School’s out for the summer, but hundreds of Iowa science teachers are going back to class over the next few days. Iowa Department of Education spokesperson Staci Hupp says they have teamed up with Grand View University to work with teachers on the new science standards adopted last fall. “We call this an immersion institute — and what that means is we want educators to really have an opportunity to experience what it would be like to be a student in the classroom using the new science standards,” Hupp says.

They’ve brought in national and state science education leaders to work with the teachers on ways to teach using the new standards. She cites an example of one of the lessons. “They’ll have the teachers looking at field corn that has been siting out versus corn that has been sitting in water soaking for a week and then the scientific phenomenon associated with that. So, this really gets to idea of helping students experience and explains science, ” Hupp says. “So in that field corn example — this is saying as a student I am going to observe this as a scientist would — ask questions, and then use my knowledge and skills to explain why the field corn won’t sprout after it has been sitting in water for a week.”

This is the second year of the four-year implementation of the new science standards, which take a new approach to teaching science. “Our previous science standards were based on learning from the late 1990s, and so much about science and our understanding about how students learn about science has changed over that time,” according to Hupp. “The new standards identify those science and engineering practices and content that students should master in order to be prepared for success in college and the workforce.” The institute is designed to give teachers ideas to use in their classroom.

“What we want people to walk away with is to look at our science standards and say ‘what are some local contexts that I can use to spark interest in my students so that they want learn about it,’ and then use critical thinking skills to explain it and potentially solve the scientific problem,” Hupp says. She says the Department of Education is trying to help districts as they decide how best to implement the new standards.

“The standards articulate expectations for what students should know and be able to do at particular grade levels, but its really up to the local schools to make those curriculum decisions. Including decisions about what is taught and how it is taught,” Hupp says. The institute takes place over three days, with elementary teachers taking part today (Wednesday), middle school teachers tomorrow and high school teachers Friday. It is being held at West Des Moines Valley High School.

(Radio Iowa)

The driver of a pickup truck swerved to miss a deer Tuesday night in Page County, causing the vehicle to go out of control and rollover. The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 44-year old Steven Wayne Falk, of rural Essex, was traveling in his 2012 Ford F-250 pickup, when he swerved to avoid a deer. The vehicle went out of control, into a ditch, and rolled onto its top. The accident happened in the 1400 block of C Avenue, about a mile west of Essex. Authorities were notified about the crash, just after 10-p.m., Tuesday.

No injuries were reported. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $48,000. No citations were issued.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Omaha Public Power District is set to vote on whether to close the nation’s smallest nuclear power plant in Fort Calhoun, which is located across the Missouri River from Iowa. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the district board will vote on the fate of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station on Thursday.

Once closed, a nuclear plant must undergo a decommissioning process to remove or decontaminate materials and equipment that have been exposed to radioactivity. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires decommissioning to be completed within 60 years of a plant’s closing.

Cleaning up the site after its closure is estimated to cost about $1 billion. Power district President and Chief Executive Director Tim Burke has recommended using a decommissioning method that would give the utility the full 60 years to let radioactivity at the plant decay naturally and to fully dismantle the plant.

DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) – An Iowa man is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 22, charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in northeast Nebraska. Forty-five-year-old Christopher Cox,  of Council Bluffs, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a Dakota City courtroom. Authorities say Cox’s car ran off U.S. Highway 20 west of Jackson on Thursday and struck a concrete creek barrier. He told officers he swerved to avoid hitting a deer.

Two of his passengers died at the scene: 57-year-old Connie Fauzae and 9-year-old Espinoza Lara, both of Council Bluffs, Iowa. A third passenger died later at a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital: 10-year-old Jose Lara, also of Council Bluffs. Cox was treated for minor injuries.