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Space Exploration - Where do we go from here?
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Teachers: Check attendance configurations and close and lock lesson plans.
Students: Activate your brains. The countdown to Florida Math and Science Day 2011 has begun!
On May 6, educators and students across the state will celebrate the fourth annual Math and Science Day by learning about space exploration. While that involves studying planets and far-flung galaxies, it’s also about the profound economic, technological and social impact space exploration has made on our own little, sunny corner of the universe.
Over the decades, discoveries and products spawned by the space program have improved life on Earth in countless ways. We owe hundreds of advances in transportation, the environment, medicine, manufacturing, computing and other areas to the scientists, engineers and mathematicians working at NASA and in space-related industries. In fact, over the past 35 years, NASA research has generated more than 1,700 spinoff products, many manufactured in Florida. These products save time, money – even lives. They include:
- Phototrophic cells filled with millions of photosynthetic bacteria that not only purify water in space, but remediate wastewater systems and help clean up oil spills on Earth.
- A miniature ion mobility spectrometer that detects chemicals on distant planets, but also provides soldiers with portable explosives and chemical warfare agent detection.
- A system that helps robots steer clear of obstacles during space exploration, but has been adapted to guide earthling motorists to free parking spaces in public garages.
All this research and development means valuable jobs for Floridians -- more than 65,000 of them statewide in 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (actually just have this second-hand from that Florida space day website, I’m trying to corroborate those numbers now). Altogether, the space industry’s economic impact in Florida is estimated at $20 billion a year.
So students and teachers, prepare for liftoff! Florida Math and Science Day is going to be an educational, and very fun, ride.
When: May 6, 2011 (though we will be celebrating all week long, and hope you will too!)
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Math and Science Day Sign Up Form
Please explore the different tabs for more information.
Proposed Benchmarks for Math and Science Day 2011
Submit/Create New Resources
Create Standards-based Resources Using the iCPALMS Tools
All resources are submitted via online submission system and are rigorously reviewed by other educators and content specialists. When an educator submits a resource to iCPALMS/CPALMS, additional information (metadata) about the resource is entered. This information will assist the system in categorizing resources and will assist other educators in identifying resources for which they are looking.
iCPALMS Standards-based Resource Tools
iCPALMS offers standards-based tools to create resources, such as lesson plans and formative assessment tasks, specific to Florida’s standards.
The benefits of using iCPALMS tools include:
- Integration with the CPALMS Standards Information System allows you to easily select benchmarks and access points
- Step-by-step guiding tools
- Multi-template lesson planning tool
- Tooltips provide guiding questions for each step of the process
- The iCPALMS review team will provide individualized feedback
- Collaboration tools allow teams to work together to create resources
- Access your resources from any computer with internet access
- All submitted resources are reviewed and approved by peers and content experts
- All approved resources are published on the benchmark pages
Login to Access CPALMS Resource Tools
- Go to to www.floridastandards.org/login.aspx,
- Login to your account or sign up for a free one,
- Click on Instructional Resources
- Choose to Submit a New Resource
- Follow the step-by-step guide to align existing resources with Florida standards, create new resources specifically for Florida’s standards, and provide information about these resources to help others find resources.
Implementation Showcase:
The Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics is sponsoring an Implementation Showcase competition. Winners will receive a $500 award and one-year membership to FCTM!
So, what is an Implementation Showcase? An implementation showcase is a showcase of how teachers and schools celebrated math and science on Math and Science Day. Showcase teaching, learning, activities, examples of student work, and other creative ways you celebrated this event.
Click on one of the following links to download the rubric for judging Implementation Showcases: Microsoft Word DOC or Adobe Acrobat PDF
The following links are examples of Implementation Showcases from last year:
Showcase entries are due May 20 and can be sent to mathandscience@lsi.fsu.edu. Winners will be announced mid-June.
Math and Science Day 2011 Sponsors:
- Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics (FCTM)
- Florida Center for Research on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (FCR-STEM)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Florida Association of Science Teachers (FAST)
- Florida Department of Education (FDOE)
- iCPALMS: an NSDL Pathway Project at Florida State University