TECHNOS

August 21, 2008

Fermilab’s Teacher Resource Center Provides Materials, Workshops, Networks

Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, IL, is the site of the U.S. Department of Energy’s particle physics research projects. It is also the site of an extensive educational effort that strives to connect Fermilab scientists with science teachers and students around the country. Fermilab’s Education Office, managed by Marge Bardeen, oversees the Teacher Resource Center (TRC), which is housed in the Lederman Science Center on the Fermilab campus.

Susan Dahl, director of the TRC, works most closely with science teachers as they develop workshops and review instructional software materials. "Our main focus is to connect scientists with the teaching community," she said. "We have to be aware of current research and then help to communicate what resources, ideas, and strategies are needed between the two groups. It helps to have scientists visit the classroom to convey to teachers and students the way they do their work, how they pursue inquiry and engage in study. At the same time, the scientists learn to communicate with young people on their level." Ms. Dahl has a traveling computer lab, which can be used by teachers to demonstrate instructional materials during the workshops.

The TRC is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. by appointment. Staff is available to provide curriculum and instruction assistance to science, math, and technology teachers. But many of the TRC’s resources are also available via the Internet at any time. The Center houses a preview collection of K12 instructional materials, which is helpful to teachers and media librarians in making buying decisions. In addition, one of the most well-known and utilized resources available in the Center and online is the Educational Software Preview Guide (ESPG). It is published on the Web by the TRC through the ESPG Consortium, which represents computer education organizations throughout North America. For more than 20 years, the Guide has provided reviews of educational software for Pre-K12 classrooms. Teacher reviewers are "recruited" from among participants in workshops and other TRC activities and through contacts within school districts and NCREL.

For more information about TRC’s programs, contact Susan Dahl at sdahl@fnal.gov, or access the following Web pages:

Science Materials: Some of the materials available are instructional units, sciencelines newsletter print copies, multimedia (videotapes, videodisks, slide sets, and software), and classroom posters (black & white and color).
Teacher Workshops: Workshops on site or at the TRC are developed in response to teachers’ needs and are free of charge. Available topics include Curriculum Analysis, Inquiry Teaching & Learning, Internet, Software Evaluation, and Technology Integration.
Teacher Networks: These networks are organizations that meet monthly or bimonthly to support teachers in the seven-state Midwest region who want to share successful teaching materials and strategies. Visit two current networks online at: Chemistry West and Math, Science, and Technology Midlevel Network.