TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium offers a variety of professional development workshops to engage teachers in the latest research and best practices in science education. In 2020, we launched a new series of recorded workshops to assist teachers with the transition to online and hybrid learning. Recordings can be accessed under Curriculum Resources.
These workshops are free for Utah public and charter school educators, and relicensure credit is awarded for each workshop attended. These programs are supported by funding from Utah State Legislature’s Informal Science Education Enhancement (iSEE) grant and the Education Alliance Partnership in association with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF).
Occasionally, we have enough resources to offer additional workshops. You may request a workshop below.
For more information about teacher professional development workshops please contact our Education team at specialprograms@livingplanetaquarium.org
UPCOMING WORKSHOP
The Aquarium is hosting a teacher professional development workshop in partnership with NOAA and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Registration for this workshop is full.
April 3, 2023 | 4:00-5:30 PM
Educators of grades 6-12 will join an NOAA Ocean Exploration facilitator at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium for a 90-minute, virtual professional development workshop. Together we’ll explore the wonder of cold seeps—investigating what are cold seeps, how and where they form, and how they support biologically diverse communities in the absence of sunlight.
This engaging 90-minute virtual workshop will include:
- A brief video introduction to the geology and biology of cold seeps
- Demonstrations of student investigations designed to guide student sense-making of cold seep phenomena
- Reflection and discussion with peer educators
- A guided tour of the free, online educational resources from NOAA Ocean Exploration and the Deep
- Ocean Education Project website.
Registration is REQUIRED and space is LIMITED. Registered Educators will receive a collection of classroom-ready resources to bring cold seeps alive in their classrooms including student investigations, videos, and fact sheets. Additionally, educators that attend the 90-minute, virtual event will also receive an NOAA Ocean Exploration Certificate of Participation and a $75.00 stipend.
Completion of the registration form will:
- Opt you into the NOAA Ocean Exploration Education Newsletter, which offers information about education-related activities, resources, upcoming events; and
- Provide NOAA Ocean Exploration with media permission to use images and/or video content from this event for communications purposes. If you choose to not provide media permission, please let us know via email at oceanexeducation@noaa.gov.
2023 Teacher Workshops
Discover science lessons for blending learning in this free, 1-hour online workshop. Teachers will experience three-dimensional science instruction and see how they can apply this exciting instructional model to their science lessons – both in class and online! In this workshop, we will share our experience teaching online classes over the summer, as well as tried and true tips and tricks for teaching science in an online environment.
Nature
Inventions
2nd Grade
During the workshop, Aquarium instructors will demo a lesson from our “Nature Inventions” lessons correlating to SEEd standard 2.2.4. These lesson plans can be adapted for in-class or online learning and complement our 4th grade Waters Van curriculum. Whether virtual or in-person, these lessons are a perfect extension of your Aquarium outreach visit.
Participants will receive 1 relicensure point and access to the complete “Nature Inventions” lesson plans.
Date & Time
There are no upcoming dates for this workshop.
You can view a recording of a past workshop below under Curriculum Resources.
Structure and Function
4th Grade
During the workshop, Aquarium instructors will demo a lesson from our “Structure and Function” lessons correlating to SEEd standard 4.1.1. These lesson plans can be adapted for in-class or online learning and compliment our 4th grade Waters Van curriculum. Whether virtual or in-person, these lessons are a perfect extension of your Aquarium outreach visit.
Participants will receive 1 relicensure point and access to the complete Structure and Function lesson plans.
Date & Time
There are no upcoming dates for this workshop.
You can view a recording of a past workshop below in the Downloadable Curriculum Resources.
Stability of Populations
6th Grade
During the workshop, Aquarium instructors will demo our new Stability of Populations curriculum, correlating to SEEd standard 6.4.4. These lesson plans can be adapted for in-class or at-home learning and compliment our 6th grade Ecosystems Van curriculum. Whether virtual or in-person, these lessons are a perfect extension of your Aquarium outreach visit.
Participants will receive 1 relicensure point and access to the complete Stability of Populations lesson plans.
Date & Time
There are no upcoming dates for this workshop.
You can view a recording of a past workshop below in the Downloadable Curriculum Resources.
Stability of Populations
High School
During the workshop, Aquarium instructors will demo our new Stability of Populations curriculum, correlating to SEEd standard BIO.1.1. These lesson plans can be adapted for in-class or at-home learning.
Please note that this curriculum uses a water-rich ecosystem as a model to explore the complexities of dams and does not specifically focus on drought or desert conditions.
Participants will receive 1 relicensure point and access to the complete Stability of Populations lesson plans and resources.
Date & Time
There are no upcoming dates for this workshop.
You can view a recording of a past workshop below in the Downloadable Curriculum Resources.
DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium also offers free lesson plans and resources for teachers to help their students Explore, Discover, and Learn about our living planet.
For more information about these resources please contact our Special Programs Coordinator at (801) 355-FISH (3474) ext. 256 or email specialprograms@livingplanetaquarium.org
Curriculum Resources
Nature Inventions
In this 3-part unit, students investigate structures and functions of rainforest animals. Using this knowledge, they will then design and create an invention inspired by nature. This lesson is adaptable for in-class or at-home learning and aligned with SEEd standard 2.2.4.
Structure and Function
In this 3-part unit, students will investigate the structures and functions of animals living in Utah’s forests, deserts, and wetlands. Using this knowledge, they will create their own new species of animal that is adapted to one of these environments. This lesson is adaptable for in-class or at-home learning and aligned with SEEd standard 4.1.1.
Stability of Populations
In this 3-part series of lessons, students will investigate dams and their effects on the environment by studying the fictional Westwater River system. After completing a virtual river survey to study native fish populations before and after dam construction, their knowledge will be put to the test as they step into the role of water manager and create an improvement plan for the Westwater River’s 5 dams. These lessons are adaptable for in-class or at-home learning and are aligned to SEEd standards BIO.1.1 and BIO.1.5.
Please note that this curriculum uses a water-rich ecosystem as a model to explore the complexities of dams and does not specifically focus on drought or desert conditions.
Stability of Populations
In this 3-part series of lessons, students will investigate dams and their effects on the environment by studying the fictional Westwater River system. After completing a virtual river survey to study native fish populations before and after dam construction, their knowledge will be put to the test as they step into the role of water manager and create an improvement plan for the Westwater River’s 5 dams. These lessons are adaptable for in-class or at-home learning and are aligned to SEEd standards BIO.1.1 and BIO.1.5.
Please note that this curriculum uses a water-rich ecosystem as a model to explore the complexities of dams and does not specifically focus on drought or desert conditions.
