NSF > EHR > DGE > Programs > NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) > GK-12 Nuggets

NUGGETS FROM THE GK-12 SITES OCTOBER 2001

Below is a condensed version of a set of nuggets sent to us prior to the Nov 1-2, 2001 GK-12 Project meeting In Arlington, Virginia. The GK-12 projects were asked to submit a one-paragraph summary of their outcomes to date. There were common themes in many of them that are abstracted and summarized in the first few paragraphs below. They are presented as a set of representative quotes, with references to specific sites omitted.

For the NSF staff this document represents a valuable digest of what is happening in this program. To GK-12 participants it can serve as a source highlighting sites with similar interests and challenges. The material below represents what the site wanted to highlight. The totality of the GK-12 program is a mixture of sites in various stages of development. Variations in the type of information each site conveyed is expected and a healthy sign of the diversity of approaches to a common problem this program can support.

Concerning Fellows:

Fellows spent, on average, 10-15 hours a week throughout the year in one to three middle school classrooms. They observed and interacted with students and reported that they increased their understanding of how students' mathematical and scientific ideas develop. They also developed a greater appreciation for the teaching and learning process. They participated in summer training workshops to familiarize them with inquiry-based learning pedagogy, classroom management and effective teaching skills, and appropriate uses of educational technologies.

Our project involves developing yearlong collaborative partnerships between STEM graduate and undergraduate students and middle school mathematics and science teachers. We actively foster a cohort experience for the Fellows by leading an intensive two week Summer Institute that focuses on inquiry-based education and by bringing the Fellows together throughout the year in a seminar to share and learn from each other's experiences.

In our weekly seminar, we have discussed curriculum, lesson plans, how to present a demonstration, and how to introduce the field of engineering based on applicable examples.

During their first term, the Fellows are participating in a structured, peer-driven, training and development process to enhance their understanding of new media instructional technologies in four categories; visualization, modeling, web inquiry, and presentation. These four instructional categories are further divided into science and mathematics. The Fellows are identifying and evaluating existing technologies. Then, they are linking these instructional technologies to standard-based curriculum requirements. Graduate Fellows also served as instructors and facilitators in one of four multi-week summer professional development programs, sponsored through the participating universities Fellows are trained in teaching and communication skills to better serve as conduits for knowledge transfer. By developing and delivering technical content in K-12 classrooms, Fellows also hone their own skills and self-confidence while serving as role models to encourage young students to consider careers in engineering and technology.

GK-12 Fellows received training in learning theory and pedagogy, as advocated by the National Science Education Standards, and in the specific learning needs of middle school level students. Training included familiarization with methods of inquiry-based teaching, developing safe and informative field activities, teaching for different learning styles, and utilizing technology in the classroom. GK-12 Fellows are providing expertise in science content and assisting in preparing laboratory exercises, aiding in hands-on science instruction, and mentoring science enrichment activities with middle school teachers and students. The Fellows will use their science research experiences to mentor the middle school students in learning about how scientists investigate the world. Fellows greatly improved teaching abilities, gained an appreciation of the challenges and constraints faced by classroom teachers, and learned new science content through teaching and through learning from other Fellows about their areas of expertise. Development of Fellows' communication and teaching skills. Pre- and post-test data indicated significant increases in Fellows' knowledge of current issues in educational reform especially related to standards-based instruction and assessment. Fellows' reflections and/or teacher ratings indicated that Fellows' not only gained appreciation for K-12 teachers, but that they also learned instructional strategies and presentation techniques.

At the end of the academic year, most GK-12 Fellows indicate that they have greater confidence in their ability to effectively communicate what they know to both K-12 students and to the science community as a result of being in the program.

Concerning K-12 Students:

Response to a short questionnaire completed by middle school students in participating classrooms suggest that these students experienced an enhanced learning environment, deeper learning of content and new curriculum that was "hands-on." The students also commented that they enjoyed having opportunities to develop relationships with scientists and mathematicians.

Learning through doing that engineering is about creating ideas and things for the benefit of society, students become better informed to make choices about their own future math and science options.

This close interaction, coupled with high quality, ongoing professional development for teachers and intensive outreach efforts has resulted in increased student enthusiasm for science from K-6 students, an appreciation of the importance of high quality science education from Fellows, and improved commitment by teachers to utilize hands-on science materials.

Fellows enrich content knowledge of the students who experience how science and math studies translate into useful applications to address everyday challenges.

In summary, we consider the most important accomplishment to be the scientific knowledge transmitted to K-12 students and their teachers by Fellows and Fellows modeling what a scientist is for these students.

Enhanced learning experiences for middle school students. Feedback from teacher and middle school student participants indicated that the Fellows brought content area expertise, awareness of career and educational opportunities, increased level of hands-on instruction and provided individual attention in the classroom. In the first year, 200 middle school students visited a university for the first time and benefited from an “insider's tour” led by the GK-12 Fellows. In addition to their direct contact with students, products such as web sites, PowerPoint presentations, and other instructional materials were developed and are now a permanent part of the teachers' resources.

Concerning Teachers:

Teachers who worked weekly with Fellows during the academic year indicated that their experience allowed them to increase their knowledge and skills especially in the area of integrating technology into their instruction and to benefit from the daily sharing of current knowledge in the science and mathematics fields.

Participating teachers whom we interviewed cited the valuable knowledge that having a scientist or mathematician brought to their classroom. They felt that the experience expanded or deepened their curriculum.

Teachers learned science content from Fellows and from resource materials Fellows provided, expressed a desire to continue using inquiry-based teaching practices, and claimed that they had learned from the Fellows how to implement inquiry-based teaching on their own.

Teachers and Fellows who engaged students in on-line and in-person peer review projects enhanced their understanding of the nature of scientific research.

The GK-12 Fellowship program sets up a learning partnership between graduate students and middle school teachers. Fellows act as partners and mentors to assist middle school teachers in implementation of standards-based middle school science instruction.

Concerning Evaluation:

External evaluation indicates that the teams have been successful at: 1) increasing students' and teachers' excitement in science; 2) providing teachers with content-rich modules and examples of inquiry-based pedagogy; and 3) enabling the Fellows to understand the experiences of teachers in science, and mathematics classrooms.

For the treatment/comparison, pre/post assessment plan, baseline school and district state test data have been collected by external evaluation. External evaluation observed the Orientation meeting and provided formative feedback. Additionally, telephone interviews of the scientists, Fellows, and teachers are currently in progress using a protocol that asks for self-report evaluation of intellectual growth and development, professional career development, and skill development.

