Professional Development Workshops for Alabama Teachers

Have you ever watched a child use a familiar object in an unusual way? Through loose-parts play, children form connections to objects based on shape, color, texture, function, and space. In other words, children are building critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills just by being their playful, curious selves! In this educator workshop, learn how to pair educational concepts with loose-parts play to enrich your lessons and encourage early exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Come learn with us at McWane Science Center during our multi-day professional development workshop, focused on turning science concepts into hands-on opportunities for 2nd–5th-grade students. Join the education team and invited presenters for this engaging and interactive program.

The Engineering Design Process is an essential skill for creative problem-solving. In this workshop, we will discuss how to run successful and relatable Design Challenges in your classroom—activities that use the engineering process to guide students through how to critically approach solutions to real-world problems.

This kit includes enough chemicals, laboratory equipment, and other materials to accommodate one class of 32. There are 3 activities in total. One demonstrating the Law of Conservation of Mass for physical changes (takes up to 30 minutes to complete) and two demonstrating the Law of Conservation of Mass for chemical changes (each takes up to 45 minutes to complete).

This kit includes prisms, lenses, color filters, turning forks, and other materials for 6 lessons, each taking between 30 and 60 minutes to complete.

This kit includes laboratory plasticware, refractometers, pH/nitrate testing strips, dissolved oxygen testing kits, household chemicals, and working to accommodate 30 students. There are materials for 5 activities, each taking approximately 60 minutes to complete.

This kit provides enough materials for a class containing 32 students. This will include seeds, worksheets, forceps, and artificial fur. There are four different activities, covering the heredity of traits and natural selection, which will take approximately three hours to complete.