Workshop Helps Elementary Teachers Bring Science Into Classroom

Teachers form a living food web with Professor Ed Himelblau (second from right).

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Science teachers just want to teach better science, and the 72 elementary school science teachers who participated in the Central Coast Science Project (CCSP) Summer Institute were learning to do exactly that. Partnering with Cal Poly faculty members, the teachers spent two weeks making toothbrush fossils and exploring similar activities that bring discovery-based science into their third- through fifth-grade classrooms. Participating teachers came from 10 districts stretching from Monterey to Guadalupe.

CCSP is part of the California Subject Matter Project, which provides professional development programs for teachers. The Sumer Institute is also funded by the California Math and Science Partnership, a federal grant administered by the California Department of Education.

Cal Poly hosted the workshop, and the teachers and faculty members each contributed their own expertise. Faculty members acted as content specialists while the teachers explained the possibilities and constraints present in an elementary school classroom.

Babette Decou, Director of Curriculum for Paso Robles Joint Unified School District and the program co-PI, sees a number of benefits for the participating districts. She was especially excited about the increase in resources in the form of both instructional materials and access to Cal Poly faculty.

"It's really rejuvenated science teaching in our district," said Decou, whose district is the lead agency on the grant and has 27 teachers participating. "I see a greater commitment to giving actual experiences to kids."

These experiences include increased outdoor educational activities, science nights at schools and a visit to Vandenburg Air Force Base to watch a launch.

"Probably the most important outcome is that there's been a statistically significant positive difference in student achievement on benchmark assessments between teachers who participated and control group teachers who didn't participate," Decou said. Improving student achievement, Decou said, "is the purpose of this grant."

The benefits go both ways. Cal Poly gets valuable information on classroom realities that the university can use to update its teacher education curriculum.

"Working with the teachers really helps us know what’s going on in the classroom," said Lola Berber-Jimenez, chair of the Liberal Studies Department and another of the program’s co-PIs. "It is changing the way we do things."

Though this grant will expire at the end of the 2012-13 academic year, Decou and Berber-Jimenez want to build on the partnerships developed during the last three years. They plan to apply for additional funding for programs to address the implementation of the upcoming national standards for elementary science.

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