Concerning Materials Development:

Materials that have been developed as part of the program are being used in science instruction by the participating teachers and GK-12 Fellows. Feedback from the students, teachers, and Fellows has been extremely positive. University faculty mentors are tremendously supportive of the GK-12 program.

Graduate Fellows from Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology departments spent their time inside elementary, middle and high school classrooms, working side-by-side with classroom teachers. Fellows used state-of-the-art curriculum modules, which were tested and utilized inside the classroom.

From Engineering-Focused Sites:

This is a partnership between engineering and education. We believe that the strong background in science and math, the ubiquitous use of computers and technology, and constant exposure to real world applications make engineering students excellent candidates for working with middle and high school students. In addition, many engineering faculty serve as models for how to integrate technology in the classroom.

For the university, this project builds a more prepared pipeline of future engineering students, helps to legitimize K-12 outreach as a valid academic endeavor for engineering graduate students and faculty, and serves as a model for university/K-12 partnerships. In addition Fellows are preparing curriculum and documentation for online dissemination to maximize program sustainability beyond the grant duration.

Fellows use hands-on engineering activities and curriculum as the vehicle to integrate science and math knowledge and skills for K-12 students and teachers. The in-class curriculum emphasizes the importance of integrating science, mathematics and technology to understand and address everyday, real-world situations.

Baylor College of Medicine (0086397)
Nancy Moreno, nmoreno@bcm.tmc.edu
Activities during 2001–2002 are taking place at three Houston ISD High Schools: Milby, Waltrip and Washington. More than 70% of students enrolled at each school are Hispanic or African American. Four GK-12 Fellows representing BCM Graduate Programs in Cardiovascular Science, Molecular Virology and Microbiology, and Molecular and Cellular Biology are beginning partnership activities with four teachers in schools. A Biosciences Resource Lab has been equipped at BCM for teachers and graduate students to collaborate in the development of cell and molecular biology activities and lessons for students. Laboratory space and equipment were provided at no additional cost to the project Each Fellow is participating in a Special Topics Course on science teaching and in a Journal Club on current topics in science teaching and learning. The professional development series on life science topics (aligned to the high school Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) will be conducted on five days in March through June.

Clarkson University (9979509)
Susan E. Powers, sep@clarkson.edu
Through Clarkson's Project-Based Learning Partnerships, new curricula for middle school science and technology classes have been developed to expose middle school students to the societal impacts and mitigation of environmental problems. The concept of project-based learning incorporates a “big-picture” approach to enhancing science, math and technology knowledge, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. Project-based learning requires students to understand a problem, with all of the fundamental science, societal, ethical and other constraints, prior to assessing and implementing a solution. In the first year of this partnership program, 9 Clarkson students were trained, developed curricula, and interacted with students and teachers at three local school districts in 7th and 8th grade science and technology classes. A second cohort of 13 students is currently continuing the program. The partnership program currently focuses on the issue of solid waste disposal at the schools. The use of composting or the incorporation of waste material as an aggregate in concrete – both effective means of transforming a waste product into a valuable product – are effective yearlong projects that illustrate the solution of an environmental problem as well as the relevance of the life and physical science curricula taught at the middle school level. Additional details about this program are available at http://www.clarkson.edu/k12.

Clemson University (0086426)
John K. Luedeman, lued@clemson.edu
The Clemson University GK-12 Project works to improve student performance and the teaching of mathematics and science in the middle grades in schools in local school districts through the use of inquiry based learning exemplifying a standards-based approach. It has: improved perspective of the importance of K-12 mathematics and science education and the difficulties that teachers face on a daily basis among pre-professional graduate scientists and mathematicians in academe and industry; increased participation in K-12 education by scientists and mathematicians; improved the perception of collegiate education and the professorate among professional K-12 teachers and administrators; improved the teaching skills of graduate students in mathematics and science disciplines through practice and training in the inquiry method with practice in the K-12 arena; mentor teachers receive a stipend, content resource support, graduate credit, improved laboratory equipment and manipulative, and role models for their students.

Columbia University (0086390)
Jack McGourty, jm723@columbia.edu
This project, a joint effort of Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) and Teachers College (TC) has two major goals: (1) to increase the number of technologically competent teachers, certified in mathematics and the sciences, available and willing to work in the urban school environment; and (2) to deepen the content knowledge and technology skills of teachers who are already teaching in the public schools. Over the three years of the project, 12 graduate Fellows (8 from the School of Engineering and 4 from Teachers College) will work with 30 engineering undergraduates and 30 public school teachers to upgrade their technology skills and develop technology-enhanced content modules in math or science. Each team of Fellows (a total of 12 graduate students) is developing a tutorial based on their findings that will be used to support early development efforts for middle and high school teachers during next term. We are now recruiting teachers from New York City middle and high schools in Harlem and Upper Manhattan who would be interested in being part of the project teams. Each team will be comprised of 2 engineering Fellows, 1 education Fellow, 1 public school teacher, and one or more engineering undergraduates.

Cornell University (9979516)
Marianne Krasny, mek2@cornell.edu
CEIRP Fellows (School year: 8-10 graduate students and 5 undergraduates. Summer: 5 undergraduates) have developed and implemented curricula designed to engage high school and middle school youth and teachers in environmental sciences research and inquiry. Examples Of Fellow-Led Classroom Research Projects include: a) Microclimatology:. High school environmental science students conducted a several-month project focused on differences in temperature related to habitat (i.e., pond, forest) and height above ground or water level; b) Impact of worms on soils: Middle and high school students learned various soil chemistry protocols and then worked in small groups to design and conduct studies of the impact of invasive worms on forest soils; c) El Nino-Southern Oscillation: Earth Science students used long-term climatic data to develop an understanding of El Nino-Southern Oscillation; d) Fossil Fiasco: Eighth grade science students analyzed National Geographic articles describing how peer review uncovered the truth about a supposed fossil link between birds and reptiles; e) Maple Syrup Taste Testing: High school chemistry students learned about taste testing protocols used by food scientists; and F) Garden Mosaics: Youth in four cities (NYC, Rochester NY, Baltimore MD, and Allentown PA) conducted participatory research with community gardeners to document ethnic vegetable and herb growing practices (summer project). One article has been submitted to a journal (Journal of American Biology Teacher) and a GK workshop organized at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America.

