NTEN Course Catalog

Earth Science

Ecological Biology

Land Resources & Env. Sci

Mathematics

Microbiology

Non-Credit Courses

Nutrition

Physics

Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology

ESS emphasizes the dynamic interrelationships among changes in the atmosphere, ocean circulation patterns, and environmental processes on and beneath the earth's surface. K-14 Earth System Science instruction is designed for K-14 teachers already familiar with using basic computer and Internet tools. Participants will integrate concepts from ESS with Internet resources, such as digital weather images, near-real-time earthquake data, and archived climate data. Necessary ESS scientific background is provided and effective pedagogical strategies are discussed for using computer technology with students at all levels K-14. Although the course science content is based in ESS, emphasis will be on the integration of mathematics, earth systems science, and Internet technology, using discovery and constructivist methods.

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• Articulate the mechanisms behind the development of mountains, volcanoes, valleys, hills, and coastal areas through geologic processes.
  
• Apply the portfolio of activities they developed in the course to enhance elementary student curriculum through hands on experiential learning of landform science.
  
• Develop landform science activities that illustrate the broader relationship to other earth sciences, as well multidisciplinary opportunities in art, history, civics, etc.
  
• Use and demonstrate creative and critical thinking skills when addressing potential barriers to implementing landform science in their classroom.
  
• Evaluate K-6 student comprehension of landform science through a variety of assessment tools and techniques.
  
• Value the network/community of practice developed through in-class sharing and discussions of teaching ideas and approaches to landform study.

• Increase weather and climate content knowledge,
• Increase pedagogical skills related to teaching weather and climate,
• Create a "tool-kit" of teaching activities relating to weather and climate, and
• Engender changes in teacher-participants' classrooms that lead to an increased quantity and quality of weather and climate related instruction.

This course is a prerequisite for our new course, Understanding Climate Change, which will be offered this fall. It is also part of the proposed Graduate Certificate in Science Teaching in Climate Change.

• Increase content knowledge about climate change,
• Increase pedagogical skills related to teaching climate change topics,
• Create a "tool-kit" of teaching activities relating to climate change, and
• Engender changes in teacher-participants' classrooms that lead to an increased quantity and quality of climate change, weather and climate related instruction.

The goals of this course are to…

• Identify the parts that compose the atmosphere
• Count time and space coordinates
• Identify weather elements and icons
• Analyze and read weather maps
• Uncover the importance of temperature
• Use pressure scales to enhance understanding of barometry, density and buoyancy
• Evaluate pressure patterns in storms
• Identify cloud types and their formations
• Describe humidity as related to precipitation and dew point
• Measure and observe wind
• Evaluate wind patterns in storms

ESS emphasizes the dynamic interrelationships among changes in the atmosphere, ocean circulation patterns, and environmental processes on and beneath the earth's surface. K-14 Earth System Science instruction is designed for K-14 teachers already familiar with using basic computer and Internet tools. Participants will integrate concepts from ESS with Internet resources, such as digital weather images, near-real-time earthquake data, and archived climate data. Necessary ESS scientific background is provided and effective pedagogical strategies are discussed for using computer technology with students at all levels K-14. Although the course science content is based in ESS, emphasis will be on the integration of mathematics, earth systems science, and Internet technology, using discovery and constructivist methods.

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The specific goals of this course are:

• Expand your understanding of the concepts of soil science and use soil as a platform to teach other science disciplines such as biology, art, history and others.
  
• Gain understanding of how soil is formed and getting dirty while discovering different soil textures.
  
• Begin to understand your local soil/ landscape interactions.
  
• Gain understanding of soil and water relationships.
  
• Study how children's concepts of soil and land resources are developed in the classroom setting.
  
• Strengthen skills in teaching basic soil science concepts, engaging students, and responding to student needs in the classroom.
  
• Develop our own professional community of course participants, sharing teaching ideas, expertise and experience.

The goal of this course is to introduce teachers to the basic principles of soil science as an integral part of the curriculum for environmental sciences, ecology, earth science, geology, water quality, and geography. The course is structured around twelve basic soil concepts, beginning with the significance of soil in our everyday lives and progressing through soil formation, the physical and chemical properties of soils, and the role soil and the earth play in environmental management today and in the future. This course is filled with "how to" classroom teaching opportunities and resources. A good share of the course addresses contemporary issues and readings. We'll integrate teaching DIRT with math, language arts, geography, social studies, artistic expression, chemistry, physics, and biology.

You'll learn about the soil in your own school yard or back yard, who to contact to get local "experts" and how to get your students more interested in environmental studies. This course is "hands on", participation oriented.

What goes on in the DIRTY DOZEN?

• Study the significance of soil and the processes involved in soil formation and differentiation (did you know that all soils have names and identities and more than 14,000 different "soils" are recognized in the United States alone?).
• Learn how to use such readily available resources as National Geographic, Science, and other popular magazines to introduce students to soil science and develop lessons that are fun in the classroom.
• Develop better understanding of the relationship between soil and water quality, crop and vegetation management, and environmental science.

