Fall 2017 Science Training is now open

AMSTI-UNA will hold science training during the months of August and September 2017.  Training will be held at UNA East Campus. 

The following trainings are available:

• K-5 Year 1 and Year 2 Science
• 6-8 Year 2 Science

To register for Fall Science Training please click the following:   Register for Fall Science Training

This training is for both newly hired teachers and teachers who have been previously trained in AMSTI but need to update their science training.

For previously trained science teachers, there is an online compressed training available.  Online compressed training occurs during the course of the academic school year.  Online compressed training is available only for previously trained science teachers.
Online training requires teaching the module in its entirety during the scheduled cycle and also requires uploading documentation that the module was taught. 

Below are specific dates for training:

K	1	Plants and Animals	101	August 22, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
K	1	Weather Walk	101	August 23, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
K	1	Special Topics	101	September 19, 2017	1	8:00-2:30
K	2	Push and Pull	101	September 5 & 6, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
1st	1	Sound, Light, and Sky	101	August 29 & 30, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
1st	1	Special Topics	101	September 20, 2017	1	8:00-2:30
1st	2	Wild Organisms	101	September 12 & 13, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
2nd	1	Matter	102	August 22, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
2nd	1	Soils and Shores	102	August 23, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
2nd	1	Special Topics	101	September 21, 2017	1	8:00-2:30
2nd	2	Plants and Bugs	102	September 5 & 6, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
3rd	1	Heredity and Diversity	102	August 29, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
3rd	1	Weather and Climate	102	August 30, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
3rd	1	Special Topics	102	September 20, 2017	1	8:00-2:30
3rd	2	Forces and Interactions	102	September 12 & 13, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
4th	1	Energy and Waves	104	August 22 & 23, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
4th	1	Special Topics	102	September 19, 2017	1	8:00-2:30
4th	2	Animal Studies	104	September 5, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
4th	2	Water and Landforms	104	September 6, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
5th	1	Dynamics of Ecosystems	104	August 29 & 30, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
5th	1	Special Topics	102	September 21, 2017	1	8:00-2:30
5th	2	Earth: Gravity and Space	104	September 12, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
5th	2	Matter and Interactions	104	September 13, 2017	1	8:00-5:00
6th	2	Sun, Earth, Moon System	105	August 22, 23, & 24, 2017	3	8:00-5:00
6th	2	Planetary Systems	105	September 11 & 12, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
7th	2	Biodiversity and Interdependence	105	August 29, 30, & 31, 2017	3	8:00-5:00
7th	2	Exploring Body Systems	105	September 19 & 20, 2017	2	8:00-5:00
8th	2	Properties of Matter II	107	August 22, 23, & 24, 2017	3	8:00-5:00
8th	2	Mixtures, Compounds, and Elements	105	September 26 & 27, 2017	2	8:00-5:00

Training for Summer 2017 is open

Training for science June 6 to June 14, 2017 is now open.  The following training will be available:

• K-5 Year 1 Science June 6 to June 9
• K-5 Year 2 Science June 12 to June 14
• 6-8 Year 1 Science June 6 to June 14

Training will be available in the fall as well for science.  No math training will be available this summer as AMSTI is currently waiting on recommendations from the statewide strategic committee for math.

To register for training please click here:  Summer 2017 Science Registration

Training for Summer 2016 is now open

Training for Summer 2016 is now open.  To the right of this post is a button for Science Registration.  Clicking on that link will take you to a registration form for this summer's training.

• Training will be open January 11, 2016 until January 29, 2016
• We will close the link on January 30, 2016 to pull down all registrations. 
• February 1, 2016 the link will open up for late registrations.  Those who register after January 29, 2016 will be placed on a waiting list and will be added as training space and funds allow. 

A few updates have been made to the blog.  Beneath the blog title there are grade levels listed.  Clicking on the grade level will take you to the information that is specific to that grade level. 

Stipends will not be available.  Please see previous blog posts concerning stipends but due to the expense of conversion and in order to get materials to as many classrooms as possible, AMSTI-UNA will not pay stipends for training this summer.

Regular AMSTI Summer Institute will be available in the Russellville area:  

• Year 1 and Year 2 K-5 science; June 7-15, 2016. 
• Year 1 6-8 Science; June 7-15, 2016.

