IRIS Professional Development for Teachers

Thursday, March 18 8:00–9:00 AM

More Than Just Crossing Circles: Overhauling Your Earthquake Location Exercise

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, Philadelphia South

Do your students locate earthquakes from old textbook seismograms? Learn how to access online data from recent newsworthy earthquakes.

Presenter(s): Robert M. de Groot (University of Southern California: Los Angeles, CA); Michael Hubenthal (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC)

FORMAT: Workshop
SUBJECT: Earth Science
GRADE LEVEL: Middle Level-High School

Thursday, March 18 3:30–4:30 PM

Simulating Earthquakes for Science and Society: New Earthquake Visualizations Ideal for Use in Science Education

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, Independence B

High-performance computing has revolutionized the modeling and visualization of complex natural phenomena. Learn how these tools can enhance teaching and learning.

Presenter(s): Robert M. de Groot (University of Southern California: Los Angeles, CA); Michael Hubenthal (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC)

FORMAT: Presentation
SUBJECT: Earth Science
GRADE LEVEL: Middle Level-College

Friday, March 19 12:30–1:30 PM

Using the Seismograph in Your Student's Backpack: Teaching Earth Science Content with iPods, Laptops, and other Portable Accelerometers

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, Philadelphia North

Explore strategies for using accelerometers in modern "gizmos" as a hook to teach students about seismic waves and earthquakes.

Presenter(s): John Taber (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC); Michael Hubenthal (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC); Michael Wysession (Washington University in St. Louis: St. Louis, MO)

FORMAT: Workshop
SUBJECT: Earth Science
GRADE LEVEL: Middle Level-High School

Friday, March 19 5:00–6:00 PM

Need a New Medium for Performance Assessments? How About Museum Kiosks?

Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Washington A

Engage students in learning through the easy creation of free, computer-based, museum-style kiosks as an interdisciplinary performance assessment. Finished products are displayed in school's public spaces!

Presenter(s): Patrick McQuillan (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC)

FORMAT: Workshop
SUBJECT: General Science
GRADE LEVEL: Middle Level-High School

Friday, March 19 5:00–6:00 PM

Using Secondary Data Sets to Explore Earthquakes and Climate.

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, Independence A

The IRIS earthquake database and NYC Central Park Weather Data Set provide rich opportunities for developing testable hypotheses, for data review and synthesis, and for developing conclusions based on real-world data.

Presenter(s): Jay Holmes (American Museum of Natural History: New York, NY); Hudson Roditi (American Museum of Natural History: New York, NY)

FORMAT: Workshop
SUBJECT: Earth Science
GRADE LEVEL: Middle Level-High School/Informal Education

Friday, March 19 5:00–6:00 PM

Teaching Core Physics Concepts Through the Lens of Seismology

Philadelphia Marriott, Franklin 5

Add relevance to core physics topics such as Newton's laws, waves, and work through a suite of "anticipatory or exit questions" using the lens of seismology.

Presenter(s): Michael Hubenthal (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC); John Taber (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC)

FORMAT: Workshop
SUBJECT: Physics
GRADE LEVEL: High School

Sunday, March 21 11:00 AM–12:00 PM

Discovering Earth's Layered Interior with Seismic Waves

Pennsylvania Convention Center, 105A/B

Finally an activity that addresses this standard! Explore new discoveries about Earth's dynamic interior through an activity that allows students to discover or dispel the presence of Earth's layers using seismic data.

Presenter(s): Michael Wysession (Washington University in St. Louis: St. Louis, MO); Michael Hubenthal (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC); John Taber (IRIS Consortium: Washington, DC)

FORMAT: Workshop
SUBJECT: Earth Science
GRADE LEVEL: Middle Level-High School