As a first-year teacher, I have found professional development to be an important part of my routine. Although certain conferences and meetings can be tedious and unhelpful, I have found that many are extremely useful. Now that things have calmed down a bit at school, I've had much more time delve into professional development beyond what my school has to offer. Below are some events that I am planning to check out:
This Weekend
Suffolk County STANYS and CESAME Annual Conference - This Saturday, there is a four-hour conference with workshops on many topics, ranging from ways to bring estuaries into your classroom to climate change to doing research with your students. I'm told it will happen snow or not, so get your boots on and head out to Stony Brook for some great winter teaching fun. A certificate for 4 hours of professional development will be provided to all participants.
March
NSTA 2010 National Conference in Philly - Join science teachers from across the nation at a huge 5-day conference to learn about and celebrate great innovations in science teaching. I know many teachers from the New York area are heading to Philly, so jump on the bandwagon and learn to be a better teacher of the sciences.
April
SCONYC Teachable Moments -This 1-day conference has been highly recommended by one of my graduate school professors for all science teachers in the New York City area. The conference will include demonstrations by current teachers of hands-on lessons that have worked well in their classrooms as well as tables stocked with give-aways and classroom materials. I've been warned to bring some extra bags!
Summer
Travel to the Amazon with Travel2Learn Rainforest Workshops! I have always wanted to visit the Amazon, and although this program requires a significant financial contribution, it is still much more affordable than planning my own trip.
I'll be adding more to this list as things come my way. Feel free to submit workshops in your area or other New York area workshops that I may not have heard about!
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