SENCER Approaches
March 27 – 28, 2009
Cleveland,
Ohio
co-sponsored
by
The Midwest Center
for Innovation of
SENCER (Science
Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities)
and
CLEAN=2
0(Collaborative Learning for Environmental Action Network) of the
Western Reserve
Resource Co nservation and Development Council
and hosted
by
The Great Lakes
Science Center and Case Western Reserve University
Since its first Summer Institute in 2001, the NSF-funded
program SENCER has provided regular opportunities for teams of undergraduate
faculty to improve science education by focusing on real world problems and,
by so20doing, extend the impact of this learning across the c urriculum to the
broader community and society. The SENCER approach is to develop faculty
expertise in teaching "to" basic, canonical science and mathematics "through"
complex, capacious, often unsolved problems of civic consequence.
SENCER’s goals are to: (1) get more students interested and
engaged in learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
courses, (2) help students connect STEM learning to their other studies, and
(3) strengthen students' understanding of science and their capacity for
responsible work and citizenship.
SENCER has recently established Centers for Innovation
(SCIs) to support current members of the SENCER community and people new to
SENCER. The SCIs are designed to fulfill the needs of the community
throughout the year on a local level and to offer symposia and workshops that
complement national events, such as the annual SENCER Summer Institute (SSI).
Among the areas of special interest for SENCER’s Midwest Center for Innovation
is the stewardship of the Great Lakes ecosystem, with a particular e mphasis
on water quality.
Address issues facing the Great Lakes basin that can be
incorporated into undergraduate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) courses which
n
engage undergraduate faculty and students in direct action and research
n
involve
undergraduate faculty and students in educating the general public about the
outcomes and significance of such action and research
n
empower the public benefiting from such education to have a positive
impact on the Great Lakes ecosystem through personal and public stewardship
behaviors and
n
become the foundation of a vibrant, broad-based network of academic and
community-based stewards of that ecosystem.
Deadlines:
Workshop and poster
proposals:
January 30th
Early registration
deadline:
February 20th
Registration
deadline:
March 18th
Workshop/poster proposal forms, registration and lodging information, as well as a tentative conference schedule can be downloaded at the website of SENCER’s
Midwest Center for Innovation: http://www.sencer.net/Outreach/centers/midwest/index.cfm.
For further information about the conference, contact SENCER Leadership Fellow and CLEAN Coordinator Glenn Odenbrett at glennodenbrett@aol.com.