This course was offered as part of Accelerating Science: Open Access Professional Learning Courses for Massachusetts educators. Eligible Massachusetts educators were able to take this course for free with a $450 stipend. Learn more by visiting our OAPL page.

Watershed Science and Engineering in the Berkshires

A 5-Day Summer Professional Development Institute for Grades 6-12 Educators

An Approved Course for MA DESE’s Accelerating Science: Open Access Professional Learning

Spend a week in the Berkshires as you collaborate with local scientists and engineers, conservation organizations and higher education faculty to explore how engineering supports natural systems and habitats in Berkshire County. During this Institute you will explore methods and resources to bring this locally relevant science to your students and help them recognize the range of career opportunities that engineering can offer.

Spend time at the Berkshire Science Commons at Berkshire Community College (BCC) – an exciting new resource for teachers in the Berkshire Region where you and your students can collaborate with BCC faculty and staff and access amazing science and engineering tools and resources. We will engage in engineering design challenges that take an interdisciplinary, hands-on approach to understanding how engineering and creativity combine to generate designed solutions that support the local ecosystem.

The Berkshire Environmental Action Team will bring us out into the ecosystems as we explore local forests, rivers, and streams, to understand first-hand how important watersheds are, and to investigate methods in use to protect them. Participate in a state water quality monitoring, gaining an understanding of how it provides important information to the state as they manage the watershed – and experience ways to scale this testing to be used in your classroom as you engage your students with citizen science projects.

With the City of Pittsfield Engineering Division, identify how engineering and infrastructure work to manage watersheds – with a focus on drinking water quality and storm water runoff. Learn how water quality, and engineering mitigation and remediation measures are used to address stream erosion and storm water treatment.

You will investigate real-world phenomenon, see the value of guided and open inquiry in the classroom, and practice using the Science and Engineering Practices. You will leave the Institute with connections to local facilities and educators, and with classroom resources to engage your students in inquiry investigations and engineering design projects with real-world local applications.

Explore the new Berkshire Science Commons at Berkshire Community College.
Engage in an engineering design challenge and explore how to use this tool in your classroom.
Discover mediation measures being implemented locally to address stream erosion and storm water treatment.
Visit a local water treatment facility.
Take back to your classroom resources to engage your students in inquiry investigations and engineering design projects with real-world local applications.

This course was FREE for eligible MA educators through MA DESE’s Accelerating Science: Open Access Professional Learning Courses.

Registration Information:

Dates and Times: July 10th – 14th, 2023 (8:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET)

Location: Berkshire Science Commons at Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield, MA

Cost:
FREE for eligible MA educators that qualify through MA DESE’s OAPL program and includes $450 stipend.
$450 for non-OAPL-qualifying educators.
$425/educator for non-OAPL-qualifying-educators attending in a team with 1 or more teachers from their school or district.

PDPs and Optional Graduate Credit: 40 PDPs available without graduate credit. 67.5 PDPs and 3 graduate credits from Cambridge College or Framingham State University available for $225. Additional work is required for graduate credit.

Collaborating Partners: Berkshire Environmental Action Team; Berkshire Science Commons at Berkshire Community College; City of Pittsfield Engineering Division