This summer, our Scientist in Every Florida School Program (SEFS) hosted three week-long professional development workshops for Florida public school teachers at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Teachers looking at shark jaw boneIn “AI Learning in K-12 with Fossil Sharks,” 31 middle school science teachers were taught how to use ancient fossil shark teeth to introduce their students to Artificial Intelligence (AI). With the guidance of paleontologists, education professionals and computer engineers, teachers used a branch of AI called machine learning to train a computer model to identify the teeth of the extinct giant shark megalodon. This was the third and final cohort of this project, which was funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation in collaboration with the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, the UF College of Education and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Jars from Florida Museum "Wet" collectionsTen elementary school teachers gained hands-on experience working with museum collections in our first “Moving and Improving the Florida Museum of Natural History Fish Collection” workshop. They were introduced to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s extensive “wet” collections from the Herpetology, Ichthyology, Invertebrate Zoology, Mammals, and Ornithology divisions and experienced a “day in the life” of collections managers and curators. Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, a second group of teachers will participate in this workshop again next summer.

teacher and scientist working with plant materials in laboratoryFive high school teachers learned about crop resiliency in the “Research Experience for Florida High School Teachers in Plant Pathology” workshop, where they collaborated with scientists from the UF/IFAS Song Lab to develop lesson plans that will help students better understand agriculture and food security challenges. This is the third year of four annual workshops funded by a National Science Foundation grant focused on molecular and plant pathology.

All three workshops prioritized applicants from Title I schools. Participants will continue to work with the Scientist in Every Florida School program throughout the school year to develop lessons plans that fit their curriculum and meet state learning standards. Additionally, their students will have the exciting opportunity to meet and interact with scientists during classroom visits. All teachers will receive a stipend for successful completion of the programs.  

Learn more about each program below: