Our Members and Partners
Pittsburgh Regional Center for Science Teachers, University of Pittsburgh
5512 Posvar Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 648-7315
View member's site
The Pittsburgh Regional Center for Science Teachers (PRCST) professional development for K-12 educators uses the instructional strategy “STS by Green Design” to enhance teachers’ ability to address multiple standards in one teaching lesson/plan. A new program “Environment and Health: A Systems Approach” works across disciplines with a focus on environmental issues that are local to global and impact our lives/health. Four focus areas are: The Obesity Crisis; Air Quality – especially fine particulates – mercury; Water Quality; and Climate Change. A basic materials kit and Teacher Manual has been produced with ScienceKit and Boreal Laboratories and will soon be available through them. A special summer institute and complementary workshops throughout the year are open to area teachers and administrators. A three graduate credit online course is sometimes available through the University of Pittsburgh School of Education/Department of Instruction and Learning and is open to all educators and business representatives involved or interested in science education. PRCST publishes an online newsletter, LASER, several times per year. This carries information about science education standards, meetings, science updates, special programs, and resources for teaching.
PRCST works closely with the PA NASA Spacegrant Consortium – Goddard Space Flight Center and facilitates training and resource use in conjunction with the NASA Educator Resource Center for PA, located at the University of Pittsburgh, where Jane Konrad is the director.