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GK-12
SPRING WORKSHOP
UT
Marine Science Institute
30 April 2004
Recommendations
by Fellows and Teachers:
Fall
Orientation, Spring Symposium, and sustaining GK-12 activities past completion
of NSF Grant
Participants:
UTMSI Fellows and Teachers (Flour Bluff and Port Aransas)
Note: All
workshop questions addressed in three breakout groups following workshop
agenda
Compiled
by Ken Dunton, Principal Investigator
Question 1: How can we improve the initial orientation for Fellows
and teachers to promote the early development of productive partnerships
and Fellow-led classroom activities? What topics should be covered? Who
should cover them?
Group
1 Recommendations:
That Fellow
see a previous Fellow teach an activity
Work with
a cooperating teacher on tactics and techniques for teaching lab/activities
Observe teacher
in class/activity prior to orientation
Fellow Mentors-
does it work? Should it continue?
Fellows should
have class textbooks - good idea.
First interaction
with students: Fellows should give short talks on themselves and a Power
Point presentation (lots of pictures) on their work
Fellows need
syllabus and calendar at beginning of year
Public Science
Night (January) with door prizes
Classroom
Management:
- Discipline
plan
- Fellow
observes teacher in class before starting
List of expectations:
- 5E's lesson
plan
- Schweppe
talks
- use of
forms
- How many
of Fellows in class
- Prep time
6-8 hours per activity
- List of
objectives/subjects from teacher syllabus
- New Fellows
develop a lesson plan under guidance of teacher
Group
2 Recommendations:
1. Have
teachers & grad students from previous year talk about program in
small breakout groups.
2. Whole-group
- 5E lesson workshops
3. Expectations
should be laid out clearly. How many labs/hours does Fellow do (development
time. prep time, lesson time)?
4. Later
on in year…Public "Science Night" sponsored by GK-12
- to bring parents in and show the public what we're doing.
Group
3 Recommendations:
Austin
Pro's:
- Making connections with participant
- Good lectures and workshops
Con's:
- One day is too short for Austin trip
- Too big - need small groups or share-a-thon or small sessions
Ways to Improve
- Allow
observation time to find out level of students, etc.
- Find out
how to handle discipline
- When teacher
should step in
- First
lesson should be prepared jointly but taught by teacher to model teaching
- Make 5E
Lesson plan a priority.
- Have a
workshop at beginning of year, and at each monthly meeting, have a grad.
student/teacher present a 15 min. 5E lesson.
- To keep
up with each other, have teacher's e-mail brief summaries of monthly
labs (or favorite activities) to coordinator (Andrea) and she could
compile them. That way we wouldn't have to spend time at the meetings
round-robin.
- Port A/Flour
Bluff only (no travel to Austin)
Question
2: What issues would be appropriate for teachers and Fellows to share
and debate among themselves at our June symposium?
Group
1 Recommendations:
- 60 minute
overhead with general information (bio) & summarization or list
of 5E lessons
- 90 minute
poster session - map of table locations - copies of 5E lesson plans
- 30 minute
round table discussions/meetings with grade level or department
- 2 minute
team presentations (with moderator)
Discuss:
Activities
that have been successful, long-term projects that cover different areas
of the curriculum, adapting lesson plans to different levels. Important
facets of outreach for proposals (Fellows), microscopes in elementary
classrooms, games/activities, technology, guest speakers
Group 2 and 3 Recommendations:
Breakout sessions - separate teacher/Fellow sessions
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
(Gina's
ideas)
1. Grade-level break sessions
Example: Using the microscope in elementary classroom
*Crystal would like to write up ideas of how to use microscopes.
2. Games
& Activities that take no materials - that will work with a variety
of lessons. Example: Stand where you think (yes - no - middle)
3. Technology
in the classroom - what groups are doing? Example: Dr. Lee Fuiman's
talk.
4. Share
successes with speakers--Example: Lee Fuiman
5. Two-minute
presentations - Tie into breakout sessions. Example: Crystal did role-play/game
with nervous system. Show a slide of activity in 2-minute presentation
as "advertisement" for breakout session.
Fellows -
(Scott)
1. Long-term
projects where students collect data over long period and cover several
units
2. Develop
lesson plan that can be modified for more than one grade level.
3. What
could a Fellow gain from GK-12 program?
Most Fellows
will need to communicate to non-scientists in their career - funding
agencies, public, students, etc. Outreach programs.
Teachers and Fellows presenting - What works? What pitfalls should be
avoided? These are important to Fellows because they will be in other
outreach situations in their careers.
Question 3: How do we sustain the links between K-12 educators
and university faculty/graduate students following the completion of the
GK-12 grant? What should be done now to begin the implementation of programs
you identify?
Keeping the
Connections
- Set up
server with lesson plans, a place for teachers to log on and gather
data
- The human
connection is still important however
- Good to
have a pool of equipment to check out (discussed traveling trunk)
- Long-term
data collection
- Scientist
in a classroom for a day
- Family
Science Night
- Mini-lecture
series hosted by schools field trips to UTMSI
- "Guest
scientist" - once a month? - Lab or class lecture equipment sign-out
from university to school for lab activities and field study and possibly
assistance with activity
- Donation
of used equipment to school
- Salt-water
aquarium - FAML help set up, supply and maintain help with Family Science
Night.
- Outreach
Lecture Series workshops
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