Project Title: GK-12: A
Blueprint for Integration of High School and Middle School Science &
Mathematics: The Virtual Science
Laboratory
Institution: Boston
University
PI/Co-PI: H.E. Stanley, David K Campbell, Morton Z Hoffman, Douglas
Sears, and Mary H Shann
Partner School Districts: Chelsea
and Brookline
Number of Fellows/year: 8 Graduates, 3 Undergraduates
Target Audience: Middle-High
School
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported Disciplines: Physics
and Chemistry
PI emailhes@bu.edu
URL: http://polymer.bu.edu/gk12/
The program aims to help improve articulation
between high school mathematics and science courses and between middle and high
school science courses. It capitalizes
on existing programs and partnerships between the schools and Boston University
and the technology already present but underutilized in the schools. The fellow-teacher teams are combining
virtual models and existing software (such as Biological or MathSoft Study
Works) with hands on data collection to enhance student understanding of
concepts in the state science standards.
The Fellows’ understanding of classroom practice is enhanced through
participation in a teacher enhancement summer workshop that precedes their work
with their teacher team members and their classroom experience, and
participation during the year in a GK-12 seminar series and specifically
designed education courses. The project
includes work with Fellow faculty advisors to help them understand the
potential benefits to their students and specific efforts by the evaluation
team to explore ways to ensure sustainability of the project. This project is receiving partial support
from the Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
Duke University Marine Laboratory (0139149)
Project Title: NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows Program of the Duke
University Marine Laboratory
Institution: Duke
University Marine Laboratory
PI/Co-PI: Celia
Bonaventura, and Michael K. Orbach
Partner School
Districts: Neighboring rural public
schools
Number of
Fellows/year: 3 Undergraduates, 3 Graduates, and 3 Pre-doctoral students
Target Audience: Middle-High
School
Setting: Rural
NSF Supported Disciplines: Biology, Chemistry, Physical & Earth Science, Ecology, Environmental
Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics and Technology
PI email: bona@duke.edu
URL: http://www.env.duke.edu/marinelab/programs/nsfk12/ nsfk12home.html
This
proposal is submitted in response to the NSF’s solicitation for Graduate
Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education. The overall goal of the proposed
project is to team some of the best students from Duke University Marine
Laboratory (as undergraduate and graduate Teaching Fellows) with high school
and middle school students from neighboring rural public schools. This effort
will be strongly supported by the Dean of Duke University’s Nicholas School of
the Environment and Earth Sciences, as well as an enthusiastic group of Duke
faculty members and local school administrators and educators. The Duke
University Marine Laboratory, staffed by Faculty of the School of the
Environment and Earth Sciences, provides an outstanding setting for teacher and
student training. Our program focus, Coastal and Marine Environments, includes
a number of key domains that are relevant to NSF-supported science disciplines.
Our project team has a broad, interdisciplinary nature, including expertise in
biochemistry, marine ecology and zoology, environmental social science,
integrated earth/biological/physical science and science education. We thus
offer both a unique setting for science education and an excellent faculty and
student support base for broad coverage of NSF-supported disciplines. This
proposal is submitted in response to the NSF's solicitation for Graduate
Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education.
Project Title: Preparing Science Graduate Students to Meet the
Challenges of K-12 Education
Institution: Florida State University
PI/Co-PI: Paul D Cottle, Donald J Foss, Penny J Gilmer, D.
Ellen M Granger, and William J Montford
Partner School
Districts: Leon County
Number of
Fellows/year: 9 Graduates, 4
Undergraduates
Target Audience: Grades
K-8
Setting: Urban, Suburban
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Biology, Physics,
Chemistry, and Geosciences
PI email: cottle@nucott.physics.fsu.edu
URL: http://gk12.bio.fsu.edu
This goal of this program by
Florida State University and the Leon County School District is to increase the
number of science professionals who are prepared and willing to make meaningful
contributions to science and mathematics activities in grades K-8. Graduate fellows engage in extensive
learning to prepare them to become valuable classroom resources for K-12
teachers and students. Topics of study
include an overview of child development, assessment techniques, state and
national science standards, and how students learn. Following this preparation, Fellows will co-teach with selected
K-8 teachers. Fellows also participate
in district summer school enrichment classes and summer science camp activities. This project is receiving partial support from
the Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
Project Title: GK-12 Low country Science Partners for Inquiry
Teaching and Learning
Institution: Medical University of South Carolina
PI/Co-PI: George E
Tempel, Carol A Tempel, Meta Van Sickle
Partner School
Districts: Charleston County School District
Number of
Fellows/year: 10 Graduates
Target Audience: Grades
K-12
Setting: Urban,
Suburban
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Marine Science and
Biomedical Science
PI email: tempelge@musc.edu
URL: http://www.musc.edu/grad/NSF/nsfhome.htm; http://www.musc.edu/grad/NSF/
The goal is to engage K-12 classrooms in inquiry teaching and learning
and create a culture of cooperation between the scientific community and the
classroom. The graduate student fellows
will bring their discoveries and excitement for investigation into classrooms
to improve content knowledge and provide opportunities for inquiry learning for
teachers and students. Graduate
students will participate in courses, reflective seminars and classroom
experiences to provide them with the knowledge of learning processes and
opportunities to encourage and support inquiry learning related to their
research interests. Cooperating
teachers will participate in summer seminars, research internships and
reflective seminars. As a team, the
fellows and teachers will design and implement lessons designed to spark the
interest of students in science and related careers. This project is receiving partial support from the Directorate
for Biological Sciences.
