Award-Winning Professional Development
The mission of AMTA is to support high quality classroom instruction in STEM courses in the middle grades through early college by providing professional development that supports Modeling Instruction to STEM teachers. AMTA supports and promotes Modeling Instruction™ which research shows is the most effective teaching approach for STEM fields. Modeling Instruction™ training is available to any STEM field teacher.
AMTA finds that its Modeling Workshops™ offer the most comprehensive training experience supporting rapid adoption of the Modeling Instruction™ approach to teaching. Modeling Workshops™ are face-to-face professional development experiences including 60 to 90 hours of contact with additional supporting independent learning activities. Training is offered in a broad array of STEM courses from Early College to Middle School. Some workshops offer hybrid learning experiences that combine face to face with online distance learning using Zoom.
AMTA also offers Modeling Courses which provide an introduction to Modeling Instruction™ or specialized instruction in specific content. These courses are shorter and offered throughout the year. They are often available in a distance learning format but may also be offered at conferences and in cooperation with our affiliate STEM organizations.
Click on the links below to learn more about our current workshop/course offerings. Don’t see what you are looking for? Contact us using the envelope link below and we will get in touch with you.
Features
- Content is organized around a small set of basic models (rather than a lengthy list of topics) to increase its structural coherence.
- Workshop leaders have attended multiple Modeling InstructionTM workshops and have considerable experience teaching using this method.
- Participants are supplied with a complete set of course materials and work through activities alternating in the roles of student or teacher, as they practice techniques of guided inquiry and cooperative learning.
- Workshop leaders are prepared to integrate technology (such as electronic probes) and give participants new ideas about how to implement it, dependent upon site availability.
- First-time participants in full workshops are eligible for a free 1-year membership in AMTA, while returning workshop attendees can renew membership for only $50.
- Evidence of efficacy
Curious? Take a Sneak Peek at a Modeling Workshop
Awards
- Modeling InstructionTM was designated in 2000 by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the seven best K-12 educational technology programs out of 134 programs evaluated.
- Modeling InstructionTM was designated in 2001 by the U.S. Department of Education as one of two Exemplary programs in K-12 Science Education out of 27 programs evaluated. Download the U.S. Department of Education award booklet .
- High School Modeling Instruction received the 2014 Excellence in Physics Education Award from the American Physical Society, the largest association of research physicists worldwide. Our speeches are here.
