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 2009-2010NSF – Office of Polar Programs

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

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

Planning Your Visit

Logistics Activities Materials

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.

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.

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

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

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”

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.

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/

Get Involved: National Lab Day (www.nationallabday.org)

Grade Level Key Ideas Activity Ideas

Early Elementary (K-

2)

Upper Elementary (3-

5)

Middle School(6-8)

High School (9-12)

Bringing Science to School – Planning ActivityTopic: ___________________________________________________

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>.