Old Dominion
University Research Foundation (0139336)
Project Title: The Virginia Center for Urban Education at Old
Dominion University: Engineering Graduate Fellows and Master Teachers
for Grades 4-5
Institution: Old Dominion University
PI/Co-PI: Keith K Williamson, John A Adam, Mary Sandy, Martha Sharp,
and Denny Wolfe
Partner School Districts: Norfolk Public Schools, Portsmouth Public
Schools
Number of Fellows/year: 7 Graduates
Target Audience: Elementary School
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported Disciplines:
Mathematics, Science, and Engineering
PI email: kxwillia@odu.edu
URL:
http://www.chrome.org/G45/page.html
Old
Dominion University (ODU) in collaboration with Norfolk Public Schools,
Portsmouth City Public Schools and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, seek to
enhance existing resources for mathematics and science teachers and provide
opportunities for graduate students to work with teachers from these two urban
school districts. The program will
allow ODU to place graduate students from the College of Engineering into 4th
and 5th grade classrooms to support specially designated Master
Teachers. The program will be inteGK-12
Project SCORE: NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows/Teacher Partnership for Science
Curriculum Enhancement in the Fort Worth Independent School District.
Oregon State University (0139372)
Project Title: Integrating
Biotechnology and Ecology into Science Education in Rural Schools in Oregon
Institution: Oregon State
University
PI/Co-PI:
Sujaya Rao, Edith Gummer, Kenneth B
Johnson, and Lynn A Royce
Partner School Districts: Sweet Home and Central Linn School Districts
Number of Fellows/year: 12 Graduates
Target Audience:
Middle-High School (Grades 7-12)
Setting: Rural
NSF Supported Discipline: Biology
PI email:
sujaya@oregonstate.edu
URL: www.cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/gk12
The goal of our Rural Science Ed.
program is to offer rural schools in Oregon the opportunity to provide advanced
and innovative inquiry-based science education to their students through a
partnership with the academic community at Oregon State University. In our
program, trained NSF Fellows from Oregon State University, in collaboration
with Teacher Mentors from participating rural schools, will develop
inquiry-based science curricula that meet the needs of middle and high school
children in Oregon. The curricula will include simple and innovative
experiments that integrate advances in biotechnology and ecology to encourage
critical thinking about the impacts of agriculture on the environment, and the
implications of advanced scientific research on human lives.
Twelve NSF Fellows, 6 graduates
and 6 undergraduates from Oregon State University, will be selected from the
disciplines of Entomology, Botany & Plant Pathology, Horticulture, Crop
& Soil Science and Science and Math Education. One graduate and one
undergraduate will work as an NSF Fellow Team in each classroom. Each Fellow's
program will consist of the following activities: on-campus instruction in
science and rural education provided by the Department of Science & Math
Education, provision of year long science education in participating schools,
involvement in outreach activities of Oregon State University such as 4-H,
Science & Math Investigative Learning Experiences, and Museum Days, and
year-end evaluation of the program.
Science teachers from
participating schools will serve as Teacher Mentors for NSF Fellows to
facilitate development of experiments that complement existing science
curricula. Videos and web pages will be developed for experiments conducted for
future use by science teachers in Oregon. The program will be evaluated using
'before' and 'after' quizzes in the classroom, and term- and year-end
evaluations by K 12 students, Teacher Mentors and NSF Fellows.
K-12 student will benefit by hands-on experience in
scientific research using live material and exposure to current scientific
ideas and advanced technology to make them more competitive and better prepared
for later schooling. The partnership will better equip Teacher Mentors for
providing advanced scientific inquiry based science instruction in the future.
Besides obtaining a stipend for their programs, NSF Fellow will benefit by the
hands-on teaching experience that they will gain in the classroom. The program
will enable Oregon State University professionals to recruit high quality
graduate students, provide teaching experience to complement research
experience that students can acquire on campus, and form partnerships with
Oregon schools for extending science education.
