SENCER Invites Team, Individual Participation at SSI 2010
The annual SENCER Summer Institute is an opportunity for a community of educators, administrators, students, and community leaders to gather to consider how best to engage students in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics and the civic issues in which they play an integral role. The 2010 SENCER Summer Institute will be held in Asheville, NC, and hosted by the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The Institute will begin in the late afternoon of Thursday, July 29th and conclude mid-afternoon on Monday, August 2nd.
The 10th SENCER Summer Institute program will feature reports on mature projects by alumni of past symposia, plenary sessions for both new and returning participants, recognition for leaders in the SENCER community, and sessions that highlight new areas of work and initiatives for the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, such as the GLISTEN project. Workshops will give all participants the opportunity to investigate particular topics of interest during intensive half-day sessions. Concurrent sessions and colloquia will focus on campus work, innovative pedagogies, assessment techniques, and partnership opportunities. NCSCE will honor SENCER Leadership Fellows, NCSCE Senior Fellows, and other leaders in the community during a dinner and in Institute materials.
This year, SENCER is introducing two new program features - an intensive team planning day and a special Institute track for educators interested in teacher preparation. The Intensive Pre-Institute Team Planning Day, scheduled for July 29th, is designed to help familiarize new teams or team members to the SENCER approach and to assist teams in making the most of their time at the Summer Institute. Participants will be introduced to the theory behind the SENCER approach, and will have the ability to work with a mentor specifically selected based on each team's goals (as stated in the SSI 2010 team application). Mentors will be leaders in the SENCER community with several years experience in implementing course or program reforms. Teams may indicate their interest in this program on their SSI 2010 application and will find out the status of the request on March 31, 2010, when SENCER issues all Institute invitations.
SENCER, Teachers, and Teacher Education will consist of a designated track session each day during the Institute, as well as a half-day workshop. Strictly limited to one cohort of 30 people, the group will explore a model that links SENCER courses in the disciplines with carefully sequenced methods courses. Sessions will touch on topics such as integrating the SENCER approach into pre-service education, assessment approaches, policy implications, standards and other pertinent issues. The track is designed for pairs or teams of educators who will be able to develop an action plan by the end of the Institute. All cohort participants will receive copies of the National Academies publication Ready, Set, Science! prior to the start of SSI 2010. To learn who is eligible for this track and how to apply, please go to the Special Program Offerings section of the SSI 2010 page.
Over the past several years, SENCER has chosen to rotate the location of the Summer Institute to highlight the efforts of campuses around the country and to reduce the travel burden for attendees. Last year, the Institute was hosted by Harold Washington College (Chicago, IL), the home of the SENCER Center for Innovation - Midwest. This year's host, UNCA, also serves as the host institution for the SENCER Center for Innovation - South and has applied the SENCER approach on a large scale through their general education reform. One of the many course clusters designed for the program, Food for Thought: Engaging the Citizen in the Science and Politics of Food Information, Food Consumerism, Nutrition and Health, was selected as a SENCER Model in 2008. Asheville is situated in western North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and SENCER plans to coordinate several activities for Institute participants and their guests that take advantage of the beautiful location. Please see the SSI 2010 page for information on these events.
SENCER welcomes educators, administrators, students, and community leaders to apply to participate as teams or individuals. To be considered a team, a group must consist of at least four members (who may represent different institutions). Teams will be eligible to apply for two-year implementation awards of $3,000 to support campus-based projects following participation in SSI 2010 and fulfillment of all eligibility requirements (pending funding from the National Science Foundation). Groups of less than four should register as individual participants.
Teams and individuals invited to participate in SSI 2010 will have the option of staying on the Asheville campus in suite housing - a selection that is economical and also facilitates team meetings during free time. The SSI 2009 webpage has updated information on participation, fees and lodging options, special programming, and sub-awards. Please check this page often for news!
Team and individual applications are now available online. Applications must be submitted by March 2, 2010 to be considered for participation. SENCER will contact all applicants on March 31st and issue invitations to selected participants at that time. Please do not hesitate to contact SENCER staff with any questions or for more information.