The Summer Science Workshops offered by Luther STEM faculty provide week-long experiences for regional teachers to deepen their scientific knowledge and expand the range of inquiry-based lessons through hands-on science, the development of age-appropriate scientific curriculum, and practice of mentorship skills. The workshop design focuses on enhancing teachers’ scientific background to develop science-related curriculum. Teachers participate in investigative laboratories, field trips, demonstrations, discussions, and collaborative workshop time in order to strengthen and enhance their science curriculum.

The Summer Science Workshops provide several learning and experiential goals, including:

• To enhance scientific background in a variety of content areas
• To provide a variety of inquiry-based scientific exploration experiences, including those in controlled laboratory environments as well as in the field
• To foster development of science-related curricula by providing information, planning time, and guidance for navigating and implementing the Next Generation Science Standards, scientific process skills, and inquiry in the classroom
• To engage in K-8 science curricular discussions with peers and establish a collaborative network with Luther science and education faculty
• To learn about the scientific research ongoing at Luther College, including the people, projects, and places involved

Additionally, participants are expected to:

• Have fun learning and exploring science!
• Actively engage with workshop leaders and peers
• Record valuable experiences/activities in science notebook
• Develop new or modified science curricula (based on workshop experiences and peer feedback) and share these products with workshop participants