Project Title: GK-12: GeoKids in Philadelphia
Institution: Saint Joseph’s University
PI/Co-PI:
Karen M Snetselaar, Susan Glassman, Scott
P Mc Robert, Michael P
McCann, and Roger K Murray
Partner Institutions: School District of Philadelphia; Wagner Free
Institute of Science
Number of Fellows/year: 4
Graduates, yr 1; 6 Graduates and 2 Undergraduates, yrs 2 and above
Target audience: Grades K-6
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported Disciplines:
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science
PI email: ksnetsel@sju.edu
URL:
http://www.sju.edu/biology/ksweb/GK12/main.html
This project builds on strong existing collaborations between Saint
Joseph's University (SJU) science faculty and a Philadelphia museum, the Wagner
Free Institute of Science (WFIS), and between WFIS staff and principals at
three nearby urban Philadelphia public schools. GK-12 Fellows are M.S. candidates or advanced undergraduates
studying Biology, Chemistry, or Environmental Science. Each year 4-8 Fellows will collaborate with
WFIS education specialists, SJU faculty, and K-6 teachers to develop and
present semester-long thematic units to students attending schools in one of
Philadelphia’s most underserved neighborhoods. “GeoKids” incorporates a
place-based approach that uses the local environment as a resource to teach
earth and life sciences, a unique and challenging learning strategy for an
inner-city program. GeoKids emphasizes
hands-on science, project-based learning, and development of fundamental skills
such as reading, writing, and observing.
The program includes annual summer workshops where Fellows, K-6
teachers, and participating SJU and WFIS educators review curriculum standards,
study in appropriate content areas, and become more familiar with education
issues specific to students from the target schools. Doctoral education students will collaborate with an education
assessment expert in designing and administering assessment tools. Expected outcomes of the program include:
development, testing, and documentation of environmentally-based lessons, K-6
teachers empowered to develop their own place-based lessons, SJU faculty and
graduate students committed to enhancing science literacy, and incorporation of
GK-12 program elements into existing Service Learning activities at SJU. The grant activities support efforts
underway at SJU to enhance and expand the graduate programs in Chemistry and
Biology.
Project Title: GK12:
Partnerships Involving the Scientific Community in Elementary Schools
(PISCES): Graduate Teaching Fellows in
K-12 Education
Institution: San Diego State University
PI/Co-PI: Walter C Oechel,
Donna Ross, and Nancy Taylor
Partner School Districts: 14
school districts in San Diego County; Barrow, Alaska; and La Paz, Mexico
Number of Fellows/year: 9
Graduates, 2 Undergraduates
Target Audience: Grades K-6
Setting: Urban, Rural
NSF Supported Disciplines: Earth
Science, Biology, General Science
PI email: oechel@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
URL:
http://www.sdsa.org/pisces
The project
interacts with and expands PISCES, a district-based, community-supported
elementary improvement program for grade K-6 in 14 districts in San Diego
County, Arctic Alaska, and La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Fellows and
teachers together develop hands on science experiences using standard school
district kits (e.g. FOSS). Educational
features include summer and school year on-site institutes and seminars for the
fellows and cooperating teachers and extensive use of the San Diego County
Office of Education's educational technology resources. GK-12 Fellows benefit from a program to help
them develop good communication and teaching skills. Participating teachers
benefit by having the opportunity to interact with environmental research
projects in a wide variety of climatic, biotic and social/scientific
conditions. This project is supported
by funds from the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), the NSF Office of
International Science and Engineering (INT) and the Office of Polar Programs
(OPP) in coordination with the Division of Graduate Education (DGE).
Project Title: UAB NSF GK-12
Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education
Institution: University of
Alabama-Birmingham
PI/Co-PI: Larry K Krannich, Stephen L Hajduk, and David L Radford
Partner School
Districts: Birmingham City and Jefferson County
Number of
Fellows/year: 12 Graduates, 10
Undergraduates
Target Audience: Grades K-12
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Biology, Physics, and Chemistry
PI email: krannich@uab.edu
URL: www.gk12.uab.edu
As part of an effort to increase science literacy in the schools and
community involved, this project builds on a number of ongoing outreach
programs between the University and the school district and includes involvement
of informal science resources (the McWane Science Center). Fellows work with a wide variety of people
of varying ages, backgrounds and interests.
The program is modified to accommodate first year, middle
year or capstone students (fellows completing their final year of work) to take
full advantage of their abilities and to meet their varying needs. Fellows are prepared to work in the
classroom through a seminar providing an
overview of learning theory and pedagogy that includes two observations of K-12
students in an informal science setting, two observations in a K-12 classroom,
presentation of a science demonstration and one session assisting a mentor
teacher. Fellows are then offered a
variety of opportunities to establish a partnership with a teacher and work
directly in the classroom helping to implement science standard related
materials. This project is receiving
partial support from the Directorate for Biological Sciences.
