PENFIELD – Parker Dam State Park has scheduled two Act 48-approved teacher workshops at the park in 2018.
The first workshop, PA Biodiversity Basics, will be on Saturday, April 7, from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
The second workshop, featuring the GO Teach: GPS curriculum, will be on Saturday, May 5, from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
Both workshops are Pennsylvania Department of Education-approved for participants to receive Act 48 professional development credit hours.
Also, both workshops do require pre-registration and pre-payment (a $10 registration fee) with the park.
PA Biodiversity Basics is a “great resource for educators” to present the basics of biodiversity to their students.
While biodiversity can be a challenging concept to teach, the activities in this curriculum present the information in ways that are hands-on, interesting and understandable.
The activities found in PA Biodiversity Basics instructional materials are intended for use in both classroom and informal settings and are designed to support state and national academic standards appropriate for grades K-12.
Through the use of thoughtfully planned curriculum materials and professionally trained facilitators, PA Biodiversity Basics provides a framework of developing awareness, knowledge, skills and commitment in participants.
This results in the making of informed decisions, responsible behavior and constructive action concerning native wildlife and the local (and global) environment.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will be introduced to the curriculum, guided in its use and shown the resources available to help implement it in their classrooms.
Educators will receive the Pennsylvania Supplement to Windows on the Wild – Biodiversity Basics Activity Guide.
GO (Get Outdoors) Teach is a series of teacher workshops that focus on cross-curricular connections linked by common outdoor recreation.
This GO Teach: GPS workshop presents a set of standards-based lessons that enable middle and high school students to learn about global positioning system (GPS) technology and how to use it for healthy life-long recreation.
As a part of the workshop, teachers will receive lesson plans, ACT 48 hours, and access to loaner equipment to help facilitate the lessons on their school grounds.
One of the goals of GO Teach: GPS is to introduce and encourage students to participate in outdoor recreations such as the sport of geocaching.
DCNR’s Bureau of State Parks developed the GO Teach curriculums (also currently GO Teach: Snowshoeing and GO Teach: Hiking) to align with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Standards in Science, Technology & Engineering, Geography, Mathematics, Environment & Ecology, Health, Safety & Physical Education and others.
To register for either of these workshops, or to get more information, please contact the Park Office at 814-765-0630, or parkerdamsp@pa.gov.
The deadline for registering for PA Biodiversity Basics is Tuesday, April 3. The deadline for the GO Teach: GPS workshop registration is Tuesday, May 1.
Please be prepared to pay the registration fee ($10) when you register. Payment can be made by cash (in person at the Park Office), by check (in person or by mail: Parker Dam State Park, 28 Fairview Rd., Penfield, PA 15849), or by credit card or PA State Parks gift card (in person or by phone: 814-765-0630).