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Teacher Education Videos

Copyright Questions

2 programs - 20 min. each; Teachers; Computer Education, Library/Media, Music; Produced by: Office of Instructional Technology (1986)

The programs consists of a number of dramatized situations during which the 40 questions on copyright law most frequently asked by educators are answered.

Video/Film & Computer Software
Print & Music

Essential Science for Teachers: Earth and Space Science

8 programs - 60 min. each ; Teachers (K-6) ; Geology, Science, Space, Teacher Education ; Produced by: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr for Astrophysics (2004); Annenberg/ CPB Channel

Earth and Space Science consists of eight one-hour video programs that provide in-class activities and homework explorations. Real-world examples, demonstrations, animations, still graphics, and interviews with scientists compose content segments that are intertwined with in-depth interviews with children that uncover their ideas about the topic at hand. Each program also features an elementary school teacher and his or her students exploring the topic using exemplary science curricula.

Earth's Solid Membrane: SoilSession 1. Earth's Solid Membrane: Soil - How does soil appear on a newly born, barren volcanic island? In this session, participants explore how soil is formed, its role in certain Earth processes, its composition and structure, and its place in the structure of the Earth.
Session 2. Every Rock Tells A Story - How can we use rocks to understand events in the Earth's past? In this session, participants explore the processes that form sedimentary rocks, learn how fossils are preserved, and are introduced to the theory of plate tectonics.
Session 3. Journey to the Earth's Interior - How do we know what the interior of the Earth is like if we've never been there? In this session, participants examine the internal structure of the Earth and learn how it is possible for entire continents to move across its surface.
Session 4. The Engine That Drives the Earth - What drives the movement of tectonic plates? In this session, participants learn how plates interact at plate margins, how volcanoes work, and the story of Hawaii 's formation.
Session 5. When Continents Collide - How is it possible that marine fossils are found on Mount Everest , the world's highest continental mountain? In this session, participants learn what happens when continents collide and how this process shapes the surface of the Earth.
Session 6. Restless Landscapes - If almost all mountains are formed the same way, why do they look so different? In this session, participants learn about the forces continually at work on the surface of the Earth that sculpt the ever-changing landscape.
Session 7. Our Nearest Neighbor: The Moon - Why is the Moon, our nearest neighbor in the solar system, so different from the Earth? In this session, participants explore the complex connections between the Earth and Moon, the origin of the Moon, and the roles played by gravity and collisions in the Earth-Moon system.
Session 8. Order out of Chaos: Our Solar System - Why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and why are the planets closest to the Sun so different from the gas giants farther out? In this session, participants gain a better understanding of the nature of the solar system by examining its formation.

In Search of the Novel

8 programs - 60 min. each; 6-12; Language Arts, Teacher Education; Annenberg/CPB Channel

Discover creative strategies for effectively teaching novels to middle and high school students with this eight-part workshop series. The series, which covers 10 novels, poses basic questions to help you explore multiple perspectives on the novel form and help your students better understand the nature of the novel. Each program weaves together a variety of elements, including examples of teacher/student classroom activities; interviews with contemporary novelists, literary critics, teachers, and students; and film clips from adaptations of novels.

Who Owns the Novel?
What's the Story?
Are Novels Real?
Where Do Novels Come From?
Why Do I H ave to Read this Book?
What's in It for Me?
Who Am I in this Story?
Am I Getting Through?

Kid-TV

2 programs - var. lengths; 6-9; Guidance, H ealth, Self-Awareness, Teacher Education; Produced by: Maine Dept. of Mental H ealth & Mental Retardation (1991)

KID-TV is designed to give students a better understanding of mental illness. The central purpose is to help eliminate the stigma often associated with mental illness.

Part 1 (18 min.) - Takes you behind the headlines for the real story on mental illness. The program features actors from the Teens inTheatre group and the Second Step Players in a sequence where they examine commonly held ideas and prejudices.
Part 2 (24 min.) - Is a cast discussion on mental illness...the real story! The kids from Teens in Theatre and adults from the Second Step Players talk candidly about their feelings and apprehensions on mental illness and what life is like for those who have it.

Looking at Learning Again, Part 2

8 programs - 60 min. each; K-12; Guidance, Mathematics, Science, Teacher Education; Annenberg/CPB Channel (2000)

This series provides elementary and secondary teachers of mathematics and science the opportunity to hear from science and mathematics educators and some of the teachers, students, and parents who work with them. Each of the eight featured educators has studied some aspect of teaching and learning and has proposed modifications of classroom practices as a result of that research.

Philip Sadler, Ed.D., Behind the Design
Dr. Marta Civil, Mathematics: A Community Focus
Dr. Carne Barnett, Learning to Share Perspectives
Dr. Peter H ewson, Conceptual Change
Dr. Robert Swartz, Critical and Creative Thinking
Professor James Kaput, Algebra and Calculus: The Challenge
Professor H erbert P. Ginsburg, Children's Ways of Knowing
Dr. Wynne H arlen, Learning to Listen

Principles for Principals

8 programs - 60 min. each; K-12; Mathematics, Science, Teacher Education; Annenberg/CPB Channel

Series by, for, and about principals working to improve student achievement in mathematics and science. Using documentary footage gathered in schools from Maine to California, the workshops will help principals gain the knowledge and skills they need to make their vision of teaching and learning math and science a reality.