Project Title: Teaching the Science in Everyday Life
Institution: University
of Arkansas
PI/Co-PI: Arthur S Hobson,
Denise Ariola, Ronna C Turner, Gay B Stewart, and Gregory J Salamo
Partner School Districts:
Springdale Public Schools; Fayetteville Public Schools, and Winslow School
Number of Fellows/year: 9
Graduates
Target Audience: Middle School (Grades 6- 7)
Setting: Urban, Rural
NSF Supported Disciplines: Interdisciplinary
- Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering
PI email: ahobson@comp.uark.edu
URL: http://gk12.uark.edu
This is an interdisciplinary program to teach mathematics, science and
technology at middle schools in Arkansas.
The approach is based on a “learning through doing” paradigm, using the
theme of optic and electronic concepts in everyday life. Goals are to be achieved by creating
(teaching) teams consisting of graduate fellows, schoolteachers, university
faculty, administrators, and parents of students. This project is being co-funded by the Directorate for
Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.
Project Title: GK-12: Let’s Explore Applied Physical Science
(LEAPS)
Institution: University of California-Santa Barbara
PI/Co-PI: Elisabeth G Gwinn, Jean M Carlson, Anthony K
Cheetham, Fiona Goodchild, and Helen G Hansma
Partner School
Districts: Santa Barbara
Number of
Fellows/year: 6 Graduates, 2
Undergraduates, yr 1; 9 Graduates, 3 Undergraduates yr 2; 12 Graduates, 4
Undergraduates, yr 3
Target Audience: Grades 8
- 9
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Physics, Chemistry and
Engineering
PI email: bgwinn@physics.ucsb.edu
URL: Not available
Faculty members from the physics,
chemistry and engineering departments at the University of California at Santa
Barbara are collaborating with teachers in the Santa Barbara School District to
improve articulation of hands-on, minds-on learning in physical sciences in the
middle grades. This program builds on
existing teacher and school outreach efforts of these departments. Fellows are selected from outstanding
research-experienced graduate and undergraduate students in the participating
departments. Teachers are selected from
those who already have interacted with the university through participation in
such outreach programs as Research Experience for Teachers. Activities to be designed and implemented by
the teacher/fellow teams are based on the California State Standards. A grade appropriate model for small group
investigation of physical science concepts is being developed, pilot tested and
disseminated. This project is receiving
partial support from the Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
Project Title: Science
and Technology Enhancement Program Project STEP
Institution: University of Cincinnati
PI/Co-PI: Anant R Kukreti, Richard A Miller, Thaddeus
W Fowler, Shafiqul Islam, and Suzanne W Soled
Partner School Districts: Cincinnati Public School
District
Number of Fellows/year: 9 Graduates, 8 Undergraduates
Target Audience: Middle-High School
Setting: Urban, Suburban
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering and Science
PI email: Anant.Kukreti@uc.edu
URL:
http://www.eng.uc.edu/STEP/
Project STEP, involves graduate
and undergraduate Fellows, secondary science and mathematics teachers,
University of Cincinnati faculty and a graphics/web developer, working in teams
to design, develop, and implement hands-on activities and technology-driven
inquiry-based projects which relate to the students’ community issues, as
vehicles to teach science and math skills. Activities will be incorporated into
lessons, demonstrations, laboratory exercises, individual and group projects,
and field experiences to enable middle and high school students to directly experience
authentic learning practices that requires them to use higher-order thinking
skills; encourage creative problem-solving skills that require collaborative
learning, teamwork, writing, and presentation; cultivate an interest in service
learning in which students are active participants, achieve outcomes that show
a perceptible impact, and engage in evaluative reflection; and better motivate
and prepare secondary school students for advanced education. The Fellows will be trained to create and
implement these activities by taking an educational methods course, an advanced
course in instructional technology, and by serving as teaching assistants and
tutors in guiding summer academies for middle and high school students. Quantitative formative and summative
evaluation will be conducted to assess the project’s effectiveness on Fellows’
teaching skills, its impact on middle and high school science and mathematics
education, and to continually improve the program as it develops. This project is receiving partial support
from the Directorate for Engineering.
University of Connecticut (0139307)
Project Title: da Vinci Engineering Ambassadors in Classrooms
Institution: University of Connecticut
PI/Co-PI: Kazem Kazerounian, Robert Vieth, Timothy Reagan
Partner School Districts: Montville, Norwich, Storrs, Manchester,
Bloomfield High School, Greater Hartford Academy for Math and Science, and
Learning Corridor in Hartford
Number of Fellows/year: 12
Graduates, 4 Undergraduates
Target Audience: High School
Setting: Urban, Suburban
NSF Supported Disciplines:
Engineering
PI email: kazem@engr.uconn.edu
URL:
http://www.uconngalileo.engr.uconn.edu/
The goals of this project are: to develop modules
about engineering concepts and applications for high school students; train
fellows and teachers in engineering content and instructional methods; design
engineering competition as capstone experience for undergraduate fellows and
involve high school teachers and students in these projects; develop a virtual
engineering community using WebCT software; and develop an M.S. program in
engineering education. This project is
being co-funded by the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences,
Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.