Duke University/North Carolina State University (9979620)
Gary A. Ybarra at Duke University, gary@duke.edu
We have 18 Fellows working in seven elementary and middle schools across four counties in North Carolina. Our program will be sustained through a $500,000 foundation established by a unique Duke-private sector partnership with the intention of scaling the program to include several low-income neighborhoods in New York City within the next five years. The donor has expressed interest in providing a multi-million dollar foundation if the initial program scaling is successful. External support for our program has been provided by IBM ($14,000) and Microsoft Research ($120,000). With this funding we have established computer labs at our partnership schools (more than 100 computers) with MS Windows 2000, MS Encarta and MS Office 2000 Professional. Three spin-off programs have resulted from our NSF sponsored program. MUSCLE Math Understanding through the Science of Life, GE Fund ($450,000 over three years), Techtronics: Hands-on Exploration of Technology in Everyday Life, Burroughs Welcome Fund ($167,000 over three years), and Project MULTIPLY: Math as the Universal Language Transforming and Integrating Personal Leadership through Numeracy, private sector donation ($1,000,000 foundation). Electronic Industries Foundation (EIF) is the philanthropic sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), five allied organizations comprised of over 2,100 electronics and high tech companies. The president of EIF, having heard and read about our program has expressed interest in forming a partnership with us. In Multimedia Communications, a new undergraduate engineering course, students learn how to use modern multimedia tools such as Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash to create multimedia teaching modules containing animations, audio and video streams. GK-12 Fellows are paired with students in this class to generate multimedia teaching modules for our partnership teachers as well as the general public through our website. The new Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering and Applied Sciences (CIEAS) at Duke University is expected to be completed in the spring of 2004. The Learning Center, located within the CIEAS, will be devoted to training Pratt K-12 Engineering Teaching Fellows, developing multimedia teaching modules and training partnership K-12 school teachers (providing Duke Continuing Education credit).

Georgia Institute of Technology (0086420)
Donna C. Llewellyn, donna.llewellyn@oars.gatech.edu
The Georgia Tech Student and Teacher Enhancement Partnership (STEP) Program partners Graduate Student Fellows from the Colleges of Sciences, Engineering and Computing with metro-Atlanta area high school SMET teams that are led by master science or mathematics teacher-coordinators. The twelve GT STEP Fellows are a diverse group of graduate students from Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Nuclear Engineering; they have been grouped into pairs, with each pair assigned to a different school. They also worked with high school personnel to develop a needs assessment and action plan for the school to guide their work during the academic year. To assist us in both the formative and summative assessment of this project, each Fellow is recording and reflecting on his or her experiences in an electronic journal, and is being periodically observed in the classroom by members of the STEP management team. Dr. Gordon Kingsley, Associate Professor of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, will also conduct a series of interviews, surveys and focus groups with the management team, the Fellows, and their academic advisors at Georgia Tech, as well as students, parents, teachers and administrators from participating high schools.

Georgia State University (0086392)
Barbara Baumstark, biobrb@panther.gsu.edu
The Georgia State University Bio-Bus program, initiated by faculty, students, and staff who enjoy sharing their excitement about science with local school children, utilizes a 30-foot mobile instructional laboratory to provide hands-on science activities and demonstrations for K-12 students. Since 1999, when the first Bio-Bus started to roll, we have visited nearly 150 metro Atlanta schools and community organizations. With funding through the GK-12 program, we have been able to expand our project in several ways. First, we have trained an enthusiastic and knowledgeable group of undergraduate and graduate students who serve as activity presenters and facilitators. Second, we have developed several new activities in physical science properties of waves), environmental science (water quality), and earth science (geological time), and have refined our previous offerings in animal diversity, biotechnology and cardiac function. Finally, we have extended our geographical boundaries to include seven rural Georgia counties. Outreach into rural areas of the state is a particularly high priority for us, since rural Georgia schools often do not have the resources to provide students with inquiry-based science activities using modern scientific equipment. In the summer of 2001, Bio-Bus faculty and students traveled to the five rural counties originally targeted in the GK-12 proposal to introduce our activities to teachers and school administrators. During the first two months of the fall semester (Aug 25-present), we have supplemented our regular schedule (which has included 40 visits to schools in metro Atlanta and surrounding counties) with 18 visits to our rural counties. Our goal is to establish a long-lasting relationship with children in rural Georgia and other underserved regions of the state so that they can experience the sense of wonder and discovery that induced each of us to become scientists.

Illinois State University (0086354)
J. Moore, cjmoore1@ilsty.edu
Our program has recruited ten graduate Fellows in biology, chemistry, and mathematics to provide resources for middle and high school students and teachers in three local school districts. Fellows and teachers then established three interdisciplinary school-based teams at Bloomington High School, Gridley Middle / High Schools, and Normal Community High School. Each team includes at least one Fellow and one teacher in each subject area (a total of 7-10 team members per school). The teams have developed prioritized action plans for short- and long-term objectives. School-specific projects currently include: compilation of inquiry-based units on forensic techniques and habitat fragmentation, development of data collection projects for students to learn and apply basic statistical methods, tutoring in homeroom classes set up for struggling math students, organization of a student-led debate on scientific and ethical issues associated with stem cell research, and development of extended applications for TI-73 calculators in math and science classes. Fellows have presented preliminary versions of the first two projects at recent conferences of the Illinois Science Teachers Association and Illinois Council for Teachers of Mathematics.

Michigan Technological University (9979527)
Beverly J. Baartmans, bjgimmes@mtu.edu
Over the three years that this program has been in place at Michigan Technological University (MTU), 37 students--primarily at the graduate level have participated. These Fellows have worked with 38 different K-12 teachers to help them develop “cutting edge” mathematics and science programs. Please see our web site www.math.mtu.edu/gk-12 to view exemplary activity and lab sheets developed by the Fellows. On the End-of-the-Year evaluation form, most teachers indicate that they have become more knowledgeable about a content area as a result of the GK-12 Fellow's work in their school. Fellows develop and groom their own communication skills through participation in a 2-credit course at MTU titled “Communicating Science.” As part of their work in this course, they prepare and present a topic in our Family Math and Science Program. During the 2000-01 academic year the combined total participation in this program was 13 elementary schools, 1,229 students and 935 parents. GK-12 program participants and administrators have given 10 different talks at state and national meetings and three articles have been published in professional proceedings. July 23-24, 2001, we hosted a conference titled “ Effective Practices in K-12 Math and Science Education” featuring talks by the GK-12 cooperating teachers and Fellows. There were 70 conference participants, 17 sessions for elementary school teachers, l6 sessions for secondary teachers and 8 general sessions. Conference evaluations rated most talks as very good or excellent. A highlight of the conference was the slide show “Cultural Differences and Educational Practices in Malaysia” presented by our teacher-Fellow pair who participated in the GK-12 global component.

