Summer Trainings Available for Wyoming Teachers

Imagine spending a week of your summer with University of Wyoming scientists, using state-of-the-art equipment to learn all about lakes, rivers, and streams. Picture yourself testing water quality, examining near- and sub-surface hydrology, and analyzing watershed ecology.

This summer, Wyoming teachers have the opportunity to take part in three separate teacher trainings, including the Field Research Campaign, where teachers will spend time on Fremont Lake, learning about near-surface hydrology, sub-surface hydrology, and how lakes work.

Teton Science School, Wyoming EPSCoR, the Wyoming Center for Environmental Hydrology and Geophysics (WyCEHG), and the Science and Mathematics Teaching Center (SMTC) will be hosting these trainings.

“These trainings bring this real, exciting, and relevant science to classrooms in Wyoming,” says Gina Graziano, a graduate student assistant in the Science and Mathematics Teaching Center.

The trainings will cover separate topics, ranging from watershed ecology, to sub-surface hydrology, to water quality monitoring.

Combining Research and Education in Science Teaching (CREST) (June 26-29) is designed for middle and high school teachers who want to learn more about integrating water research into their classrooms.

The Wyoming Stream Team (July 13-18) training is a classroom and field based course that allows Wyoming teachers to learn more about water quality monitoring and opportunities for citizen science in their classrooms.

The Field Research Campaign (August 11-14) gives teachers an opportunity to learn about the process of near-surface and sub-surface hydrology through hands-on experience with University of Wyoming scientists.

“You can get your students involved in collecting water quality data near your school, wherever you live in Wyoming,” says Gina. “With Wyoming Stream Team, the data goes into a database and is actually used by decision makers, so it’s a great citizen science project.”

The fee for each course is $150, and participating teachers will be given a $200 stipend at the end of each training they attend. These trainings also provide Wyoming Professional Teaching Standard Board (PTSB) credits and University of Wyoming credits.

“These trainings are great opportunities for teachers to make learning relevant for their students,” says Gina. “It’s empowering and important for teachers to know how to teach their students about water. Once you have the knowledge, you can start to figure out the solution.”

To register for these trainings, visit the Teacher Learning Center. There is no registration deadline for these programs, but space fills up fast, so register early!

For questions and comments about any of these courses, please contact Leslie Cook leslie.cook@tetonscience.org or Gina Graziano at ggrazian@uwyo.edu. 

By Robin Rasmussen