Project Title: GK-12:
Sensors
Institution: University of Maine
PI/Co-PI: John F Vetelino, Stephen E Godsoe, and
Constance Holden
Partner School Districts: Bangor
Number of Fellows/year: 10 Graduates, 5 Advanced
Undergraduates
Target Audience: High School
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Engineering
PI email: vet@eece.maine.edu
URL:
http://www.eece.maine.edu/~vet/gk12/
The University of Maine (U of Maine) College of Engineering proposes to partner
with Bangor High School (BHS) to develop a model university/K-12 partnership
based on the disciplinary theme of sensors.
The proposed model integrates education and research for the benefit of
BHS students and teachers, and graduate and advanced undergraduate students,
and faculty, within the College of Engineering at UMaine. GK-12 Sensors! will involve faculty and
students from the chemical, biological, electrical, computer, mechanical,
civil/environmental, and spatial information engineering programs at the
University of Maine. Five advanced
undergraduate and ten graduate students will serve as GK-12 Sensor
Fellows. Faculty members recognized for
their teaching and research expertise in sensor-related areas will represent
each of the major Engineering programs at UMaine. High school teachers and
students will benefit from the integration of cutting-edge, standards-based
STEM content within a variety of classes and extramural activities such as
students competitions. Undergraduate
and graduate students, and faculty will gain an understanding of the challenges
and opportunities of K-12 education, while improving their communication and
teaching skills. Industry involvement
is also a key component of the proposed program. A variety of technologies,
including ATM, as well as traditional media and presentations will disseminate
“best practices” from GK-12: Sensors! across Maine and the nation. This project is receiving partial support
from the Engineering Directorate.
Project Title:
GK-12 UMBC
Teaching Enhancement Partnership Project (TEPP)
Institution:
University of
Maryland Baltimore County
PI/Co-PI: Phillip
G. Sokolove, John Martello
Partner School Districts:
Baltimore County
Number of
Fellows/year: 5 Graduates, 20 Advanced Undergraduates
Target Audience:
Middle School
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Math, Science, Information Technology, and Engineering.
PI email: sokolove@umbc.edu
URL: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~kweeks1/index.html
http://bb-app4.umbc.edu:80/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_2531_1&frame=top
The UMBC Teaching Enhancement
Partnership Project (TEPP) will organize and lead a university-middle school
partnership with 5 local, high-needs middle schools in order to support and
enhance mathematics and science instruction of underrepresented middle school
youth in the greater Baltimore area.
Twenty-five graduate and advanced undergraduate student Fellows with
majors in information systems, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and
natural sciences will be recruited and selected from UMBC. One graduate student and five undergraduate
students will be placed in each of the five middle schools to support teachers
in the classroom and in co-curricular activities. Participating teachers will
provide leadership to Fellows in instruction and classroom management, exposing
them to the rewards of teaching in the K-12 public school system. Teachers will also participate in a
continuous and sustained professional development efforts designed to enhance
their understanding of mathematics and science concepts, and to introduce them
to IT and inquiry-based instruction through UMBC sponsored seminars and
courses. An emphasis will be placed on information technology (IT) as a tool
for the enhancement of teaching and learning in science and mathematics.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst (0139272)
Project Title: GK-12: Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics UMass K-12 Connections (STEM Connections)
Institution: University of
Massachusetts-Amherst
PI/Co-PI: Julian F Tyson,
Kathleen S Davis, and Morton M Sternheim
Partner School Districts:
Springfield Public Schools
Number of Fellows/year: 10
Graduates
Target Audience: Middle
School
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported Disciplines: All
STEM disciplines with emphasis on contributions from Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy,
Geosciences, and Biology
PI email: tyson@chem.umass.edu
URL: http://k12s.phast.umass.edu/connections/
The project will provide science teachers in the
middle schools in the Springfield, Massachusetts school district with
opportunities to acquire science content knowledge and training in inquiry and
project-based teaching, including the opportunity to conduct research as a part
of a team with GK-12 Fellows, and U of Mass faculty. The Fellows and faculty will gain an understanding of the needs
and culture of the schools, laying the foundations for future
collaborations. The project will
provide Fellows with increased experience in effective pedagogical approaches,
and will also provide a diverse population of middle school students with role
models and mentors. Middle school teachers in a master’s degree program will
work in teams (six in all) consisting of a U of Mass faculty participant, two
GK-12 Fellows, and up to three middle school teachers) on the implementation of
research projects with theirs school students.
