TESTA is the Texas Earth Science Teachers Association
TESTA is a state wide organization of science educators, science supervisors, curriculum directors and others dedicated to maintaining the highest level of science education in the disciplines of the Earth Sciences.
Click here to read the latest issue of our newsletter, TESTA Tailings.
Click here to find out about the 2013 TESTA Spring Conference and download a flyer.
Click here for information about the 2013 American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting.
Click here for info about the Brookhaven College Enrichment Classroom for Teachers.
TESTA seeks to:
- - serve as the educator's voice for Texas science.
- - inform science teachers and other members of trends in science education.
- - provide opportunities for members to examine technology, curricula, resources and services.
- - cooperate with other science oriented organizations and teacher associations in the promotion of excellence in science teaching.
Read the TESTA Constiution
PRESIDENT - Alexia Bieniek, lexyb@consolidated.net
PAST PRESIDENT - Gail Gant, St. John's School, 2401 Claremont Ln., Houston, TX 77019, W 713.850.0222 ext. 501, C 832.526.5074, ggant@sjs.org
PRESIDENT ELECT - open
VICE PRESIDENT - Kathryn Barclay
SECRETARY - Jan Grout, Intermediate Science Specialist, Clear Creak ISD, 3535 East FM 528, Friendswood, TX, W 281-284-3600, C 281-731-8961, jgrout@ccisd.net
TREASURER - Lisa Stone, Fort Bend ISD - Sugar Land Middle School, 321 Seventh St., Sugar Land, TX 77478, W 281-634-3080, Lisa.Stone@fortbend.k12.tx.us
TESTA Teacher of the Year
If you know a TESTA member that you feel would be a good TESTA Teacher of the Year, fill out the application form and mail it to the President of TESTA, Alexia Bieniek, by August 2, 2013. Don't forget you can also nominate yourself. Forms will be mailed out to the candidates as soon as they are received by the president. All forms and requirements must be returned by September 19, 2013. The Teacher of the Year packets will be reviewed by a Teacher of the Year Committee. The teacher's principal will be notified. A plaque will be awarded to the TESTA Teacher of the year at CAST 2013.
FORMER TESTA TEACHERS OF THE YEAR
- Kathie Poff, 1999
- Karen Stocco, 1997
- Shannon Miller, 1996
- Joyce Ramig, 1995
- Ethan Calk, 1994
- Phyllis Olson, 1993
- Linda Brown, 1992
- Fran Schroeder, 1991
- Letha Bell, 1990
- Kathy Walford, 1989
- Tom Duke, 1988
- Alexia Bieniek, 1987
- Carolyn Schroeder, 1986
Nominate a teacher for the 2013 TESTA Teacher of the Year
Click here to download a pdf form for mailing or faxing.
Mail, fax, or email completed form to:
Jan Grout, SECRETARY
Intermediate Science Specialist
Clear Creak ISD
3535 East FM 528
Friendswood, TX
W 281-284-3600
C 281-731-8961
jgrout@ccisd.net
Grant Applications
TESTA provides grants for Earth Science Teachers.
Click here to request a TESTA Earth Science Teacher Grant application.
TESTA at CAST
TESTA participates in the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teachers (CAST) each year. Keep an eye on the CAST website for more information.
Click here for an application to participate in the TESTA Share-A-Thon at CAST.
Be sure to check out our Earth Science strand of content filled fieldtrips, workshops and short courses. Make sure to visit to our famous Rock Raffle Friday afternoon to add new specimens to your classroom. Join us for the TESTA luncheon. Saturday mornings Share-a-thon is a must attend session.
"Mapping Our World: Celebrating National Earth Science Week"
This webinar hosted by NOVA and the National Earth Science Teacher's Association,was held October 16th, but you can still view it through this link: http://wgbh1.adobeconnect.com/mappingourworld.
Webinar Description
Dr. Chad Heinzel is an associate professor of Geology at the University of Northern Iowa. He'll give an overview of the "Big Ideas" of Earth science and will talk about innovative and effective ways of incorporating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into the classroom.
Rachel Gesserman, NOVA's Education Coordinator, will describe strategies for using NOVA's newest collection of standards-based media resources that highlight important concepts in Earth system science using video from new NOVA programs.
Katherine Soriano is an Earth Science Teacher Programs Developer at the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. She'll describe strategies for using data from NASA Earth Observations (NEO) in your classroom.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Best,
Rachel Gesserman
NOVA Education Coordinator
617.300.3756
pbs.org/nova/education
Fund for Teachers 2014
Good afternoon, TESTA Leadership,
Last week, Fund for Teachers’ 2014 grant cycle opened – meaning Texas teachers can begin planning their ideal learning experience for this summer. If selected, they will receive grants for up to $5,000 per individual or $10,000 per team to make it happen.
We would love to see more earth science teachers apply. While 950 Houston teachers have benefitted from $3.6 million in FFT grants since 2001, last year marked the first time all Texas teachers were eligible. A list of those teachers, along with their fellowship descriptions, is available online.
Here’s our national release with all of the information you need, and this portal on our web site is designed especially for teachers. Please let me know if I can provide additional materials or assistance to ensure that more of your members know about this opportunity – and are awarded.
Best,
Carrie Pillsbury
(Our Spring newsletter highlighted STEM fellowships, with a story about a Houston biology teacher on page 6. She designed her fellowship to research biodiversity in Costa Rica. And, Gail and Kathryn can attest to FFT fellowships themselves!)
A message from Howard Perlman, USGS
Hello,
I wanted to let you know of a new tool that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has just released about the Water Cycle (for kids/students) that we hope can be useful as a teaching tool.
This is our Interactive on-line version of the water cycle - with versions for three age levels. You view our water cycle diagram on the web and hover your mouse over components and see popup information, pictures, and further links.
The page is: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle-kids-adv.html
I am attaching an image of how the interactive page looks.
Thanks and let me know if you have questions or comments.
Howard Perlman
US Geological Survey
hperlman@usgs.gov
678-924-6678
Earth Science Fair
Brookhaven College Geotechnology Institute and the Geology and Astronomy Departments present:
Star Lab: Earth, Sun and Moon Show!
Oct. 19 - 20
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History
Click here to download a flyer
Click here to go to the website.