Three projects
funded by the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Teaching
Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program have established innovative
ways to make science accessible to all students.
The
GK-12 project at the University of Puerto Rico (Mayaguez), with
additional funding from the Pfizer Foundation, was able to bring
science to K-12 students through the “Science On Wheels” program,
in which graduate fellows travel to schools and field sites to work
with teachers and students. This has provided the opportunity
for students to participate in hands-on demonstrations related to
environmental measurements, integrated with mathematics, social
studies, and languages into the classroom. Eleven fellows were
divided into five teams to provide assistance and training to both
public and private schools. During the 10-month period, fellows
have worked with more than 122 teachers and hands-on lessons reached
more than 2,175 students in the ten educational districts in Puerto
Rico.
Rutgers
University's GK-12 project is expanding its impact through
the use of the Rutgers Science Explorer, a 40-foot mobile
laboratory that brings exciting, innovative hands-on science
activities to 14 middle schools and communities around the state of
New Jersey. The Science Explorer can accommodate 20 students
per session, and is equipped with a wide-screen projection system,
networked laptop computers, and satellite Internet access. The
Rutgers Science Explorer showcases the most innovative activities
developed by graduate fellows based on their own expertise and
research. Popular lessons focus on volcanoes, DNA and an
activity called “Skeleton Detectives,” a type of forensic
activity that has students identify missing people from skeletal
material. During the first five months of operation, more than
1500 students have participated in activities on the bus.
The
Florida Institute of Technology’s GK-12 project focuses on ocean
sciences and the role the oceans play in environmental, physical,
chemical and biological processes. With the help of a 35-foot
mobile laboratory called SEAS Lab (Science
Exploration
At Sea),
activities and modules created by this project will reach both urban
and suburban high school students in Brevard County. The
graduate fellows, in collaboration with the K-12 teachers, have
designed modules for high school students such as wave dynamics and
its impact on the shores, sea turtle biology, sand composition, and
water analysis. The SEAS lab, designed with input from teachers,
supports hands-on learning with multiple work stations and
specialized equipment including microscopes, GPS systems, a weather
station, and Internet access to real-time NOAA data.
Web
URL: http://www.fit.edu/instep
Web
URL: http://sonw.uprm.edu/
Partner
in the University of Puerto Rico project: Pfizer Foundation