Compressed/Crossover training for fully trained AMSTI teachers will be available for grades K-5 and grades 7-8 only.  There will be two locations for this training:

• Jasper area; June 20-23, 2016 for K-5
• Shoals area; June 27-30, 2016 for K-5
• Russellville area; June 16-17 grades 7 and 8

Types of training available:

• Regular AMSTI Summer Institute--for teachers who have never had AMSTI Science Training
• Compressed training--for teachers who have been AMSTI Science trained but have changed grade levels
• Crossover training--for teachers who have been AMSTI Science trained and are still in the same grade level as their training but need the updated kits.

I want to attend training this summer but what if I cannot attend?

We realize vacations, children at home, vacation bible schools, college courses, and other aspects of life take up time.  Sometimes scheduling conflicts arise.  Your family and these other items must take priority and we understand that!  Our goal is to train as many teachers as we can afford to purchase materials for this summer.  If we have funds remaining after summer training, we will then apply those to compressed and crossover training during the school year.  With limited funds we simply cannot guarantee any type of training in the fall at this time.  Depending on our funding, we will plan to have full science training Summer 2017. 

What if I can't attend training during the summer 2016?

A question that has come up from a few individuals--I really want to come this summer for training/updated training but I probably will not be able to do so due to prior commitments.  What options are available for me if I can't attend this summer.

First of all everything at this point is tentative.  We are conducting pre-registration to just try and get an idea of how many materials we will need to purchase and to see if we will have enough funds to purchase those materials. 

Our first focus is compressed training this summer for teachers who have been previously trained during summer institute and full AMSTI summer training for those who have never received science training.  We will hopefully have a good idea on how much material to purchase by January or February through this pre-registration based on who is able to come this summer. 

We will then see how much we have remaining in funds and then begin some preliminary plans for compressed training during the school year.  We will hopefully be able to offer some compressed training during the school year but the number that can participate may be limited due to the expense of materials and training costs.  It may be we can conduct some training, but may not have kits available until the following year.  Until we see how our summer numbers turn out we will not be able to make plans for fall until late spring. 

AMSTI is also in the process of developing online compressed training.  With online compressed training, a teacher works through the science module and gets some guidance through the online course on lesson implementation.  The teacher must spend about an hour each week sharing how particular lessons went through message boards, and uploading documents/pictures.  This is probably the most effective form of training as a teacher must work through the lessons with students to receive certification in the kit.  However, this first year I am not very optimistic we will be able to support online training with specialist help or with materials (kits and teacher guides). 

To summarize, our current priorities in order:

Summer 2016

1. Previously science trained AMSTI teachers who are currently receiving science kits through compressed training.
2. Previously science trained AMSTI teachers who are not receiving kits due to grade level changes through compressed training.
3. Teachers at AMSTI schools who have never been science trained through Summer Institute.

Fall 2016

1. Face to face compressed training for teachers previously trained in AMSTI science.
2. Online compressed training for teachers previously trained in AMSTI science. 

Why pre-register?

You may be asking the question:  Why pre-register?   Before I answer essentially this is our request:

Please pre-register. 

Don't assume because you get materials now we will plan to buy for you to have later on.  We need to know now if you are willing to come this summer and are willing to use the materials.  If you are willing then we want to make sure we can get have the materials for your use during the 2016/17 school year. 

Essentially we have 900 active teachers who are currently receiving science kits.  About 3 years ago we had over 1200 who received science kits (the drop is because we have not had science training in the past 3 years). 
We know we will probably not be able to provide kits for all 900 active teachers plus the potential 300-500 new teachers at current AMSTI schools who we don't even know about because they are not in our database. 
Because our funds are so limited, we want to be strategic in our buying.  If we only have 90 second grade teachers wanting and willing to implement science modules beginning fall 2016 we want to only buy for those 90 and not the 150 that are currently on our list.  This is what will allow us to make sure our funds are spent as wisely as possible. 

So please.....pre-register!  :)

Tentative number of days of training at each grade level for new hire and compressed training

The above represents an early estimate on the number of training days per AMSTI training year.  The above information is subject to change.  Compressed training dates are estimates only but represent the anticipated number of days a previously trained AMSTI teacher would spend for both Year 1 and Year 2 science module compressed training.  New Hire training is for someone who has never participated in AMSTI Science summer training. 

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