Courses We Offer
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Nature Center Hours
VINS Nature Center
10am to 4pm Daily
Wild Bird Rehab is Open
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802.359.5000 x212
8am to 4pm
Professional Development Courses
Our program immerses teachers in the best practices in science instruction. Upper Valley Educators may request scholarship funds by filling out our Scholarship Interest Form.
Upcoming
NGSX: Taking it Back to Your Classroom (Summer 2023)
Taking it Back to Your Classroom
Location: VINS Nature Center, Quechee VT
Dates: August 8-10, 8 AM - 12 PM and 1 - 3:30 PM each day
How can I help my students shift from learning about science to figuring out science? How can I adapt my curriculum to better align with the NGSS and K-12 Framework? How can I make three-dimensional learning come alive in my science classroom? These are the kinds of questions that will guide our work together in this dynamic, in-person workshop. We will utilize NGSX, a web-based professional learning platform as we engage in three-dimensional learning as adult learners and analyze how teachers and curriculum materials support three-dimensional learning. A significant portion of this course is set aside to allow teachers to incorporate these new ideas and strategies into their existing curriculum. This course is designed to be taken after Becoming A Next Gen Science Teacher. If you have not taken the prerequisite, but are still interested in taking this course, please contact us at education@vinsweb.org. K-12 teachers, science teachers, instructional coaches, curriculum coordinators and informal science educators are all encouraged to participate.
Tuition:
$945
Instructors:
Hannah Gelroth, Director, School Programs & Teacher Professional Development, M. Ed.
Dr. Jennifer Stainton, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Ph D.
Completed
NGSX: Becoming A Next Generation Science Teacher (Summer 2022)
Course Location: Virtual
Course Schedule: Monday August 8 - Friday August 12, 2022; 9:00-12:00, 1:00-3:00 each day
Course Description: Interested in shifting your instruction from a place where students are just “learning about” to one where they are “figuring out” the how and why? Join VINS for the Becoming a Next Generation Science Teacher professional development course. Participants will explore how to use phenomena (things that happen in the world) to drive instruction, motivate learning, and help learners drive where to go next. Participants will engage as adult learners using the same best instructional practices used with students - practices that help learners go public with their ideas, reason together, persist through challenging tasks, and revise thinking over time. Participants will develop indicators for student engagement in the core practices of modeling, argumentation, and explanation. These practices are central to all content areas and participants will dig into how to build a culture of public reasoning and experience, as well as use tools for implementing productive small and whole group discussions. This course is designed for teachers K-12.
Course Goals:
- Develop teacher capacity to apply the ideas in the Framework and NGSS to their own practice.
- Creatively and strategically use multiple web-based tools such as Google Jamboard, Driving Question Board, Summary Table, and Productive Talk Moves.
Course Objectives: In this course, we will focus on the following essential questions:
- Engage as learners in modeling and constructing explanations of complex phenomena.
- Learn how to use classroom tools such as productive talk and planning whole group discussions to help create a classroom culture in which all students are supported to go public with their reasoning and build on the ideas of their classmates.
For more information on NGSX, visit www.ngsx.org.
Tuition:
$945 Relicensing
$1,320 Graduate Credits
Instructors:
Hannah Gelroth, Director, School Programs & Teacher Professional Development, M. Ed.
Christine Depatie, 6th Grade STEM Teacher, Swanton School
Registration is now closed
*Required materials must be picked up at VINS in the first week of August, or you can elect to have them shipped to you at an additional cost.
NGSX: Becoming A Next Generation Science Teacher (Winter/Spring 2021)
Course Location: Virtual
Course Description:
Interested in shifting your instruction from a place where students are just “learning about” to one where they are “figuring out” the how and why? Join VINS for the Becoming a Next Generation Science Teacher professional development course. Participants will explore how to use phenomena (things that happen in the world) to drive instruction, motivate learning, and help learners drive where to go next. Participants will engage as adult learners using the same best instructional practices used with students - practices that help learners go public with their ideas, reason together, persist through challenging tasks, and revise thinking over time. Participants will develop indicators for student engagement in the core practices of modeling, argumentation, and explanation. These practices are central to all content areas and participants will dig into how to build a culture of public reasoning and experience, as well as use tools for implementing productive small and whole group discussions. This course is designed for teachers K-12.
Course Goals:
- Develop teacher capacity to apply the ideas in the Framework and NGSS to their own practice.
- Creatively and strategically use multiple web-based tools such as Google Draw, Google Jamboard, Driving Question Board, Summary Table, and Productive Talk Moves.
Course Objectives:
In this course we will focus on the following essential questions:
- Engage as learners in modeling and constructing explanations of complex phenomena.
- Learn how to use classroom tools such as productive talk and planning whole group discussions to help create a classroom culture in which all students are supported to go public with their reasoning and build on the ideas of their classmates.
For more information on NGSX, visit www.ngsx.org.
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | March 20 | 12:30 - 5:00 PM |
| Sunday | March 21 | 12:30 - 5:00 PM |
| Monday | March 22 | 4:00 - 8:00 PM |
| Saturday | March 27 | 12:30 - 5:00 PM |
| Wednesday | March 31 | 5:15 - 7:45 PM |
| Wednesday | April 7 | 5:15 - 7:45 PM |
| Wednesday | April 28 | 5:15 - 7:45 PM |
Tuition*:
$945 Relicensing
$1,320 Graduate Credits
*Scholarships are available for Vermont & New Hampshire teachers!
Instructors:
Hannah Gelroth, Director, VINS Center for Education, M. Ed.