STEM Connections will start with summer workshops for the Fellows and
teachers. Teams will then work together
for two semesters in a course focused on teacher learning of project-based
instruction while concomitantly developing similar projects with middle school
students. This project is receiving partial support from the Directorate for
Engineering.
Project Title: Developing
Science Graduate Students into Middle Grade Science Classroom Resources
Institution: University of North Carolina, Wilmington
PI/Co-PI: W. Burleigh Harris, Karen Shafer
Partner School Districts: New Hanover County
Number of Fellows/year: 21 Graduates
Target Audience:
Middle School
Setting: Suburban
NSF Supported Discipline: Biology, Chemistry,
Marine Science, Earth Science- (Geology)
PI
email: harrisw@uncw.edu
URL: http://www.uncw.edu/smec/GK_Fellows/index.htm
The University of North
Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) will conduct a three-year program with the New
Hanover County School system to improve science education in the middle
schools. A select group of science graduate students (GK-12 Fellows) from
programs in chemistry, biology, earth sciences, and marine sciences will be
prepared to serve as classroom resource persons for middle school teachers and
students. The Science and Mathematics Education Center will serve as the
management hub for the project and the liaison between UNCW and the New Hanover
County School system. Other participants in the project include the Program in
Environmental Studies and the graduate School. For a three-year period, GK- 12
Fellows will be placed in all New Hanover County middle schools each year
focusing on a different grade level. Year I of the project will focus on 8th
grade classes, Year 2 on 7th grade classes and Year 3 on 6th grade classes.
Through this partnership with New Hanover County Schools, this project will
directly impact more than 5200 middle school students over the three years of
which almost 2000 are minorities. In addition, over 60 middle school teachers
will be directly or indirectly impacted by this project. The Science and
Mathematics Education Center will maintain a website that provides a conduit
between university science faculty, project staff and middle school science
teachers and students. This website will provide a forum for questions and
answers, the posting of project activities and a resource for database sharing.
NSF fellows will receive special preparation in teaching science as inquiry and
in using technology in instruction. Scientific instruction will be organized
thematically for each grade level addressing the following four program
strands: the nature of science, science as inquiry, science and technology, and
science in social and personal perspectives. UNCW faculty will serve as the
instructional staff for eight-day workshops each summer for GK-12 Fellows and
selected middle school science teachers. These workshops will focus on policy
regulations for working in K-12 schools, school safety, pedagogy instruction,
and creation of a curriculum-sequencing guide that is aligned with the North
Carolina Standard Course of Study for Middle Schools. Weekly seminars taught by
UNCW science faculty will develop specific inquiry-based activities for each
grade level according to the sequencing guide. Fellows will spend 10 hours per
week over 36 weeks in middle school classrooms assisting classroom teachers
with science lesson selection, setup, and demonstration. Participating middle
school teachers will serve as resource persons to non-participant, in-service
teachers within their schools, and along with GK-12 Fellows, develop and teach
two, grade-specific day long workshops during the school year. In addition,
program participants will develop a grade-specific activity book for
distribution to all middle school teachers. Participating middle school
teachers and selected GK-12 Fellows will also serve as workshop leaders each
summer for new cohorts of Fellows and teachers.
University of North Texas Health Science Center (0139089)
Project Title: GK-12 Project SCORE: NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows/Teacher
Partnership for Science Curriculum Enhancement in the Fort Worth Independent
School District
Institution: University of North Texas Health Science Center
PI/Co-PI: Rustin E Reeves, Robert L Kamen, and Victoria L Rudick
Partner School Districts: Fort
Worth Independent School District
Number of Fellows/year: 8 Graduates, yr 1; 10 Graduates, yr 2; 12
Graduates, yr 3
Target Audience: Grades 9 -
10
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported Disciplines:
Biology
PI email: rustyr@hsc.unt.edu
URL:
http://www.hsc.unt.edu/SCORE
This GK-12 project is
collaboration between the Fort Worth Independent School District and the
University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). The project will train and support
biomedical science graduate students as resources for the district's high
school biology students and teachers.
The four participating schools serve predominantly minority students and
the overall goal is to encourage entry of these students into science
careers. The primary objectives of the
project are to: 1) increase understanding of science and science processes in
the Fort Worth educational system and 2) train biomedical science graduate
students to function as resources for 9th and 10th grade
biology classes. These goals will be
met by: 1) adding to the science content of the District curriculum; 2)
promoting understanding of science through age-appropriate inquiry-based
experiences; 3) exposing students to science and science-related health and
medical research careers relevant to specific topics in the districts’ biology
curriculum; 4) developing a science web-directory and promoting the use of the
internet based materials relevant to the curriculum; 5) creating research teams
of UNTHSC faculty mentors, teachers and fellows to work with the school
districts on science fair and research projects; (6) enhancing teaching
mentoring and communication skills of Fellows; 7) conducting training and
professional teacher development workshops in learning, pedagogy, biotechnology
and new scientific discoveries; and 8) strengthening existing partnerships of
outreach and enrichment programs among UNTHSC faculty, Fellows and Fort Worth
Teachers.