North Carolina State University (9979583)
Laura J. Bottomley, laurab@eos.ncsu.edu
North Carolina State University GK-12 project supported nine Fellows this year: six women and three men, of whom one is African American and one Hispanic. The Fellows and two grant directors were in every classroom in the three schools (one middle and two elementary) with whom we were in partnership. A Fellow or director was in each classroom in grades three through eight at least once a week (sometimes two times a week), in second grade classrooms at least once a month and in kindergarten and first grade classrooms at least twice a semester. One Fellow was placed with the English as a Second Language and Hearing Impaired programs at Combs Elementary where she integrated science and mathematics lesson with the literature lessons typically used to teach in these classrooms. One Fellow worked with teachers in grades three through five at Combs elementary to incorporate mathematics lessons for the academically gifted (AG) students when the AG teacher left the school mid-year. Another Fellow developed a new curriculum in web page design for use with third through fifth graders for the County. During the project, assessment measurements were conducted which included surveys of all students, parents and teachers at all three schools, exit interviews with the Fellows, and tracking of testing scores and other measures at the schools. The results of the surveys were summarized in a paper at the ASEE annual conference in June 2001. Results from this project have been disseminated through a variety of avenues including a web site, maintained jointly with Duke, a newsletter, two papers at the ASEE annual conference, through a relationship newly established with Carolina Biological Supply for product development, through an ASEE Prism magazine article, and through a visit with Representative David Price.

Northeastern University (9979547)
David Blackman, d.blackman@neu.edu
The Northeastern University GK-12 program is a partnership between Northeastern University and the Hewlett-Packard Foundation, the New England Aquarium and the Boston Public Schools. The program is designed to cross-fertilize both the experience of the Fellows with respect to the urban educational environment, and the students and teachers of the public schools, who are exposed to young graduate students in these important fields. They capped off the 2001 academic year by offering 2 summer courses for K-12 teachers, Stimulating Teachers in Academic Research through Space, a month long course that took place at Northeastern University's Center for Advanced Microgravity Materials processing (CAMMP) laboratory (sponsors included CAMMP, the MIT/Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, and the NSF) and Introduction to the Aquatic Environment, a two-day course that took place at the both Northeastern University and the New England Aquarium.

Ohio State University (9979591)
Alan Van Heuvelen, avanh@mps.ohio-state.edu
Sixteen Fellows including eleven upper division undergraduate students and six graduate students from biology (2), chemistry (1), engineering (5), environmental science (1), math (3), pharmacy (1), and physics (3) worked with 16 teachers and about 450 of their students from lower social-economic urban schools. At the request of the Columbus Public School District, the lessons for the first year of this project focused on the grade three Columbus Public Benchmark Standards and classes. There have been gains in the number of fourth grade students passing the fourth grade competency test, even though the science activities have focused on the grade three benchmarks. Teachers increased the time spent on science instruction compared to time spent in the previous year. Teachers found that the biggest benefit of the program was their increase in content knowledge (especially true in physical science and less important in biological subjects) and the increase in their facility in using science inquiry methods. We found it difficult for teachers to make the leap from traditional cookbook science to open-ended investigations in one step. Now, teacher-Fellow teams (about four persons) work with a science-teaching specialist to develop two-part lesson plans, one part for teachers and the other for use by the teachers with their students. The Fellows and some teachers led many summer workshops for other teachers and their students. The project has collaborated with the Ohio Energy Project to develop middle school science investigations concerning the use of energy and other resources in the schools.

Oregon State University (9979507)
Daniel J. Arp, arpd@bcc.orst.edu
In the first year of our program our 14 GK-12 Fellows worked with 18 teachers in 8 schools in 3 very different school districts. Three Fellows commuted to schools in the Portland school district (an 80 mile commute, one way). Portland is the largest city in Oregon and the schools chosen have a large minority population. Two Fellows commuted to a K-8 school in Siletz (a 50 mile commute, one way), a small, rural community with a large Native American population. The remaining nine Fellows worked in one of four schools (two elementary, one middle, one high school) in Corvallis, where Oregon State University is located. The Fellows working in elementary schools were considered Scientists-in-Residence and worked with all classrooms at the school. Taking this into account our Fellows had considerable contact with approximately 60 teachers and classrooms. The OSU GK-12 Fellows also participated in "extended outreach" activities. Some noteworthy accomplishments from Year 1 include: One Fellow co-authoring a curriculum on Rollercoaster Physics with his teacher-facilitator (this project is continuing on into Year 2), two Fellows taking a middle school class from Siletz on an overnight trip to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland (they got to spend the night in the museum), and four Fellows completing requirements for their advanced degrees during or shortly after their year as a GK-12 Fellow (all of our Year 1 Fellows are on track to complete their advanced degrees in a timely fashion).

Pennsylvania State University (9979579)
Daniel Haworth, dch12@psu.edu
M3 education is being constructed via a partnership between three participating Pennsylvania school districts, the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program with General Motors support, and Penn State University's Colleges of Engineering, Science, Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Education. First, the H&EV; activity theme of this initiative uses exposure to advanced automotive technologies to motivate students. Second, the world-wide-web (WWW) is used as a platform on which to design, build, and deliver constructivist-learning environments (CLEs). These CLEs support different learners and encourage different learning styles. CLE components support visual and auditory learners using Web-based tools, and tactile learners using manipulatives such as experimental system design, fabrication, and testing activities. Third, WWW audio and video tools are used to provide mentoring to all types of learners through direct interaction with NSF Fellows and GATE graduate students. September 2001 marked the beginning of the second academic year of interaction between Penn State and the three participating school districts. Nine middle school teachers, one high school teacher, eleven graduate students, three undergraduate students, approximately 1,000 middle school students and almost fifty high school students have participated to date. Penn State has hosted tours of the laboratories and facilities affiliated with the Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Center to motivate the students and teachers through the introduction to HEV technologies. Addressing the needs of the tactile learner, three manipulative kits have been developed and tested. Three additional kits are in the initial development stage. One of the finished kits uses Lego® vehicles to demonstrate the energy stored/released by flywheels. Another kit uses lemons to power a clock—demonstrating battery technology. The third kit enables the students to assemble a working fuel cell model.