What's This All About
Creating Communities that Learn Together
Math/Science Skills: What's Important?
Reworking the Curriculum
Changing Pedagogy
Fostering Effective Professional Development for Teachers
Professional Development for Principals
Building a Plan for Reform

School Zones

4 programs - 60 min. each; 9-12; Current Issues, Maine Studies, Teacher Education; Maine Public Television, Lewiston, ME (2002)

City-wise - Set agains the backgdrop of Maine's largest urban center, this programs reveals an insider's look at Portland H igh School. Science teacher Donna Barnard takes us behind the scenes for an unprecendented introduction to the oldest public high school in the country where 1100 students use the entire city as their campus. We see first-hand the challenges experienced by today's educators and the lessons students' face in a complex world.
The Challenging Ones - At Searsport District H igh School, English teacher Kathleen Jenkins meets the challenges of providing students with exposure to life beyond their own backyard.
Starting Out - School Zones visits Jarrod LeBlanc's kindergarten class at North Anson Elementary to get a first-hand look at a teacher's year in a rural school that has just one class in each grade from kindergarten to 8th. Whether playing musical chair phonics or setting up a foosball game in his classroom, Jarrod opens new worlds for his students and gives us an intimate look at a new generation educator.
They Call H im Mr. T - Pricipal David Theoharides is an active educator at Mattanawcook Junior H igh School in Lincoln. From staff hikes to nearby Katahdin, to being visible at the cross-country meet, Mr. T shares the secret of what it takes to prepare students for tomorrow, today.

Science in Focus: Force and Motion

8 programs - 60 min. each; K-8; Science, Teacher Education; Annenberg/CPB Channel

Explore science concepts in force and motion and come away with a deper understanding that will help you engage yur students in their own explorations. With science and education experts as your guides, learn more about gravity, friction, air resistance, magnetism, and tension through activities, discussions, and demonstrations. Extensive footage shot in real classrooms shows students learning and building on ideas as they explore the relationships among motion, force, size, mass, and speed. As you watch the students develop understanding through activities that connect science concepts to real-world phenomena, you will be asked to think about your own ideas on force and motion and compare them to what you observe.

Making an Impact
Drag Races
When the Rubber Meets the Road
On a Roll
Keep on Rolling
Force Against Force
The Lure of Magnetism
Bend and Stretch

Science of Teaching Science

8 programs - 90 min. each; K-12; Mathematics, Science, Teacher Education; Annenberg/CPB Channel

The goal of this series is to provide motivation, encouragement, a variety of models, and support for K-12 teachers who want to explore ways of changing how they teach science. Using video clips that take us into a borad range of classrooms, viewers are provided an opportunity to view how some teachers are approaching the teaching of sicence. (Requires 8 tapes)

Preparing to Teach Science
Eliciting Students' Prior Knowledge
Creating a Context for Learning: Observing Phenomena
Supporting Good Data Collection
Summarizing, Comparing, and Interpreting Results
Special Considerations
Specific Instructional Strategies
Assessing Student Understanding

Shedding Light on Science

8 programs - 60 min. each; K-12; Environment, Science, Teacher Education; Annenberg/CPB Channel

This series uses light as a theme through which to explore topics in physics, chemistry, biology, and Earth science and space science. Unlike most science content courses that approach subject matter through one narrow discipline, these programs show how light is a common thread that runs through many areas of science.

Shine and Shadow
Laws of Light
Pigments, Paint, and Printing
Color, Cones, and Corneas
Sunlight to Starch
Energy and Ecosystems
Sun and Seasons
Wind and Weather

Teaching with ME: Maine Teacher of the Year

60 min.; 9-12; Career Education; Teacher Education; Maine PBS (2004)

This program includes video profiles of each of the 11 finalists for Maine Teacher of the Year, highlighting the diverse stories of one of our state's most important professions. The special also focuses on Maine's Teacher of the Year and the award ceremony held at his/her high school. Support for this program was provided by Hannaford Supermarket.

Teens 'N Theatre 2

30 min.; 5-8; Alcohol & Drug Education, Communication, Guidance, H ealth, Fine Arts, Self Awareness, Teacher Education; Produced by: Adolescent Pregnancy Coalition (1987)

Improvisational theatre is being used nationwide in successful adolescent pregnancy and drug and alcohol prevention programs. In 1986, the Adolescent Pregnancy Coalition funded a new theatre group at Skowhegan Junior H igh to impact on the issues facing fifth through eighth graders. The troupe of 35 young people, under the direction of Marti Stevens, performs for schools and organizations statewide. The program explores the process by which young teens and school officials can cooperate in addressing the issues of adolescent sexuality, peer pressure, alcohol and drug abuse, self-esteem building, inter-generational communication and drop-out prevention. It also shows how teen theatre works to motivate students and to improve the overall communication climate in a school. It can serve as a framework for replication of the teen theatre concept in your school district or as background and preview before inviting TNT 2 to visit your school.

Theater in the Classroom: Approach to Learning

4 programs - var. lengths; 1-8; Fine Arts, Teacher Education; Produced by: Brunswick Public Schools (1991)

The following programs are designed as instructional materials for teachers who would like to use theater exercises in their classrooms to encourage students to work, discover, and learn together. A background in theater is not necessary to use these materials effectively in the classroom.