Project Title: Students,
Teachers and Resources in the Sciences (STARS)
Institution: University of South Florida
PI/Co-PI: O. Geoffrey Okogbaa, Griselle Centeno, Tapas K
Das, Ashok Kumar, and Brenda L Townsend
Partner School
Districts: Hillsborough County
Number of
Fellows/year: 10 Graduates, 3
Undergraduates
Target Audience: Grades 3-5
Setting: Urban,
Suburban
NSF Supported Disciplines: Engineering
and Science
PI email: okogbaa@eng.usf.edu
URL: http://stars.eng.usf.edu/;
http://www.usf.edu/ibl/
This USF/NSF
STARS GK-12 project focuses on K-5 students.
The objective is to engage graduate and senior level undergraduate
students in the challenge of infusing engineering and science principles in
such cutting edge areas as nanotechnology, optics, and advanced manufacturing
into the elementary school environment.
The partnerships involve five area elementary schools, three of which
predominantly serve minority students.
15 graduate and undergraduate students from diverse ethnic backgrounds
will be selected as Fellows. Fellows will be trained in both pedagogy and in
communication skills. The project will
work closely with the School District science and mathematics coordinators and
the school principals in developing and implementing a plan to help the Fellows
become valuable resources to the teachers.
In addition to a stipend, each mathematics and science teacher will also
participate in professional development scheduled for the summer of each year. As part of the professional development,
teachers will have the opportunity to participate in research experiences with
researchers in engineering and the sciences.
University of Southern Mississippi (0139357)
Project Title: Graduate Teaching Fellows (GK-12) for South
Mississippi
Institution: University
of Southern Mississippi
PI/Co-PI: Susan
C. Ross
Partner School
Districts: Covington County, Forest County and Forest County Agricultural
High School Separate, Hattiesburg City, Jefferson Davis, Lamar County
Number of
Fellows/year: 12 Graduates
Target Audience:
Grades K-12
Setting: Urban,
Rural
NSF Supported
Disciplines: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Geology, and Physics
PI email: susan.ross@usm.edu
URL: http://newton.usm.edu/gk12/index.html
This award provides funding for
the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to develop a GK-12 program. This
program will provide fellowships for twelve graduate students per year to work
with K-12 teachers in six south Mississippi school districts. Fellows will be
selected from the graduate programs in biology, chemistry, geology,
mathematics, physics and polymer science.
Each Fellow will pair with a K-12 teacher and a university mentor to
develop and implement standards-based activities and lessons that will be
integrated into the mathematics and science curriculum. The USM’s Center for Science and Mathematics
Education (CSMEd) will serve as the coordinating unit for the project. When
taken as a whole, the school districts involved include a population of
students that is representative of the state, approximately 51% African
American, 48% White, and 1% Other. The plan for the GK-12 program includes a
summer workshop to bring teachers and Fellows together for planning, weekly
seminars for Fellows during the school year, joint meetings for all
participants (university faculty, Fellows and teachers) at least once during
each semester, professional development opportunities for the teachers, and
travel for teachers and Fellows to science outreach centers (science museums,
zoos, aquaria), and local, regional, and national conferences.
Project Title: GK-12: An Interactive Program Linking Graduate
Fellows in Environmental Science with K-12 Students and Teachers
Institution: University of Texas-Austin
PI/Co-PI:
Kenneth H Dunton, Jay L Banner, James P Barufaldi, Ian W Dalziel, and
Katherine K Ellins
Partner School Districts: Austin, Flour Bluff, Port Arkansas, and
Merkel
Number of Fellows/year: 9 Graduates, 2 Advanced Undergraduates
Target Audience: Grades K-12
Setting: Urban, Rural
NSF Supported Disciplines:
Environmental Science, Geology, Chemistry, Physics
PI email: dunton@utmsi.utexas.edu
URL: http://www.utmsigk12.org, http://www.geo.texas.edu/esi/gk12/index.html,
http://www.ig.utexas.edu/outreach/gk-12/htm
The goal of the program is to
provide K-12 teachers and students with recent knowledge and innovative
learning activities in the areas of biology, environmental science, aquatic
science, geology, meteorology, and oceanography and to relate these topics to
the impacts of environmental change on Texas habitats and residents. The school
districts involved range from 1 to 17% limited English proficiency, from 23 to
47% economically disadvantaged, and from 12 to 65% minority. This project emphasizes field research for
students and teachers and builds on three existing programs between The
University of Texas at Austin and local school systems from the Texas coast to
the State’s interior: The Marine Science Institute’s Study of Arctic Change,
The Institute for Geophysics’ Adopt a School, Teachers in the Field, and the
Environmental Science Institute’s Outreach Lecture Series. Special features of
the program include numerous field activities for K-12 students and teachers
led by Graduate Fellows, summer workshops for teachers focused on developing
content knowledge in targeted interdisciplinary subjects aligned with State
educational standards and goals, joint participation by teachers and Graduate
Fellows at local and regional science conferences, and building partnerships
between undergraduate science and mathematics students seeking teaching
certification with Graduate Fellows and K-12 teachers. This project receives
partial support from the Geosciences Directorate.