Rhode Island University (9979566)
John Merrill, Assoc_dean@gso.uri.edu
In year one the Fellows included 7 students pursuing Ph.D.s and 5 pursuing M.S. degrees; in year two there are 5 students pursuing Ph.D.s and 7 pursuing M.S. degrees. The Fellows have all received intensive training in science education pedagogy, spending three weeks with our staff before the summer teacher institute. One of the successful aspects of the program has been the three-week summer teacher institute where the Fellows and their teacher partners engage in marine and environmental science content instruction, field exercises, and technology instruction. It has been valuable for the Fellows to have the opportunity to try out their newly acquired skills in conducting inquiry activities on the teachers before they are in the classrooms in September. The teachers have expressed a great deal of satisfaction and enthusiasm for the field exercises (10 trips during each institute). Not only are the exercises instructive and enjoyable, they also give the teachers new tools for leading similar exercises for their students in the same field locations. The summer institute also gives the Fellows and teachers a chance to form a collaborative bond before they spend time in the classroom together. A measure of our program's success has been in the increase in scientific inquiry in Rhode Island K-12 classrooms. The teachers are left more confident to conduct these activities on their own, the students are clearly more engaged in their science classes, and the Fellows have gained experience in translating complex scientific concepts into activities for the classroom. Because of their GK-12 experience, Fellows reported feeling more comfortable discussing their own research with non-scientific audiences.

Rice University (9979634)
Kathleen S. Matthews, ksm@rice.edu, kpat@rice.edu
Rice University's GK-12 Fellows Program has engaged students and faculty from three university campuses (University of Houston-Downtown, University of Houston-Central and Rice) to interact with students and teachers from the Houston Independent School District (HISD). To date, we have involved twenty-eight science and mathematics teachers from eight different middle schools, fourteen Rice University Graduate Fellows, and fourteen Undergraduate Fellows from the University of Houston campuses. After an intensive summer professional development program where Fellows gain knowledge of current issues in educational reform, the Fellows and teachers design together a Campus Implementation Plan that focuses the teams' efforts throughout the year. Collectively, about 200 Houston area teachers were enrolled in these programs.

Rutgers University, New Brunswick (9979491)
Kathleen M. Scott, scott@biology.rutgers.edu
This GK12 program enhances middle school science and mathematics education by creating dynamic learning environments partnering Rutgers graduate and advanced undergraduate students in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology (SMET) with teachers, administrators, and students in New Jersey school districts. Each year, pairs of graduate and advanced undergraduate students in SMET (referred to as "Fellows") serve as resources for middle school teachers in science and mathematics instruction. Each pair of Fellows (normally one graduate and one undergraduate) forms a partnership with two or three teachers from participating middle schools. Our first cohort of nine teams, including ten graduate Fellows, seven undergraduates and twenty-three teachers included students with backgrounds in paleontology, astrophysics, food sciences, ecology, combinatorics and probability, and physical organic chemistry. Teams of middle school teachers were selected based on proposals identifying areas of the science and mathematics curriculum, which would form the focus of each team's activities for the coming year. Subjects included life sciences, general science, earth science and mathematics for grades 6-8. For example, one team developed a lesson about nutrition built around the foods served at traditional Thanksgiving and Indian Harvest Festivals. Another Fellow helped develop exercises in mathematics, and started a Math Club, which participated in a Math Counts competition. Fellows exchanged ideas and activities at weekly meetings.

San Diego State University (9979741)
Walter Oechel, oechel@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
During the first two years, the PISCES Project has partnered with numerous school districts to facilitate the use of hands-on standards-based elementary science curriculum in San Diego area elementary schools. The project has grown from 24 teachers representing 7 school districts and 10 Science Corps Fellows, to over 100 teachers from 14 districts and 22 Fellows. During the second project year, Fellows interacted for over 10,000 hours with K-12 students.

Southwest Missouri State University (0086355)
Tamera Jahnke, tsj118f@smsu.edu
This specific project enables the expansion of the ongoing collaboration of Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU) with Springfield Public Schools (SPS) in a nationally recognized manner. GK-12 Fellows will work with SMSU faculty and middle school teachers to make a significant impact on student-teacher contact and student learning in selected middle schools within the SPS system. The plan includes involvement of twelve GK-12 Fellows (four graduate students and eight undergraduate students) for year one of the project and sixteen GK-12 Fellows for the remaining years. The Fellows will serve as resources for teachers in science and mathematics instruction for at least 10 hour/week and the undergraduates will earn service learning credit for the first 40 hours. Expected outcomes include improved communication and teaching skills for the Fellows, enriched learning opportunities for middle school students, professional development opportunities for middle school teachers, and strengthened partnerships between institutions of higher education and local school districts.

Texas A&M; University-Corpus Christi (0086397)
Diana I. Marinez, dmarinez@falcon.tamucc.edu
The project is a partnership between Texas A&M; University - Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) and West Texas A&M; University (WTAMU) and two rural independent school districts, Beeville ISD and Hereford ISD, two of the Cohort One school districts in the NSF funded Texas Rural Systemic Initiative, a group of 20 rural school districts across Texas that engage in intensive systemic reform activities. These two school districts are the two largest rural school districts in Texas and have demographics resembling South Texas border school districts, i.e. majority Hispanic and majority disadvantaged. The two universities and their partner ISD are approximately 600 miles apart and the ISD's are about 30-60 miles from their university partner. Each site planned at least one major educational activity that involved the integration of GIS/GPS into the curriculum. This unique feature takes advantage of the Geographic Information Sciences program at TAMUCC. WT/HEREFORD Fellows developed a Scavenger Hunt Simulation for Algebra I and IPC using the GPS devices. The questions on the scavenger hunt clues were tied to the comprehensive review of the semester for the two courses. TAMUCC/BEVILLE Fellows developed an Air Pollution Model using GPS devices and Arc View GIS to visualize the data collected. To simulate a real world situation, a smoke-producing device produced smoke (pollutant) that was dispersed at the test site (football field) and teams of students recorded data.

University of Alabama at Birmingham (9979520)
Larry Krannich, krannich@uab.edu
A program built on an existing framework of science outreach programs that had an identified need for full-time Fellows to be collaboratively engaged in science teaching with teachers implementing proven curricula and inquiry-based laboratory activities in local school systems. During the first two years of this GK-12 program, 285 teachers and over 8,000 K-12 students in the Birmingham area have been directly impacted by the programs and GK-12 Fellows. Three Fellows have graduated and assumed positions at a university, industry, and a research lab. Two of them are involved in science education outreach activities in their communities. Because of his experience with GK-12 program, one former Gk-12 Fellow was hired to manage a Bioaquatic Center at a community college that serves high school and community college science education.