• To increase teacher knowledge and assessment skills about the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of water quality investigations,
• To help teachers develop and implement new and creative pedagogies for teaching water quality concepts in the secondary school science classroom,
• Increase teacher awareness and understanding of some of the more significant global water quality issues that will face science teachers and their students in the 21st century, and
• Develop professional relationships and information sharing through active course discussions and sharing.

• Examine the nature of mathematical modeling and how it compares to other types of problems and tasks. Discover how mathematical modeling is approached at different grade levels (e.g., elementary) and in different contexts (e.g., STEM disciplines).
• Compare and contrast desirable habits of mind in mathematics, science, and engineering with a focus on modeling across STEM disciplines. Explore pedagogical practices that foster modeling in the context of effective STEM instruction.
• Recognize the role of mathematics and modeling in a person’s ability to make the well-founded judgments needed by engaged and reflective citizens.
• Solve a variety of modeling problems in mathematics and related STEM disciplines. Evaluate and critique lessons and tasks against mathematical modeling criteria.
• Design activities and lessons that incorporate authentic (mathematical) modeling.

• discussions;
• readings;
• web resources;
• quizzes;
• assignments;
• and in designing and implementing an ongoing hands-on research experiment.

• Arduino computer system
• robot construction, locomotion and autonomy
• sensors
• common robot challenges

• Learn the key skills of organized observation
• Learn about the anatomy, care, and life cycle of a flowering plant through a series of hands-on science modules
• Build on new knowledge of organized observation to research and investigate an additional plant species
• Communicate results of research and investigation through expository drawing and writing

• Week 1: What IS online teaching and what it’s NOT
• Week 2: The online instructor: not a transplanted classroom teacher
• Week 3: The online student: connected, but easily lost
• Week 4: The learning management system: learning the ins and outs
• Week 5: Creating the course content: NOT uploaded lectures
• Week 6: Up and running for Day 1

• Week 1: Creating online culture: united we stand
• Week 2: Creating online support: communication, communication, communication
• Week 3: Facilitating effective online discussions: the key to online learning success
• Week 4: Creating and using podcasts: content delivery beyond text
• Week 5: Webinars: completing the connection loop
• Week 6: Tip and Tricks from a 20 veteran

Nutrition is a key element in managing body weight and fueling physical fitness and athletic performance. Food provides fluids, energy, nutrients, fiber, and phytochemicals. But what nutritional strategies are optimal? Which dietary supplements work? Using nutrition to meet the demands of physical activity is a dynamic process that integrates scientific research, nutrition guidelines, and the practical aspects of fueling active people in specific situations.

This nutrition science course examines the latest developments that link nutrition with physical fitness, sport performance, and health promotion. Resources include a text, course supplement, nutrition analysis software, peer-reviewed scientific literature, current news, and Internet resources. Participants contribute to asynchronous online discussions throughout each week. Expect to relate each week's topic to your areas of interest and expertise. A diverse group of participants (practicing teachers in various specialties, coaches, athletic trainers, nutrition educators, and other health professionals) ensures that discussions are interesting, lively, and challenging. Topics include energy, fluid, and nutrient needs for physical activity; nutrition around exercise (before, during, recovery); free radicals and antioxidants; dietary supplements; body composition; weight management; disordered eating; and the female athlete triad. Sport-specific nutrition strategies for endurance, team sports, strength training, and muscle mass gain are addressed. Controversial issues such as popular diets, nutrient timing, and sports supplements are addressed. Internet resources are used extensively.

Assignments challenge participants to apply evidence-based nutrition strategies to practical situations. Participants demonstrate competency in the following areas: locating credible nutrition resources on the Internet; accessing, analyzing, and evaluating nutrition information; and using nutrition analysis software to plan meals, snacks, and a personalized fitness menu. The course project is a written evaluation of a dietary supplement, a popular diet, or a dietary regimen. Reference material is obtained from medical, health, and scientific sources such as published, peer-reviewed scientific literature accessed via the National Library of Medicine databases. Participants demonstrate competency in a written project that involves assessment, analysis, comparison, evaluation, and synthesis of information.

Note: This course was formerly HDFN 526: Nutrition for Fitness and Performance

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• 1) It leads to a more useful method for visualizing and solving problems in SR (Special Relativity) and with a modified Pythagorean Theorem and spacetime diagrams we can answer any question with confidence.
• 2) Since geometry is the foundation for General Relativity (GR), this approach affords a seamless transition for students taking GR in the spring.

Note: This course is a prerequisite for General Relativity, which is scheduled for spring semester 2020.

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• To deepen teachers understanding of basic physics principles underlying electric circuits.
• To enhance teachers ability to convey concepts of electric circuits through inquiry approaches to learning.
•  To encourage the sharing of resources and pedagogical methods among course participants.
• To strengthen teacher knowledge and confidence in teaching electric circuits, and to develop their ability to critically analyze and use commercially available resources.
• To briefly introduce magnetism, differentiating electric charge and magnet poles and observing the connection between an electric current and a magnetic field.

