Teacher Extern Blog

On June 27th, following on the heels of my students,I left my science classroom for the summer and headed north to begin a five week professional development externship at the Mount Washington Observatory. Full of anticipation of what was to come and knowledge of the projects I would do, I also recognized the richness of my externship would be defined by the unexpected: The unexpected is what truly excited and intriqued me about what lay ahead.

Although the Observatory has a tradition of hiring recent college graduates with meteorology or liberal arts backgrounds as interns, this is the first time a teacher would be part of the Observatory staff. The experiment is the result of a newly developed partnership between the Observatory and theMetro SouthWest Regional Employment Board, Framingham, MA. With funding from the MA Department of Education, the MSWREB offers an 18 month professional development initiative for middle and high school teachers to enhance their skills and knowledge base in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  The objective is to bring 21st century technology skills into the classroom.

In addition to on-line course work through Framingham State College, the program includes a  summer internship in a research or corporate setting. Funding to support my externship was made possible from corporate contributions to MSWREB and the Lexington Education Foundation. As a LEF Summer Teacher Fellow, I am extremely appreciative of the financial support that enables me to live and study  in the world renowned Mount Washington Observatory. 

During my remaining days of my externship, I will share some experiences I've had, photographs I've taken, some new insights and resources I will bring back to my classroom,  as well as an overview of the project work I have been doing for the Observatory. I welcome feedback and questions about my entries which can be emailed to me by clicking on the link below. 

Provide Feedback