University of Arizona (9979741)
Michelle Hall-Wallace, hall@geo.arizona.edu
Our training efforts for the Fellows have been extensive and from the feedback from the classroom teachers and the Fellows, our training has been very successful. Both groups told us they felt the Fellows were well prepared to become effective science resource agents in the classroom and that the Fellow's helped the classroom teacher integrate inquiry into their curriculum as a long-term teaching strategy. The teachers told us that they now feel more comfortable teaching science after our Fellows partnered with them. The Fellows felt their own teaching had greatly improved over the time of their Fellowship. This opinion was backed by the teachers who echoed the same assessment of the Fellow's teaching. Both the teachers and the Fellows felt the K-12 student's benefited greatly by the Fellow's work in the classroom. It was reported that after the teacher/Fellow collaboration, the students displayed a more positive attitude towards science and scientists. More students expressed an interest in the field of science as a career possibility as a result of the Fellow's role in their classrooms. From our exit interviews we learned that our Fellows plan on having a long-term commitment to K-12 education on some level.

University of Colorado at Boulder (9979567)
Jacquelyn F. Sullivan, Jacquelyn.Sullivan@Colorado.edu
CU-Boulder NSF GK-12 engineering outreach project builds upon the reforms in hands-on engineering education developed by the CU Engineering's ITL Program. This project has placed 23 Fellows, averaging 10 each year, in K-12 classrooms throughout the local Boulder Valley School District. Partner schools are selected for maximum impact: diverse student bodies, students from lower socio-economic status and lower standardized test scores. Last year Fellows from six engineering disciplines worked weekly with students from 68 classes in seven schools to share the joys and challenges of hands-on engineering. Topical focus areas include: laws of motion; energy; electricity and magnetism; environmental science; and earth science. Incorporating state educational standards.

University of Hawaii at Manoa (9979656)
Kenneth Y. Kaneshiro, kykanesh@hawaii.edu
We have based our project on the fact that most modern textbooks in biology are written in terms of evolutionary theory and therefore it is imperative that teachers at the K-12 level be knowledgeable of evolutionary concepts in order to teach all sub-disciplines of biological sciences properly. Our approach has been to take advantage of the field-oriented research conducted by the graduate Fellows and to involve K-12 students in inquiry-based learning about science by actually doing science. A few examples of projects are: 1) Development of several curricular units for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders based on research interests and expertise of the graduate Fellow in fish morphology and behavior. Students worked in teams on the Fish Diversity Unit, the Behavioral Ecology Unit, or the Watershed Unit and addressed questions ranging from natural selection, systematics and taxonomy, behavioral ecology and conservation biology. 2) One Fellow initiated an outreach program in several K-12 schools on the Island of Hawaii where the focus was on the impact of invasive species, ants in particular, on the local economy and lifestyles and on the native biota. K-12 students collected and identified the ant species, documented their distribution using GIS mapping, and provided the data to regulatory government agencies, which have taken steps to control or eradicate the most noxious species. At least two new invading species, previously unrecorded from Hawaii, have been discovered by the K-12 students' efforts and the students have become a powerful monitoring network for the distribution of invading species before they become well established. 3) Another Fellow worked with a team of 1st grade teacher to develop and implement a curricular unit focused on Hawaiian watershed ecology and health. The students conducted investigations at a field site near the mouth of their community stream. They investigated the impacts of humans on the watershed, collected and grew native Hawaiian plants, and observed and recorded faunistic changes that occur as the stream emptied into the sea. 4) Still another Fellow worked with 2 high school teachers on developing and implementing a lesson plan for studying inter-tidal reef ecology by observing algal diversity. Data from reef observations and algae collection were analyzed, and water availability and motion discussed as factors influencing alga presence or absence at a given transect point. Plans are being developed to create a database for the teachers and students to monitor the reef over a longer time span.

University of Illinois at Chicago (9979537)
Donald J. Wink, dwink@uic.edu
UIC graduate and undergraduate Fellows participate in four interventions in schools in Chicago and adjacent suburbs. The four interventions are quite different in their scope and methodology. The Chicago Science Alliance Van Program focuses on the development of teachers and resources for improving chemistry laboratory experiences throughout the Chicago Public School system. The Advanced Visualization Technologies, Learning, and Teaching project involves middle and elementary school science classes in a single Oak Park, Illinois school. The program develops methods for use of virtual reality environments in science education. The TIMS project supports the implementation of a math and science curriculum project in the Cicero Public Schools, where a very large bilingual population exists. And the UIC–Crane High School Mathematics, Science, and Technology Academy (MSTA) project involves a single Chicago public high school in teacher and classroom development throughout the sciences (chemistry, biology, physics, and environmental science).

University of Kansas (9979553)
Janet Robinson, jrobinson@ukans.edu
Our goal is to build activities that bear the spirit of standards-based curricula that the KCK district wants to implement. A varied and useful collection of material has been assembled for the Fellows, and it is constantly growing, most of it available at http://www.csac.chem.ku.edu/NSFGK12-Public. We currently have 20 graduate and advanced undergraduate Fellows. Weekly meetings among the Fellows are a staple and the Fellows keep weekly journals, a vehicle to organize their experiences before discussing them. The journals are posted on a password- protected location on our project website. As an example of the benefits of the shared web site: one Fellow wanted to implement a particular piece of software but wondered how to organize students to make best use of available computers; another Fellow had used this software in his class and devised a related pencil & paper activity while students waited for a computer; so the experienced Fellow sent the activity file to the newer Fellow. As an example of Teacher-Fellow combinations: Ania Johnson, a mentor science teacher at Arrowhead Middle, spoke at Gk12 orientation about how to take advantage of adolescents' natural energy, sociability and curiosity to aid in the learning process; her GK12 Fellow, Joe Whalen, often develops technological activities related to her current curriculum. In the eyes of the district math/science coordinator, Gene Fite, the project has impact on students and teachers because of the personal relationships formed. Perhaps anecdotes from the Fellows best capture the outcomes of this project. One Fellow noted that a girl came and said, “This is the first time I ever learned anything in school.” Another Fellow spoke of a student identified as a troublemaker when the Fellow first started working, but who was just challenging the Fellow to keep him interested. Over the course of the semester, the student became much more engaged. A third Fellow described the day he first brought the laptops and heart rate monitor to class. Two students, usually near the bottom of their class as far as grades go, both immediately responded to the technology. Soon these students were the class experts in using the Logger Pro software needed for the experiment. Both had looks of total satisfaction on their faces as they were asked by their classmates for intellectual assistance. Pictures of various GK12 classroom interactions are available at the password-protected website.