Project Title: K-Through Infinity Systemic Initiative (KTI-S)
Institution: University of Wisconsin, Madison
PI/ Co-PI: Terrence S Millar, Eileen C Callahan, Nicola J Ferrier,
and Walter Secada
Partners School Districts: Madison
Metropolitan School District; The James Lovell Museum of Science, Economics and
Technology; Thurgood Marshall Academy (DC, charter high school);
Edgewood schools
Number of Fellows/year: 9
Graduates
Target Audience: Grades K-12
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported Disciplines: All
STEM disciplines with an interdisciplinary emphasis
PI email: millar@math.wisc.edu
URL: http://www.wisc.edu/gspd/kti/
The
goals of this KTI-S project are to: enhance the professional development of the
participating fellows and teachers; enhance science and mathematics
capabilities and enthusiasm among the populations served; and investigate the
effectiveness of the methods used. The
project builds on and expands the K-Through-Infinity Professional Development
Partnership (KTI-P), a prior GK-12 project. Four different educational
environments are included: a metropolitan science museum that serves urban
Milwaukee schools; a local public school district revising its science and
mathematics curricula and pedagogy; a local private K-16 school organization
seeking to integrate its science curriculum; and a new District of Columbia
Charter School that is working with UW-Madison researchers to develop its
science curriculum.
The key
element of our approach is a robust concept of team design developed during our
first GK-12 project and implemented in many different settings. Fellows and
teachers work with university and school district resources to develop new
curricula and relevant, cutting edge materials coming out of research, map the
standards to these products, and then implement them in classroom learning
environments. Some fellows work intensively with a small number of teachers and
classrooms, while others work with a larger number of teachers through such
mechanisms as summer institutes and degree programs, and then follow those
teachers back into multiple classrooms in different schools and even different
districts and states.
The
KTI-S teams work in ways aligned with school, district and state resource
allocations. KTI-S takes advantage of the four distinct educational
settings and the extensive and intensive evaluation activities included to
encourage Fellows, teachers and project staff to reflect on a larger question:
how can team activities in very different settings be aligned with district,
state, and university resources to most effectively help K-12 students learn,
and experience the excitement of, science and mathematics, and in ways that
provide fellows valuable K-12 classroom experience.
Project Title: Partnerships for Math Science and Engineering
Instruction through Computer Visualization
Institution: Washington
University at St. Louis
PI/Co-PI: Kevin Z Truman, Shirley J Dyke, Hiroaki
Mukai, Ruth Okamoto, and Vallarie Jones
Partner School Districts:
St. Louis and Webster Groves
Number of Fellows/year: 10
Graduates, 10 Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UGTA)
Target Audience: Middle
School
Setting: Urban
NSF Supported Disciplines: Math,
Science, and Engineering
PI email: ktrum@seas.wustl.edu
URL: http://www.seas.wustl.edu/gk12/
This program aims to energize 6th-8th grade
students in two middle schools within two St. Louis school districts, about
math, science, and engineering through experimentation and computer
visualization. Ten teaching teams with
specific areas of expertise will be formed, consisting of a GK-12 Fellow, a
UGTA, a K-12 teacher and a Washington University faculty member. Each team will develop a teaching module in
conjunction with K-12 teachers in a K-12 subject area related to the research
interests of the students. A team will rotate through four classrooms during
each year and since each project is multidisciplinary, teaching teams will be
expected to draw on the expertise of other teams as necessary. This program will achieve the maximum
leverage possible by ensuring that each student has an opportunity to develop a
depth of knowledge in at least four areas and learn how each is strongly tied
to the other disciplines. Faculty from the Washington University Department of
Education will develop and implement a GK-12 Teaching Workshop to instruct the
teaching teams so that they will have a more effective interaction with the
students. The GK-12 Fellows will be
selected from diverse backgrounds and in addition to classroom activities will
act as role models to the students, potentially influencing them to consider
math, science, or engineering as career options. This project is receiving
partial support from the Directorate for Engineering.
