The standards-informed River Institute is designed to increase teachers' knowledge in water related content, enhance STEM-focused investigation skills, expand literacy skills, and help area educators translate professional experiences into meaningful, engaging classroom investigations for students.

The focus for the institute is on elementary and middle school classroom teachers, as well as science specialists and teams of teachers. All educators are welcome to apply.

Through their work in the River Institute, participants will:

• Understand the science, engineering, and literacy opportunities represented within their watershed.

• Practice specific skills of science literacy.

• Learn specific natural science content relevant to the river and their local watershed.

• Investigate strategies for teaching literacy skills through watershed-focused content.

• Explore the natural overlap between science and engineering processes, literacy skills, inquiry-based instruction, and STEM integration.

• Engage in critical thinking that connects the content and practice of science, engineering, and literacy sills into an interdisciplinary system of thinking.

During the River Institute experience, participants will:

• Explore the Mississippi watershed with a boat tour, offering a unique experience from the vantage point of the water.

• Articulate field investigations through accurate, richly described scientific observations from live interaction with experts, video, and field based activities at home.

• Create, implement, and learn new strategies for the use of science notebooks.

• Participate in learning activities utilizing Waters to the Sea® and several other classroom resources and tools well-suited for distance and in person teaching. 

• Conduct inquiry-based investigations of flood plain forests, explorations of unique geology features, macroinvertebrates, and engineering with water as a context.

• Participate in small break-out discussions to make new learnings relevant to students and your instructional practices.

• Create plans to implement science, inquiry, and literacy investigations in their classrooms.

River Institute participants will receive and explore Waters to the Sea®, a suite of award-winning multimedia learning modules that help students grades 3-8 understand critical water issues through engaging stories and visualizations.

The Mississippi River Institute take place over three days. Participants interact live with professionals working on the river to investigate how concepts taught and experienced in the Institute can be directly transferred to classroom practice. Then, participants put principles in action through hands-on activities in the backyard or community. Core concepts in science, engineering, and literacy will be introduced and explored as well as strategies for integrating lessons and activities using rivers as a context for learning.

Each participant will receive:

• Three full days of instruction as well as lunch each day;

• 18 CEUs;

• The Waters to the Sea® multimedia tool and additional resources for your classroom;

• The option to purchase two graduate-level credits at a reduced rate.

The 2023 Mississippi River Institute is provided, in part, through the generous financial assistance of our donors. With their ongoing support we enable hundreds of teachers to improve the way they understand and teach science, and help thousands of students connect with the natural world.

July 24-26, 2023; 8am-4pm daily

• Waters to the Sea® Mississippi River Adventure 

• Big River Journey Online

• Adopt-a-Drain Interactive

If you have any questions, contact Sara Robertson at srobertson01@hamline.edu or 651-523-2895.

Learn about the other Teacher Professional Development opportunities at the Center for Global Environmental Education.