1. Bringing Science to School A Guide to Assist Scientists in Bringing Their Research Into K-12 Classrooms Marti Canipe (mcanipe@nsf.org) Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow 2009-2010 NSF – Office of Polar Programs
2. Outline Why should I visit a K-12 classroom? Planning Your Visit What do I need to know about ____ graders? The Big Day After the Visit
3. Why should I visit a K-12 classroom? 65% of Americans can’t name a living scientist (Source: Your Congress-Your Health Survey, June 2009) Take science out of the textbook and make it real for students Bring an extra element of excitement about science to a classroom
5. Planning Your Visit - Logistics How many students are in the class? How long is the class? What are the school’s procedures for visitors? Parking, visitor badges, etc.
6. Planning Your Visit - Activities What background knowledge will the students have about your subject? If there is vocabulary that they should understand prior to your visit, provide it to the teacher. Active learning and hands-on activities are best Keep introductions short: 5-10 minutes Small group activities are preferable Activities in a classroom will almost always take longer than you think they will Leave enough time for wrap-up discussions Discuss your planned activity with the teacher. They will be able to give you advice on what will work best.
7. Planning Your Visit - Materials Ask the teacher what materials and equipment are available Remember to ask about audio-visual equipment if you plan to use these in your presentation Remember safety equipment (gloves, goggles, etc.) that might be required for your activity Be prepared to bring everything you might need with you Ask how many sets of materials and/or handouts you will need for hands-on activities
8. What do I need to know about ____ graders? Ask their teacher for information about where they are developmentally There are general developmental stages, but each child reaches them at a different time K-2: direct experiences, time to explore 3-5: starting to use logic, concrete thinkers, beginning to be able to think about abstractions 6-8: moving into more abstract thinking and being able to generalize events into principles 9-12: abstract thinking and generalization skills are much more developed
9. The Big Day Introduce yourself: Share something about what you do and how you became interested in science Capture their interest with a demo or short activity Ask questions to stimulate thinking – be sure to practice wait time (3 sec) after you ask a question Relate what you are doing to something they are familiar with in “real life”
10. After the Visit Be available for follow-up questions if at all possible – share your email address If possible, invite the class to visit your lab or field site.
11. Need ideas? Google your topic and lesson plans You will find lots of ideas, beware that while there are lots of great lesson ideas on the Internet, there are also some not so great ones Check the following websites: http://www.thinkfinity.org/ http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ http://www.science-house.org/learn/index.html http://www.teachersdomain.org/
13. Bringing Science to School – Planning Activity Topic: ___________________________________________________
14. Resources and References Appleton, Ken. "Analysis and Description of Students' Learning during Science Classes Using a Constructivist-Based Model." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 34.3 (1997): 303-18. Print. "Benchmarks Online ~ Project 2061 ~ AAAS." AAAS - Project 2061. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. <http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/index.php> Burd, Gail D. "Brain Awareness Week." Society for Neuroscience. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. <http://www.sfn.org/baw/tips_visiting.cfm>. "GK-12 Earth Project Research and Discovery." The University of Tennessee GK-12 Earth Project. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://web.utk.edu/~gk12/research.html>. Kranz, Bob, Ed Roy, Laura Zahm, Ann Benbow, Colin Mably, Laura M. Rios, and Jason Betzner. "Visiting Geoscientists - An Outreach Guide for Geoscience Professionals." American Geological Institute - Serving the Geosciences Since 1948. Web. 21 Sept. 2009. <http://www.agiweb.org/education/aapg>. "National Lab Day." National Lab Day. Web. 19 Jan. 2010. <http://www.nationallabday.org/>. "National Science Education Standards." The National Academies Press. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. <http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962>. "NCMLS Survival Guide for Scientists." National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. <http://www.noao.edu/education/ncmlssg.html>. "Your Congress-Your Health 111 Poll." Research!America. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. <http://www.researchamerica.org/resource_library/topic:4/type:0>.