Heather Morley, Science Teacher, Champlain Valley Union High School
Christine Depatie, 6th Grade STEM Teacher, Swanton School
Registration is now CLOSED.
National Geographic Educator Certification Phase 1 Virtual Workshop (December 2020)
National Geographic Educator Certification Phase 1 Virtual Workshop
3:30-4:30
Aligning your Curriculum to Community Problem Solving (August 2020)
This Professional Development course will be moving forward as planned with safety measures in place. Please contact education@vinsweb.org with questions.
Safety Measures
-
Masks are Required at all times for Staff and Course Participants
-
6+ feet of Social Distance Mandatory during the course
August 4, 2020; 9am-3pm
VINS Nature Center, Quechee, VT
In-Person
Course Description:
Are you looking for new ways for your students to engage in authentic, real-world science projects? Would you like your students to become more connected and help to solve real-world problems in their community? Come join us for a day to dig deep into National Geographic Learning Framework and discover how your students can solve problems in their community, all aligned to the NGSS!
Teachers will be introduced to the National Geographic Learning Framework, explore what it means to become a Nat Geo Certified Educator and dive into the Nat Geo Geo-Inquiry Process. This experience will provide teachers with a user-friendly process and take-aways that they can implement immediately in their classrooms.
The course will also include:
- A hands-on approach wearing both “teacher” and “student” hats as you explore the Geo-Inquiry Process
- Access and practice with National Geographic resources and how to use them for a project
- Citizen Science opportunities that can be taken back to their classrooms and support their students’ projects
- Time to brainstorm project ideas and how to align them to their current curriculum and state standards
Participating teachers will also be provided an opportunity for themselves and their students to attend the VINS National Geographic Science Symposium event in May 2021 at the VINS Nature Center to share their projects and action plans their students developed throughout the academic year.
- For Grade 4-8 Teachers
- Space is limited to 20 teachers
- Lunch will be provided
- Participating teachers will receive a stipend*
*Stipends will be provided after submitting their project and action plans (using the provided template) to the workshop facilitator. Stipend amounts may vary due to the number of participants enrolled in the course.
Instructor:
Michelle Amato, Science Educator, VINS Center for Education, M. Ed.
NGSX: Next Generation Science Exemplar (August 2019)
Course Complete
"I feel like every science educator and administrator needs to take this course. It gives [a] profoundly impactful perspective to the practices and standards you can’t learn from just reading an article." - 2018 Course Participant
August 12-16, 2019 & independent study online
VINS Nature Center, Quechee, VT
In-Person + Online/Independent Format
Download Brochure
Course Description:
Interested in shifting your instruction from a place where students are just “learning about” to one where they are “figuring out” the how and why? Join VINS for the Next Generation Science Exemplar (NGSX) professional development course. Participants will explore how to use phenomena (things that happen in the world) to drive instruction, motivate learning, and help learners drive where to go next. Participants will engage as adult learners using the same best instructional practices used with students - practices that help learners go public with their ideas, reason together, persist through challenging tasks, and revise thinking over time. Participants will develop indicators for student engagement in the core practices of modeling, argumentation, and explanation. These practices are central to all content areas and participants will dig into how to build a culture of public reasoning and experience, as well as use tools for implementing productive small and whole group discussions. This course is designed for teachers K-12.
Course Goals:
-
Develop teacher capacity to apply the ideas in the Framework and NGSS to their own practice
-
Focus on high leverage practices that are the most central to the NGSS
Course Objectives:
-
What are the implications of shifting from learning about to figuring out for our teaching and our classrooms?
-
How can we integrate three-dimensional learning into our science classrooms to help our students engage with the world around them as scientists and engineers?
For more information on NGSX, visit www.ngsx.org.
Tuition:
$1,600 Graduate Credits
$1,225 Re-Licensing Credit
Instructors:
Hannah Gelroth, Director, VINS Center for Environmental Education
Jennifer Stainton, Curriculum Coordinator, Woodstock Union High School and Middle School
NGSX: Next Generation Science Exemplar (August 2018)
Course Complete
"I feel like every science educator and administrator needs to take this course. It gives [a] profoundly impactful perspective to the practices and standards you can’t learn from just reading an article." - Course Parrticipant
August 6-8, 2018; Follow up days October 13 & 26, 2018
VINS Nature Center, Quechee, VT
In-Person + Online/Independent Format
Download Brochure
Interested in shifting your instruction from a place where students are just “learning about” to one where they are “figuring out” the how and why? Please join VINS for the Next Generation Science Exemplar (NGSX) professional development course. Participants will explore how to use phenomena (things that happen in the world) to drive instruction, motivate learning, and help learners drive where to go next. Participants will engage as adult learners using the same best instructional practices used with students-practices that help learners go public with their ideas, reason together, persist through challenging tasks, and revise thinking over time. Participants will develop indicators for student engagement in the core practices of modeling, argumentation, and explanation-practices central to all content areas and participants will dig into how to build a culture of public reasoning and experience and use tools for implementing productive small and whole group discussions. This course is designed for teachers K-12.
For more information on NGSX, visit www.ngsx.org.
Tuition:
$1,350 Graduate Course
$975 Re-Licensing Credits
Instructors:
Hannah Gelroth, Director, VINS Center for Environmental Education
Jennifer Stainton, Curriculum Coordinator, Woodstock Union High School and Middle School
Bringing Science Inquiry & Investigation to Life
Each VINS Science Educator has a Master of Education degree, is a Highly Qualified Teacher, and holds a teaching license in Vermont and New Hampshire.