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Witness Tree Workshop Resources

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These resources support the virtual Witness Tree workshop: Trees Telling STEM Stories, held on August 26, 2021. Please feel free to download and share them for educational purposes! 

Workshop Recording

Workshop Agenda

(All times in Eastern Daylight Time)

  • 10:00-10:30 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
  • 10:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Team Witness Tree presentations
    • 10:30-10:50 Tim Rademacher: The Big Picture - What is a witness tree and what is its purpose? (slides as a .pdf)
    • 10:50-11:20 Taylor Jones: The science behind the witness tree sensors (slides as a .pdf)
    • 11:20-11:30 Q&A for Science Team
    • 11:30-11:50 Clarisse Hart: Witness Trees as STEM Outreach & Teaching Tools (slides as a .ppt)
    • 11:50-12:00 Flossie Chua: Teacher Research Study
    • 12:00-12:15 Q&A for all
  • 12:15-12:30 p.m. Introduction to the 3 Trees 
    • "Whitney the Witness Tree", Harvard Forest, 12:15-12:20
    • Washington Elm, City of Cambridge, 12:20-12:25
    • Sugar Maple, Drumlin Farm, Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary, 12:25-12:30
  • 12:30-1:00 p.m. Lunch on your own
  • 1:00-1:15 p.m. Introduction to afternoon activities
  • 1:15-2:15 p.m. Independent Work (with Science & Education team available to answer Qs)
  • 2:15-2:30 p.m. Break
  • 2:30-3:20 p.m. Breakout groups by tree location
    • City of Cambridge, Washington elm
    • Drumlin Farm, Sugar maple 
    • Harvard Forest, Red oak 
  • 3:20-3:45 p.m. Reporting out (5 mins per group)
  • 3:45-3:55 p.m. Closing discussion
  • 3:55-4:00 p.m. Workshop evaluation survey and (optional) PDP request for Mass. teachers (see below)

Professional Development Points 

Professional Development Points (PDPs) are available to teachers who attend the live Aug. 26 workshop: 1 PDP for each hour of participation (up to 6 total).

For more info, email Clarisse Hart at hart3@fas.harvard.edu.

Post-Workshop Honoraria

  • Nineteen $100 honoraria are available on a first-come, first-served basis to all formal and informal educators who attend the workshop live, or who view the recording later, and submit by September 5, 2021: 
    • A written reflection of 250-500 words, about the feasibility of using some element of the Witness Tree project in their classroom or an informal environmental learning setting in the coming year. Those who do find it feasible, please reflect on which elements of the project are most useful, and whether additional supports or resources might help you succeed. Those who do not find it feasible, please reflect on the barriers you foresee and any possible ways we might make the program more accessible/relevant in the future.
    • These reflections will be used by the project team to improve the Witness Tree project as an educational tool. Please indicate in your reflection whether you give permission for us to share excerpts of your words with funders, potential project partners, and other educators, either with credit to you or anonymously (your choice).
    • To be eligible for the honorarium, submit your completed reflection statement via email to Clarisse Hart at hart3@fas.harvard.edu by September 5, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
    • If you have questions about your eligibility to receive an honorarium due to visa or work authorization status, please email HFfinance@fas.harvard.edu before completing a reflection statement.
    • Please note that an honorarium may be considered taxable income to you.
  • Up to six $150 honoraria are available on a first-come, first-served basis to all formal and informal educators who create and pilot a lesson in their classrooms based on the Witness Tree project. The first step is to submit an outline - via email to hart3@fas.harvard.edu - of your lesson plan by April 1, 2022. (This will reserve your honorarium.) The second step is to submit the following completed materials by July 1, 2022:
    • A shareable version of the final lesson plan, which will then be considered for publication on the Harvard Forest webpage as a resource for educators (with credit to the author(s))
    • A brief statement (250-500 words) of how the piloted lesson plan went in your classroom.
    • 3 samples of student work resulting from the lesson plan, with a note as to whether these samples may be shared with funders, potential project partners, and other educators.
    • Submit your completed materials via email to Clarisse Hart at hart3@fas.harvard.edu by December 10, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
    • If you have questions about your eligibility to receive an honorarium due to visa or work authorization status, please email HFfinance@fas.harvard.edu before completing a lesson plan.
    • Please note that an honorarium may be considered taxable income to you.

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