Coordinator of Uruguay, was the principal coordinator of the event. Attendees came from Canelones, Durazno, Florida, Minas, Rocha, Tacuarembó and Montevideo.
The goals of the workshop were:
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To acquaint the teachers with GLOBE protocols, observations and taking reliable measurements with the aim of transferring these foundations of GLOBE to their students;
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To awaken teachers' scientific curiosity through GLOBE activities;
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To encourage care of the environment through greater understanding of Earth system science; and
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To facilitate the development of research questions that can result in collaborative research projects in education and science.
Master Trainer Prof. Marta Kingsland, who attended the workshop thanks to the support of the LAC Regional Office, presented the Atmosphere and Soil protocols and activities. Master Trainer Teacher Patricia Píriz trained participants in the LandCover, Phenology and Hydrology research areas and also the GLOBE at Night campaign.
Ernesto Fernández Polcuch from UNESCO, new to GLOBE, and Verónica Pérez Urioste from the Embassy of the United States, who has been involved with GLOBE for two years now, were invited to be present at the opening of the workshop to provide them the opportunity to learn more about GLOBE and to further ties. Melissa Cristóbal and Claudio Lacuesta, GLOBE alumni and members of the Science Club "Bénticos" were invited to present the research in hydrology. Titled "Efficiency of Three Macrophytes in the Remediation of the Waters of the Stream Miguelete" this research project has been going on for four years now with the assistance of Patricia Píriz, their former teacher at Primary school.
Their demonstration allowed participants to appreciate the value of research, both for its practical application and for the new directions that it may lead to.
The participants learned how GLOBE could be applied to the school curricula as well as extracurricular activities. They learned about how to obtain or even create instruments for their measurements and observations (for example, densiometer, inclinometer, Secchi disk) with simple and readily available materials at minimal cost.
Participants were able to use new instruments purchased with some of the funding for the workshop supplied by the Embassy of the United States.This provided an excellent chance for the teachers to learn how to calibrate them, using GLOBE specifications and protocols. The instruments will be made available for teachers' use in field activities whenever they require them as well as for presentation of the results of their research.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the workshop was how the pre-service teachers merged perfectly with all the experienced teachers with years of experience and work with children, becoming the first time for the program in Uruguay to implement this kind of mixed attendance.These young people contributed fresh and original ideas to the work shared. They also acquired innovative tools and methodologies to apply in class from the very beginning of their careers which they had no seen at their training and can be complementary and useful to teach science.
The evaluation also showed some important returns.
In Spanish:
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"Pasé muy bien, sigan adelante!!!!"
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"Muy interesante y productivo. Horarios muy puntuales."
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"En particular, creo que fue una experiencia única, que me aportó muchos conocimientos como también me mostró este programa tan interesante que no conocía".
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"Qué buenas las actividades / calidad humana por allí se empieza. 10 puntos. Excelentes técnicos. Muchas gracias. Preciso-exhaustivo-creativo-motivante."
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"Por temas laborales pude asistir sólo un día del curso. Me pareció un curso muy bueno, y muy aplicable al trabajo que realizo. Me interesaría por esto mismo, poder completar el curso en otro momento. También quiero destacar de esta experiencia, que si bien el encuentro con otras personas que comparten experiencias similares es muy enriquecedor, también los docentes de este curso fueron muy motivadores para continuar con la enseñanza de ciencias con alumnos. Esto hace de este curso una experiencia renovadora de esperanzas y completa ya que se cuenta con el aporte de herramientas prácticas para hacerlo".
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"El Taller fue muy enriquecedor, pienso aplicar varias prácticas a mi planificación."
English Translation:
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"It went fine, go ahead! "
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"Very interesting and productive. Very specific timetables. "
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"In particular, I think it was a unique experience, which gave me a lot of knowledge and also showed me this interesting program that did not know."
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"What good activities / human quality, begins there". 10 points. Excellent technicians. Thank you very much. Accurate, depth, creative, motivating."
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"Due to labor issues could attend only one day of the course. I found it to be a very good course, and very applicable to the work I do. I would be interested for this reason, to complete the course at another time. I also want to highlight this experience, that while meeting with others who share similar experiences is very rewarding, also teachers of this course were very motivating to continue teaching science to students. This makes this course a refreshing experience and full of hope because it has the support of practical tools to do so. "
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"The workshop was very enriching, I will apply several practices to my planning."
The realization of at least one national workshop a year is basic for the permanent training of new teachers in the program in order to provide continuity in work, and to strengthen the working teams of teachers at schools and in the country. Trying new target audiences is a great way to expand the program in various educational areas.
The integration of GLOBE scientific protocols and scientific process skills into science classes is successful as teachers can see the benefit for students as they conduct research in preparation for science fairs. The power of using GLOBE for this purpose tends to spread among teachers.
