Louisiana Tech's Graduate K-12 Teaching Fellows Program

Louisiana Tech University, Ruston LA

Investigators

Abstract

The Louisiana Tech University Graduate K-12 (GK-12) Teaching Fellows Program partners the Colleges of Applied and Natural Science, Engineering and Science, and Education at Louisiana Tech University with four nearby rural school systems and three informal science education organizations .SciPort Interactive Science Center, The IDEA Place, and the NASA Outreach Center, CATALyST (Center for Applied Teaching and Learning to Yield Scientific Thinking), a regional science math education center housed at Louisiana Tech. The Fellows work with their teacher partners to develop and deliver grade level appropriate modules that bring the Fellows research directly into the classroom. The middle and high school students are developing realistic and positive ideas about what scientists and engineers do at the same time as they learn science content and concepts. The Fellows are gaining an understanding of effective teaching methods in science. The teachers and schools have been provided with needed technical assistance. Each Teaching Fellow is partnered with a K-12 Partner Teacher. A seminar course for Teaching Fellows and Partner Teachers introduces Teaching Fellows to teaching and learning in K-12 schools and introduces both teachers and fellows to nationally recognized curricular materials. Partnerships with local museums provide the partners with opportunities to introduce their students to local informal science education programs. The broader impacts of the program are reflected in the enhanced and expanded collaborative partnerships developed between Louisiana Tech University and surrounding school systems as exemplified by their participation in an electronic learning community of Teaching Fellows, Partner Teachers, and University Faculty; and the opportunities they now have to participation in the publication of a new journal, The Journal of K-12 Research in Science and Mathematics. This project is partially supported by funds from the Directorate for Biological Sciences. Title of Project: The Louisiana Tech University GK-12 Teaching Fellows Program Institution: Louisiana Tech University PI/CoPI: David K. Mills, Linda L. Ramsey, Leslie K. Guice, Shirley P. Reagan, Jo Ann V. Dauzat Partner School Districts: Lincoln. Ouachita, Jackson, Clairborne Parishes Funding: $1,380,997 total for 3 years Fellows Per year: 5 graduate, 5 undergraduate, yr 1; 9 graduate, 5 undergraduate, yr 2-3 Target Audience: grades 4-12 Setting: Rural NSF Disciplines: Biology, Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics, Math