Education and Outreach
• Summer Teacher Workshop for High School Teachers. The workshop uses the innovative scientific findings of the EMSI to design lesson plans to teach current science curricula. In addition to using the new information as a means to ground instruction in real problems, we introduce a new approach to classroom instruction, the Directed Discourse Approach to Science Instruction (DDASI). Learn more at the Web Learning Center.
• lectures on the chemistry and biological consequences of mercury in the environment
• problem sessions with activities to accompany lessons on mercury
• individual meetings between teachers and the EMSI instructors to refine lesson plans
• group discussions and presentations of lesson plans by teachers
• training on science language pedagogy
• presentation of learning outcomes and science discourse by a Stanford Science Education Professor
• a field trip to the largest mercury mine in North America coupled with water chemistry measurements
• demonstration of sample characterization in Stanford environmental chemistry labs
What: Mercury in the Environment Teacher Workshop
How:
Application
Who: High School Science Teachers
Where: Stanford University
When: July 21 - 24, 2008
Stipend: $400 plus $400 after classroom lesson presentation
How:
Commitment: Develop a lesson and teach the lesson in your classroom during the next academic year.
Contact Jennifer Saltzman with questions.
To share with other scientists, we presented a poster about the success of the teacher workshops (1 Mb pdf). This poster was presented at the annual Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco in December 2007.
• Atoms to Ecosystems: Effects of Contaminants on Humans & the Environment.
We offer a workshop to provide science journalists with background knowledge to better understand nano-to-macro scale processes that govern the fate and effect of important environmental contaminants such as arsenic and mercury. This year we will be offering this workshop just before the National Association of Science Writer's annual meeting.
More information on the workshop
Journalist Workshop Application
To share with other scientists, we presented a poster about the success of the 2006 workshop (1.2 Mb pdf). This poster was presented at the annual Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
• Stanford-Berkeley Summer School in Applications of Synchrotron Radiation.
The Summer School series provides lecture programs on synchrotron radiation and its broad range of scientific applications in the Physical Sciences. The goal of the school is to disseminate information about scientific opportunities in synchrotron radiation applications and train students on experimental techniques. It provides an interdisciplinary and intellectually stimulating environment for new and experienced researchers. Interaction between lecturers and students is stimulated through dedicated problem solving sessions and round table discussions. The program provides a comprehensive overview of the synchrotron radiation process and its applications related to spectroscopy and diffraction. Particular emphasis was given to examples from physics, chemistry, and material science.
The next offering will begin on August 18, 2008.
Click for more details and how to apply.
A modified version of this class is now offered at UC Berkeley as an online course. Synchrotron Radiation of Materials Science Applications
The 2005 Summer School accepted 43 students from various parts of the world.
Training of Students:
• Freshman Seminar on “Environmental Processes that Affect Your Life”
• Graduate-level course on “Environmental Interfaces” at Stanford
• Training of an increased number of graduate and post-doctoral students
• Participation in the SSRL Gateway Program for Hispanic students
• Participation in the Science Undergraduate Internship Program through SLAC
• Participation in the Rural Alaska Honors Institute through the University of Alaska, Fairbanks
• Involvement of undergraduate students in EMSI-related research through the Stanford Faculty Grants for Undergraduate Research
