Education

Educator Professional Development

Shedd’s professional development experiences for educators are immersive and transformative!

We offer a range of opportunities to connect Shedd to your classroom, and your curriculum to the field. Workshops and resources in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) are designed to connect you with peers and empower your students to develop deep scientific inquiry.

Which part of your practice will you transform with Shedd?

Teacher Field Experiences

Biology in the Bahamas
Suggested for grades K–12 educators

Dive deep into marine environments and scientific research, first in Shedd’s classroom, and then firsthand in the Bahamas aboard Shedd's research vessel, the R/V Coral Reef II. Through hands-on experience, gain a greater understanding of data collection and analysis, how it applies to current scientific research and how to integrate it into your classroom curriculum.

Pre-trip class at Shedd Aquarium: June 25–29, 2012
Fieldwork in Bimini, Bahamas: July 17–24
Post-trip wrap-up at Shedd Aquarium: July 30–Aug. 1
Price: $895
Graduate credits are available from NLU at additional cost.

Registration is closed.

Freshwater Ecology
Suggested for grades K–12 educators

Team up with scientists, teachers and site-specific stewards to explore local environments and engaging ways to apply the scientific process. Explore hidden treasures in our surrounding ecosystems and discover ways to create immersive opportunities in the classroom. In this unique program, teachers gain firsthand experience doing science in the field as they conduct their own research project in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore near Bayfield, WI.

Pre-trip class at Shedd Aquarium: July 18–20, 2012
Fieldwork in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore: July 22–28
Post-trip wrap-up at Shedd Aquarium: Aug. 2–3
Price : $495
Graduate credits are available from NLU at additional cost.

Request an application. Space is limited. Submit your application today!

Underwater Robotics
Suggested for grades 6–12 educators

Make underwater discoveries with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV)! Build your own ROV, conduct field research with it and observe how science, technology, engineering and math can inspire inquiry. Receive several hundred dollars’ worth of materials and curriculum to share the excitement with your middle or high school class.

Date: July 23–27, 2012
Price: $250 a team, includes lunch, transportation and materials
Educators must apply in teams of two to three.
Graduate credits are available from NLU at additional cost.

Registration is closed.

Exploring Inquiry Investigations
Suggested for grades K–8 educators.

What IS inquiry, anyway? How can teachers use it? And most importantly, how can it help you easily incorporate the new science framework into your classroom? Find out in this hands-on workshop! Meet some of Shedd’s unique animals and resources. Then learn interdisciplinary activities that can be brought right back to the classroom. Register today as space is limited! Join us and earn 5 CPDUs for attending.

Registration is closed. Please check back for new dates soon.

Wilderness Classroom Teacher Workshop

Join Wilderness Classrom and Shedd Aquarium for a workshop to help you and your students study aquatic and terrestrial environments throughout North America, the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes. We will also be looking into mangroves, salt marshes, coral reefs and more.

Your class will interact with workshop hosts Dave and Amy Voytilla by internet, as they are on their 12,000-mile journey across North America by canoe, kayak and dogsled. You and your students will interact with the explorers as they dogsled through the boreal forest, and kayak through the Great Lakes—all while studying plants, animals and people of a vast and threatened wilderness.

This training is geared toward teachers, media specialists, technology coordinators, curriculum specialists, librarians and other educators working with students grades 3 through 8. The workshop includes a variety of teaching materials for you to take home, courtesy of Wilderness Classroom. You will also receive four CPDUs, continental breakfast and lunch.

Where: Shedd Aquarium Education Center
When: TBD
Time: TBD
Cost: FREE
Credits: Four CPDUs

Who should attend: This training is geared towards teachers, media specialists, technology coordinators, curriculum specialists, librarians and other educators working with 3rd- through 8th-grade students.

Check back soon for fall dates!

NOAA: Why Do We Explore?
Suggested for science teachers
grades 5–12

Come to Shedd to learn about NOAA’s new teacher resource, Volume 1 of the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection: How Do We Explore? Participants will learn how to use inquiry- and standards-based lessons and other online resources that guide classroom inquiries into several important reasons for ocean exploration including climate change, energy, ocean health and human health.

Registration is required and space is limited. Educators who attend the full day will receive a $50 stipend. Each participant will receive Volume 2 of the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection: How Do We Explore?, materials related to activities presented during the workshop, a NOAA Ocean Exploration Certificate of Participation, continental breakfast and lunch.

Date: Fall 2012 TBD

Check back soon for fall date!

Programs for adults

Shedd experiences don’t stop in the classroom, grab a friend and enjoy some aquatic excitement.

Education

Programs for adults

Educator e-newsletter