Evening Program

McNamara Design Challenge

  • Workshop
Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
MIT Building 26, Room 152
Rik Eberhardt of the MIT Game Lab and Carole Urbano of the Education Arcade

Rik Eberhardt from the MIT Game Lab and Carole Urbano from the Education Arcade will facilitate a workshop for current and past SEPT teachers to collaborate and co-create classroom materials that draw from the past week (and past years!) of SEPT.

We will start the design challenge with a primer on using game design as a method of summative assessment, by designing our own game about one of the concepts we’ve learned this past week. Afterwards, participants will be encouraged to work on their own or in self-formed teams to consider the use of tools and concepts from the past week in their curriculum and lesson plans.

Participants will present their creations on Saturday morning.

Session topic(s): 

Links to other resources: 

Dropbox link to presentation slides - Eberhardt, June 30, 2016

NEST Teacher of the Year Award

  • Presentation
Friday, June 26, 2015 - 7:00pm to 7:45pm
MIT Media Lab Building E14, 6th Floor
  • Presentation of the 2015 NEST Teacher of the Year Award - Joyce Gleason, Co-Chair, Network of Educators in Science & Technology (NEST)
  • 2015 NEST Teacher of the Year - David Iverson (SEPT Class of '14), Introduced by Sharon Hennessy of Taipei American School (Taiwan)
  • "Physics is Everywhere" compilation of student videos - presented by David Iverson


David Iverson - MIT, June 2015 Taipei American School (Taiwan)


SEPT Class of 2014

Announcing the 2015 NEST Teacher of the Year, David Iverson (SEPT Class of 2014)!

This year’s NEST Teacher of the Year was a familiar face to me, and quickly became familiar to other teachers at SEPT and the NEST Reunion, too.  Now I’d like to introduce David Iverson to the rest of NEST, to give him well-deserved recognition as the 2015 NEST Teacher of the Year Award winner!

I knew Dave already because he attended SEPT last year - the first teacher from Taiwan to attend SEPT, and the teacher who traveled the furthest in 2014.  Not only did I feel fortunate to know this year’s Teacher of the Year ahead of the award presentation, but we were all fortunate that Dave could make the long trip back MIT!  He gave a presentation on Friday, June 26th at the MIT Media Lab that was a perfect fit for NEST’s prestigious award - plus, Dave fit right in with this year’s SEPT teachers:  joining the 2nd place winning team at the Nuclear Reactor Lab Design Challenge (Thursday evening for the annual McNamara Workshop), and sharing drinks with the gang at the Muddy. 
 
The presentation of the NEST Teacher of the Year Award lets us all find out about the outstanding work that one teacher can do, and Dave is no exception.  A nomination letter from Dave’s principal, Dr. Richard Hartzell, first shared some of Dave’s outstanding achievements to the NEST Board, followed by an introduction by his Head of School, Sharon Hennessy, at the award presentation.  But, as Dave preferred, most of the evening’s program was devoted to sharing his students’ achievements.  Dave showed a compilation of videos that his Physics students have created for the popular “Physics is Everywhere” project he’s been leading since 1999.  Similar to the spirit that is celebrated by the NEST Student Awards, the student videos promote Physics by covering a topic in a super entertaining manner that shows how Physics applies to everything.
 
If you ask him, Dave will share how the "Physics is Everywhere” project has worked at his school - and much more.  As Chair in the Department of Science at Taipei American School, he’s made outreach a top priority - extending invitations to teams of teachers and administrators world-wide to visit and check out his school’s success. As a host, I’m sure Dave demonstrates the same generosity, humility, and professionalism as he has at MIT.
 
Dave is considered a dedicated and remarkable leader by his peers in Taiwan, and he’s an inspiration to his peers at MIT.  After 30 years of teaching, his contributions are countless - making a far-reaching impact on STEM learning, starting with his students. His principal wrote that “First and foremost, Dave’s contribution to teaching is his teaching, which is creative, imaginative, inspirational, and effective. Even though, as chair, he could take any courses he wishes, he deliberately takes on grade 9 physics and honors physics courses. While he loves the more advanced aspects of science and technology, he loves teaching more.”
 
Thank you for sharing, Dave!
 
By Emily Martin, July 17, 2015
 

Session topic(s): 

Session Resources: 

File PowerPoint Presentation - Iverson, June 26, 2015

Links to other resources: 

"Physics is Everywhere" video project resources

McNamara Workshop - Nuclear Reactor Lab Lecture and Design Challenge

  • Workshop
Thursday, June 25, 2015 - 6:00pm to 8:30pm
MIT Building 26, Room 152
April Lanotte and Ernie Smoker (SEPT '08), David Carpenter and Taylor Tracy (Nuclear Reactor Lab)

The MIT Nuclear Reactor Lab educates school groups and the wider public about the reactor on campus - it supports research in spacecraft reactors, cancer treatments, the study of autism, and next generation power plants!… a mix that should meet the many interests of SEPT and NEST teachers.  On Thursday, June 25th, we'll ask SEPT and NEST teachers:

  • Have you ever been part of a hackathon?
  • Did you know there's a nuclear reactor at MIT?
  • What would happen if we combine the extraordinary talents of SEPT and NEST teachers with experts at the MIT Nuclear Reactor Lab? 

As an exciting edition to our NEST Reunion program this year, we're incorporating a design challenge into this year's McNamara Workshop!  With guidance from researchers at the Nuclear Reactor Lab (NRL), we'll form teams to design activities, materials, or lessons on nuclear science - in the style of an MIT hackathon!

Following a lecture about nuclear science, NRL staff will "pitch" a challenge to SEPT and NEST to redesign or add instructional elements to their outreach program - a combination of a tour and lecture for visitors to the reactor.  

For NEST members who arrive by Thursday evening, it's not too late to sign up to be part of the full Nuclear Reactor Lab Design Challenge!  NEST members who participate are eligible to receive 10 PDPs (1CEU), and prizes, too - just email me (sept@mit.edu) to join the fun!

Check out the final presentations here! 


Winners of the SEPT 2015 Nuclear Reactor Lab Design Challenge.  Read more...

 

Session topic(s): 

Session Resources: 

File PowerPoint Presentation - Carpenter, June 25, 2015
Office presentation icon PowerPoint Presentation - Tracy, June 25, 2015

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