Graduate Teaching Fellows in Elementary School Education

Suny At Binghamton, Binghamton NY

Investigators

Abstract

The teaching fellows (graduate and senior undergraduates in biology, earth sciences, physics andastronomy) will be trained in a summer institute, and then paired with grades 3-6 teachers. Inconsultation with Binghamton University faculty, the pairs will develop the "research lessons", test them during the academic year in grades 3-6 classrooms and continue to refine them. Each66research lesson" is a series of lessons based on the 5E Teaching Cycle and with an emphasis on identifying and challenging misconceptions of students in grades 3-6. The "research lessons" willprovide models for addressing the new curricula programs of New York State and BinghamtonCity Schools, the chosen school district. The "research lessons" will make use of a wide varietyof excellent educational materials, and so what the lessons will do is provide conceptually linked and carefully sequenced lessons that specifically address the students' misconceptions. A prioritywill be to develop the habits and skills of scientific inquiry through demonstrations and hands-on activities. An important outcome is that both the teaching fellows and the teachers will learn howto develop, assess and refine "research lessons" that target science content, habits and skills instudents.