University of Maine (9979763)
Susan H. Brawley, Brawley@maine.edu
We enhanced science education through the GK-12 Fellows' Program for about 1,000 2nd graders-high school students in 2000-01 and are working with a similar number in 2001-02. Evaluations suggest that the major benefits were/are: 1) the cutting edge-scientist graduate student as a role model for K-12 students, and 2) additional resources (microscopes, thermal cyclers) and scientific expertise provided to schools. Maine has mandated benchmarks for knowledge in science and technology (The Maine Learning Results) at various levels of K-12. The expertise of our Fellows and resources provided by the grant are cited by teachers as strongly enhancing their ability to meet these State goals. K-12 students have routinely planned their own experiments from elementary school-high school with the support of their Fellows; our program has delivered active science. These Fellowships have supported the graduate education of 24 excellent students to date.

University of Maryland (0086396)
E.D. Williams, edw@physics.umd.edu
Three graduate students (from physics, materials and chemistry) were accepted into the program in late August, participated in a weeklong orientation program, and attend a weekly seminar. Two Fellows work in high schools and one in a middle school. Prior to the Fellow's arrival, we solidified partnerships with 7-12 teachers and administrators. We also set up offices, computers, and a range of demonstration resources for Fellows. In addition, we have initiated a web site for our program. Our first evaluation was a survey conducted with teachers and science coordinators.

University of Mississippi (9979554)
Dr. John O'Haver, johaver@olemiss.edu
The project involves 14 graduate student Fellows from the departments of biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, engineering, mathematics, and physics, and two local school districts, the Oxford and Lafayette County school systems. Fellows work with teachers from kindergarten through high school to develop interdisciplinary materials to aid in teaching science, math, engineering and technology (SMET). Requests for materials development come directly from the participating teaches and involve mainly development of interdisciplinary materials that focus on the Mississippi River ecosystems, but includes other STEM related materials as requested by the teachers. So far, we have received approximately 135 requests for material development, and delivered over 100 completed projects. Additionally, we have helped local teachers attend several national conferences including the National Association of Biology Teachers and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Project funds have been used to purchase materials to enhance laboratory and classroom teaching in these local schools. Outside evaluators estimate that more than 55% of the students in both school districts have benefited from this project.

University of Northern Colorado (0086443)
John C. Moore, jcmoore@unco.edu
The University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University have selected a total of seven Fellows working with five scientists at the two universities. During summer 2001, five teachers from high schools in Weld County District 6 joined the Fellows in research, which included fieldwork at the SGS-LTER site near Nunn, CO, at Rocky Mountain National Park, and in laboratories. Teams at both high schools, working with the graduate Fellows, are constructing schoolyard ecological plots that will be used for studies of microclimates, nutrient cycling, biomass growth, insect diversity, and soil ecology. Chlorine and nitrate studies in runoff are being setup, as well as are ecological succession studies, and carbon and nitrogen level determinations in the soil.

University of Oklahoma (0086475)
Michael Mooney, mooney@ou.edu
Adventure Engineering is an engineering design driven, inquiry based approach to middle grade (5-9) science and mathematics education. Fifteen upper level undergraduate engineering students, one graduate student and 31 middle grade teacher mentors are working in five subject specific teams developing and implementing standards-based curriculum with adventure scenarios that facilitate the learning of key concepts and processes in mathematics, science and engineering. To date the engineering Fellows have produced five curriculum units that are being modified in preparation for spring implementation.

University of Oklahoma (0086415)
Mark Nanny, nanny@ou.edu
The Authentic Teaching Alliance (ATA) is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Engineering and the Center for Educational and Community Renewal at the University of Oklahoma (OU). ATA involves thirteen graduate and twelve advanced undergraduate Fellows, along with twelve secondary science and mathematics teachers (from four high schools and two middle schools located in Oklahoma City), and several OU science and engineering faculty. During the fall, Fellows participate in a course specially designed to teach: 1) educational theory, concepts, and assessment congruent with authentic learning; 2) the design, implementation, and assessment of hands-on, inquiry-based activities in secondary science and mathematics curricula; 3) effective incorporation of technology into the secondary curricula, and 4) appropriate teaching practices and methods for secondary students, as well as local, state, and national curricula standards. Course assignments require Fellows to work with teachers in developing and teaching authentic, hands-on science and math lessons. During the spring, teams of Fellows and teachers work together developing, creating, and implementing authentic activities to enhance the teacher's science or math curriculum. Summer activities focus on preparing these activities for dissemination to other Oklahoma schools.

University of Pennsylvania (9979635)
Dennis DeTurck, deturck@math.upenn.edu
Access Science partners University of Pennsylvania science faculty and students with K-12 public school science teachers and their students in West Philadelphia with the goal of developing innovative science curriculum, and improving the teaching and learning of science at the elementary, secondary and college levels. Penn's major partner is the School District of Philadelphia. We are focusing our work in two of 22 'clusters,' or mini-districts comprised of a comprehensive high school and its neighborhood feeder schools, each with approximately 500 teachers and 10,000 students. A sample of current Access Science activities includes: a) creation of a sustainable, integrated science and mathematics curriculum, as well as robotics-based professional development for teachers and problem-solving activities for students at Drew Elementary School; b) development of chemistry lab protocols and an AP chemistry course at West Philadelphia High School (the first AP science course offered there), as well as organizing college-prep curriculum around the school's Auto Academy; c) development of academically-based service learning science courses that have become part of the regular University curriculum; and d) quantitative and qualitative evaluation of program effectiveness based on student record data, surveys, journals and site-visit observations.

University of Puerto Rico at Mayaquez (9979566)
Juan López Garriga, jlopez@sonw.uprm.edu
The GUEST K-12 program has trained twenty university students and forty pre-college teachers as resources for the pre-college classroom. The results of this interaction has been: a) eighty pre-college teacher have participate in four follow-up training activities, b) five groups of thirty pre-college students with their teachers have participated in the program at the university facilities, and c) forty pre-college schools have been visited by the graduate and undergraduate Fellows. Overall, the GUEST K-12 program has reinforced communication, teaching and research skills of the participant university students, while it has transformed pre-college teachers into more science and technology proficient educators.

University of South Carolina (0086427)
Jed S. Lyons, lyons@sc.edu
Our conceptual focus is to use engineering examples, experiments and inquiry and design problems to stimulate science learning. The first cohort includes eight graduate students and two undergraduate seniors in an accelerated BS/MS program. They are enrolled in a course from the College of Education that is designed specifically to prepare engineering students to teach. The course includes a 10-hour/week practicum; the current cohort of Fellows is working with master teachers in elementary-level Professional Development Schools. During their second semester, each trained and experienced Fellow will move to a different elementary school, each primarily in a disadvantaged neighborhood and each not previously involved in a strong relationship with the university. Though our GK-12 program is relatively young, formative assessment results are being used to improve the program. For example, a need has been recognized for a written guide outlining the expectations of the teachers and Fellows.

