SENCER Summer Institute 2010

July 29th - August 2nd

Asheville, North Carolina

The annual SENCER Summer Institute is an opportunity for a community of educators, administrators, students, and community leaders to gather to consider how best to engage students in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics and the civic issues in which they play an integral role. 

The 2010 SENCER Summer Institute will be held in Asheville, NC, and hosted by the University of North Carolina at Asheville.  The Institute will begin in the late afternoon of Thursday, July 29th and conclude mid-afternoon on Monday, August 2nd (please see the Schedule and Curriculum sections for details). Participation in the Institute is by invitation only following submission of a team or individual application and review by SENCER.

The 10th SENCER Summer Institute program will feature reports on mature projects by alumni of past symposia, plenary sessions for both new and returning participants, recognition for leaders in the SENCER community, and sessions that highlight new areas of work and initiatives for the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement, such as the Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship Through Education Network [GLISTEN] project. 

Workshops will give all participants the opportunity to investigate particular topics of interest during intensive half-day sessions.  Concurrent sessions and colloquia will focus on campus work, innovative pedagogies, assessment techniques, and partnership opportunities.  NCSCE will honor SENCER Leadership Fellows, NCSCE Senior Fellows, and other leaders in the community during a dinner and in Institute materials.

This year, SENCER is introducing two new program features – an intensive team planning day and a special Institute track for educators interested in teacher preparation.  The Intensive Pre-Institute Team Planning Day is designed to help familiarize new teams or team members to the SENCER approach and to assist teams in making the most of their time at the Summer Institute.  Participants will be introduced to the theory behind the SENCER approach, and will have the ability to work with a mentor specifically selected based on each team’s goals (as stated in the SSI 2010 team application). 

SENCER, Teachers, and Teacher Education will consist of a designated track session each day during the Institute, as well as a half-day workshop.  Strictly limited to one cohort of 30 people, the group will explore a model that links SENCER courses in the disciplines with carefully sequenced methods courses.  Sessions will touch on topics such as integrating the SENCER approach into pre-service education, assessment approaches, policy implications, standards and other pertinent issues.  To learn more about the Team Planning Day and the Teacher Track, please go to the Special Program Offerings section of this page.

Over the past several years, SENCER has chosen to rotate the location of the Summer Institute to highlight the efforts of campuses around the country and to reduce the travel burden for attendees.  Last year, the Institute was hosted by Harold Washington College (Chicago, IL), the home of the SENCER Center for Innovation – Midwest.  This year’s host, UNCA, also serves as the host institution for the SENCER Center for Innovation – South and has applied the SENCER approach on a large scale through their general education reform.  One of the many course clusters designed for the program, Food for Thought: Engaging the Citizen in the Science and Politics of Food Information, Food Consumerism, Nutrition and Health, was selected as a SENCER Model in 2008.  Asheville is situated in western North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and SENCER plans to coordinate several activities for Institute participants and their guests that take advantage of the beautiful location.  Please see the SSI 2010 page for information on these events.

SENCER welcomes educators, administrators, students, and community leaders to apply to participate as teams or individuals.  To be considered a team, a group must consist of at least four members (who may represent different institutions).  Please see the Participation section of the sidebar for more information. 

Teams will be eligible to apply for two-year implementation awards of $3,000 to support campus-based projects following participation in SSI 2010 and fulfillment of all eligibility requirements (pending funding from the National Science Foundation).  Groups of less than four should register as individual participants.

Teams and individuals invited to participate in SSI 2010 will have the option of staying on the Asheville campus in suite housing – a selection that is economical and also facilitates team meetings during free time.  See the Lodging Options section for details.

Team and individual applications will be posted on Monday, November 23rd.   Applications must be submitted by March 2, 2010 to be considered for participation.  SENCER will contact all applicants on March 31st and issue invitations to selected participants at that time.  Please do not hesitate to contact SENCER staff with any questions or for more information.

Photograph of Asheville area by D. Kraus