Teacher Scholars in Residence 
13241 • September 12–16: Cullowhee
The Teacher Scholars in Residence program offers educators an excellent short-term residential experience for study and research. Teachers pursuing projects of outstanding intellectual or artistic promise are invited to apply. Teams of up to five educators who seek time and space for collaboration also may apply. This program provides five days devoted to independent study in a scholarly, supportive environment. Preference is given to teachers with outstanding proposals who are applying to the program for the first time. For more information, contact Gail Bradley at 800-922-0482 or email registrar@nccat.org.
The Landscape of Democracy: Our National Parks
13243 • September 19–23 Ocracoke
Our nearly 400 national parks offer opportunities for our students to investigate the biology, geology, and culture of important national sites. Join us on the Outer Banks as we learn about “America’s Best Idea” and how the National Park Service is honoring and documenting our history, conserving our natural resources, and helping our communities preserve their own history and environment. Learn about efforts to expand and reach into almost every one of our country’s 3,141 counties. We will explore the Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores to examine the natural and human history of its marshes, beaches, and maritime forests, as well as its lighthouses, shipwrecks, and important historical events. Inspire the next generation of scientists, thinkers, and conservationists. Discover how many of our national parks, having borrowed from the best practices of effective educators, are revamping their programs to include more opportunities for experiential learning. See how the unique formulation of the national parks in the United States reflects and reinforces the idea that our best and most important places should be available and maintained for all, rather than exploited or reserved for a fortunate few. This seminar requires a moderate level of fitness.
The Principal People: Cherokee Art, Culture, and History
13244 • September 19–23: Cullowhee
From Kituwah, “The Center Place,” cradle of Cherokee culture, follow the path of history into the homeland of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. Long before Europeans explored and settled the New World, the Principal People ruled over 135,000 square miles. Discuss an initiative to protect and promote traditional Cherokee art and culture. Discuss sustainable projects that support habitat restoration. Learn about river cane, a bamboo that is native to the United States and has been an important resource of the Cherokee for millennia. Work with Cherokee artisans to make a traditional Cherokee gourd mask and oak splint basket. Discover the beauty of folk arts rooted in the practical aesthetics of life in Appalachia. Experience the presence of history in today’s cultural practices and organizations. Discover ways to bring the art, culture, and history of the Principal People back to your classroom.
Mission to Mars
13245 • September 26–30: Cullowhee
From ancient times, the planet Mars has inspired awe and mystery. In the 1960s, NASA’s Mariner 4 projected our first deep-space photos of the strange red world that captured our collective imagination. Subsequent explorations by rovers Spirit, Opportunity, and Phoenix, have revealed significant scientific data about its geography, geology, vulcanology, hydrology, and climatology. Almost forty years after the last lunar landing, humankind still dreams of stepping onto the soil of a new world. The mission to Mars is here. The long-term goals of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program include determining the existence of life on Mars, characterizing the climate and geology of the planet, and preparing for the possibility of human exploration. In collaboration with NASA, analyze past endeavors, understand current research, and investigate future initiatives for the red planet. Explore the possibility of human habitation on Mars. Learn more about the way technology will help us answer our questions through the use of spectroscopy, robotics, and deep drilling systems. Which of your students will be sending you “postcards” from the Mars station? Inspire tomorrow’s space explorers in your classroom today.
Teaching Reluctant Readers: Bringing Boys to Books
13246 • September 26–30: Cullowhee
Educators often use the label “reluctant male readers” to describe boys who turn away from schoolbooks. Learn what the latest educational research has to say about the social, emotional, and cognitive development of the reluctant male reader. Investigate some of the reasons boys are less likely to excel in reading than girls and discover strategies for engaging male readers. Identify reading materials you can use in your classroom to capture and keep the attention of your struggling readers. Examine ways to use a variety of instructional methods, such as text selection designed for boys, contests and competitions, focus reading groups, and the latest websites and blogs, to boost literary achievement. Explore the unique literary needs and interests of reluctant readers as we bring boys to books.
From Sound to Sea: The Ecology of the Barrier Islands
13249 • October 3–7: Ocracoke
If our students are going to grow into responsible stewards of North Carolina’s critically important coastline, their understanding of this region has to go deeper than sands, tans, and seafood restaurants. In partnership with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, NCCAT is offering a unique opportunity to better observe and understand our natural world. Against the vastness of the ocean, experience the rhythms of the barrier islands—the pull of the tides, the reflection of the moon, and the cries of the gulls. Discover the patterns—the seasonal migration of birds across continents, the daily travels of a periwinkle snail on a blade of marsh grass, the journey of a grain of sand into a dune. How can our state’s coastline serve as a dynamic setting for scientific observation and inquiry? Build a library of knowledge about your surroundings that can be used as a continuing resource in your classroom. Take your enhanced skills of scientific observation and inquiry back to your students. Harness the sense of wonder your students have about their natural environment and help them become better informed stewards of their world.
Connect To Your Future: Celebrating Success in the Classroom
13248 • October 3–7: Cullowhee
Designed for beginning teachers in their second or third year of teaching.
Teaching is an art, a science, and a profession supported by best practices of extensive educational theory and research. But what tips, tools, and techniques help teachers promote student success? Do children of poverty have different and unique learning needs? How do you determine and meet the learning styles, multiple intelligences, and cognitive levels of all students in the classroom? This seminar supports motivated beginning teachers in their second or third year of teaching by strengthening their knowledge base and classroom expertise. Through experiential learning, teachers will explore pedagogical concerns including differentiated instruction, brain-based research, communication, and classroom management. Come prepared to build professional competencies and confidence, improve student achievement, and reinforce your commitment to this critically important profession.
How to Play the Game: 21st Century Technology
13250 • October 3–7: Cullowhee
The holy grail of teaching is finding a way to immerse our students in rigorous subject matter while convincing them that learning is both fun and worthwhile. Many students come to school with circles under their eyes having spent countless hours fighting dragons, battling intergalactic foes, and using technology to connect with others across the world. As educators, how do we leverage this fascination with technology to teach our subject matter in effective and compelling ways? Discover strategies teachers are using to capture their students’ attention while simultaneously strengthening their content knowledge and skills. Explore the ways game theory can enhance classroom management, content engagement, and differentiated instruction. Dive into virtual worlds to witness the evolving nature of twenty-first century knowledge and economics. Advance to the head of the class. Take your students past “Go” and into success in the game of life.