University of Southern Maine (0086341)
S. Monroe Duboise, duboise@usm.maine.edu
The ScienceWorks for ME (our GK12 project) teams Fellows and teachers to adapt existing laboratory activities to the needs and constraints of a variety of high school biology classes and to explore the development of new inquiry-based activities that utilize the immunology, molecular biology, microbiology, and epidemiology expertise of ScienceCorps Fellows and staff. To serve students in chronically under-funded rural schools of Maine we are extending a twenty-two year science education outreach partnership of the University of Southern Maine (USM) and the Foundation for Blood Research (FBR) by involving teams of two USM immunology and molecular biology graduate students with eight rural high schools in summer workshops to be followed by work in high school biology classes. The workshops (in labs at FBR and at USM) included a DNA fingerprinting lab and a Lyme disease ELISA lab that were each associated with discussion of true case histories and a dry lab inquiry into the loss of genetic diversity in cheetah populations. Comments collected during the evaluation have provided valuable suggestions for future summer workshops that will be extended to a full week to allow more interaction and team building and exploration of additional inquiry-based activities.

University of Washington (9979496)
Denice Denton, denton@engr.washington.edu
This academic year we have 11 new graduate and 3 undergraduate Fellows who are partnered with 6 returning teachers and 8 new teachers. Last year, we recruited and paired 12 graduate and 3 undergraduate Fellows with 18 teacher-partners (some Fellows worked with more than one teacher) from five school districts that are involved in local math and science systemic initiatives. The majority of our Fellows worked with their teacher-partners to enhance the curricular resources and learning experiences of middle school students. The curriculum projects they designed are based on a process of guided-inquiry and focus on real-world applications of scientific and mathematical principles. For example, one project was developed specifically to integrate and supplement the 'Variables and Patterns' unit of the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP). The project cast students as employees of a mechanical engineering research and development company, which had received a contract to design the gearing for an upcoming international bicycle race. This project was highlighted in the February issue of Prism, the magazine of the American Society of Engineering Education. Other projects included researching and creating water quality kits for a local elementary school that was charged with monitoring the health of a creek that ran through school property; creating an interdisciplinary geology-chemistry unit; and enhancing units on force, motion, and energy and articulating connections across multiple grade levels. The year's collaborations culminated with a Showcase in May during which Fellows, teachers, and students shared their work publicly with university and school communities. The teachers felt that the most important aspects of creating a strong partnership included adequate planning time and good communication, flexibility and teamwork. Descriptions of last year's partnerships can be found at http://www.engr.washington.edu/prime/partnership.html. Full evaluation reports can be found at the password protected website (password and login available from the site).

University of Washington (0086280)
Loyce Adams, adams@amath.washington.edu
Our project is split into two distinct parts. The first part places six GK-12 Fellows in a K-5 minority school with a Fellow assigned to every mathematics classroom. This school has a 72% African American student body with 92% on free and reduced lunch. We partner with teachers in a tag-team way to help them begin to implement an exemplary mathematics curriculum (TERC Investigations) for the first time. The second part of the project places six Fellows to tag-team teach in a learning cluster (a junior high and its feeder elementary schools) to help teachers create a supportive community for each other to address mathematical issues at the 5th and 6th grade level (which use Everyday Mathematics) and at the 7th and 8th grade level (which use CMP), and to make the transition more seamless for students. In working with the Seattle School District, two workshops occurred over the summer that gave the teachers confidence to try TERC Investigations this year. All the teachers at this school will begin the Geometry unit in TERC during the first two weeks of October. The principal at the school is working with us to bring this about.

University of Wisconsin-Madison (9979628)
Terrence Millar, millar@bascom.wisc.edu
The K-Through-Infinity (KTI) Professional Development Partnership at UW-Madison is housed within the Graduate School and administered by the Graduate Student Professional Development Office. KTI takes a team-directed approach to developing projects that enhance inquiry-based teaching and learning in K-12 math, science, and engineering education. KTI projects are designed to link cutting-edge research of the University with the interests and classroom needs of K-12 teachers. The teams are cross-disciplinary, comprised of one or more GK-12 Fellow(s), SMET research faculty, science education graduate students or faculty, K-12 teachers and, on occasion, district curriculum coordinators and administrators. There are 14 teams working with teachers in Madison and Milwaukee and in suburban and rural school districts in Wisconsin and surrounding states. The teams develop standards-based materials in astronomy/physics, biology and behavior, chemistry and materials science, ecology and the environment, mathematics, or in general science.

Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College (9979578)
Virginia Shepherd, shephev@aol.com
The Vanderbilt and Meharry GK-12 program is now in its 2nd full year. The major focus of this program is to partner graduate teaching Fellows with Nashville middle and high school science teachers. In the current program year we are focusing entirely on the middle school level, using the highly successful model at Bass Middle School that has evolved over the past 1½ years. Nine Fellows and nine partner teachers from four middle schools have been selected for the current year. Sources of lessons include original lessons designed by the Fellows; lessons developed by the Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science program at Vanderbilt, and published sources. Lessons used by the Graduate Teaching Fellows that have proven to be successful at the middle school level are currently being archived, and will be put on our website. Seven Undergraduate Teaching Fellows from Vanderbilt University have also participated in the GK12 program.

West Virginia University (9979523)
Fred King, fking@wvu.edu
West Virginia University Research Corporation GK-12 project is in its second year. Since January 2000, Teams of Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellows Engaged to Reinvigorate Students (TIGERS) has been supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructions in rural counties of West Virginia. Currently, there are eleven advanced graduate and graduate Fellows assisting in STEM instructions with middle school teachers in West Virginia classrooms. The graduate Fellows spend the summer planning their activities, and when school starts, the graduate Fellows begin visiting the schools to co-plan with the teachers. Then, the Fellows put their plans into action as they co-teach in the classrooms with TIGERS teachers as well as other teachers in schools where TIGERS teachers are based. From this point on, teachers, graduate Fellows, students, and parents as well begin working toward a common goal established by each of the teams. The graduate students benefit from working with teachers who can help shape their teaching talents. Students at the participating schools also benefit from TIGERS. They are actively engaged in new and unique learning experiences. TIGERS is currently in the second year of its projected three-year run. TIGERS currently operate in eleven schools in 9 counties in West Virginia, directly engaging 22 teachers and their students, as well as other mathematics and science teachers at the same schools.

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