This course will be taught as an online, D2L-based course. The course involves significant student/instructor and student/student interaction with extensive participation in online discussion of laboratory work, assigned reading, homework assignments, and independent study utilizing targeted Internet searches. The time commitment is anticipated to be approximately 11-13  hours per week for seven weeks. Course work will involve a mixture of online discussion, hands-on (lab-type) activities, readings from assigned and independently researched sources, and on-line quizzes.

There is. The patterns of day and night - of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars - are complex and wonderful. Some are very easy to figure out if you have the right tools; others take a bit of practice. All can be studied at different levels, and so can be used for different grade levels and for the focus of scientific inquiry.

This course is intended for elementary school teachers who use hands-on curricula. The topics include the Moon and lunar phases, patterns and changes in the night sky, the Sun’s appearance over the day and over the year at different locations on Earth, and some keys to understanding the surface patterns of planets and other worlds in our Solar System. Throughout the course are ways of learning about student ideas, limitations, and misconceptions. Each week, participants work through a selection of activities and contribute to asynchronous online discussions. The available activities focus on each week’s topic, but each participant is encouraged to choose activities that will best contribute to her or his own learning and teaching needs. Many of the activities parallel student activities in popular space science curriculum kits, though most are geared for adult learners. At the same time, participants experience a long-term observation-based inquiry. Discussions provide a way for participants to learn about a wide assortment of activities, exchange tips and ideas, and bounce thoughts and questions off colleagues as they work through their own understandings.

Participants examine and deepen their own understanding of space science, uncover and correct misunderstandings, and explore different ways of learning particular topics. In doing so, participants gain skills to support inquiry-based learning and guided kit use among their students. Resources include a Teacher’s Guide, star wheel, and access to templates participants and their students can use to make tools to understand space science. Internet resources are used throughout the course. Activities use household materials.

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• Have a clearer conceptual understanding of how sound works and what it is.
• Know how to examine sounds by looking at the whole "sound system" (force vibration, medium, receiver).
• Learn about sound energy and how it moves through a medium.
• Examine how the properties of materials affect the sounds you hear.
• Learn about ears and how they work.
• Experience the true Scientific Method and collaboration.

This is a conceptual physics course that is designed especially for Elementary teachers with little or no formal training in science. Teachers with significant previous experience teaching physical science are welcome, but are encouraged to contact NTEN for more information.

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The specific course goals are to:

• Gain a thorough understanding of the concepts central to a description of motion. These include position, time, displacement, velocity and acceleration.
• Learn how to describe motion graphically and using data tables, and develop an understanding of the connections between these representations and the fundamental ideas of motion
• Study how children's concepts of motion are developed in the classroom setting, and thereby become more effective users of inquiry-based curricular materials in teaching about motion
• Develop our own professional community of course participants, sharing teaching ideas, expertise and experience

• Gain a thorough understanding of the concept of force and the different kinds of force
• Develop expertise in representing forces with free-body diagrams
• Gain a thorough understanding of the relationship between forces and Newton's three laws of motion
• Understand how forces determine the conditions for balancing
• Learn how forces explain the operation of simple machines such as pulleys and levers
• Study how children's concepts of force, torque, and work are developed in classroom settings
• Become more effective users of inquiry-based curricular materials in teaching about forces
• Develop your own professional community of course participants, with whom you can share teaching ideas, expertise, and experience.

This course is intended to provide secondary physics teachers with a connection between topics in renewable energy sources to Next Generation Science Standards in physics. The goal of the course is to improve their pedagogical knowledge related to teaching the physics associated with renewable energy sources. Students will focus on developing classroom materials related to the subject.

During this online course, participants will complete a series of online units centered on bringing the physics of renewable energy sources into a high school physics classroom. Students will develop an understanding of the underlying physics associated with renewable energy sources. As this course is intended for secondary classroom teachers, instruction will place an emphasis on creating classroom materials appropriate for secondary science classrooms and consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards. Energy sources covered include power derived from nuclear fusion/fission, wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, hydrogen, biomass and water waves. World energy consumption and energy storage will also be covered.

Objectives - Secondary physics teachers who successfully complete this course will be able to do the following:
• 1. Describe the current and projected world energy usage.
• 2. Describe the necessity of renewable energy sources.
• 3. Explain how energy is obtained from various renewable energy sources covered in the course.
• 4. Demonstrate mastery of underlying physics concepts utilized in renewable energy sources covered in the course.
• 5. Identify Next Generation Science Standards associated with topics in renewable energy.
• 6. Show the ability to encorporate the underlying physics of renewable energy sources into the teaching of introductory level physics.

• Watch seeds germinate
• Learn about uptake of water in seeds
• Think about seeds as food
• Observe how plants respond to gravity
• Learn the parts of a flower
• Act like a pollinating bee
• Watch a flower part turn into fruit with seeds

You will keep journals with growth data, answer questions from the instructor based on your journals and the manual, and participate in discussions. If you are already familiar with Wisconsin Fast Plants, you can either participate in this class with more experimentation with your plants.

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