Science Club is an after school program created in partnership between Northwestern University and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. Every week throughout the academic year, middle school youth (grades 5-8) work in small groups with their graduate student mentors on challenging, hands-on experiments. The six Science Club curricular modules cover topics ranging from biomedical engineering to food science, all with the goals of helping youth to 1) improve their understanding of the scientific method, 2) develop scientific habits of mind, and 3) increase their interest in STEM fields, particularly health-related careers. Science Club serves 60 youth every quarter with the help of 30 trained scientist mentors. Science Club meets three days a week at the Pedersen-McCormick Boys & Girls Club in Chicago, IL.
The overall goal of the current proposal is to adapt the interdisciplinary research-based curriculum created at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) for implementation of a four-year program in three Metropolitan Nashville Public School (MNPS) high schools. The specific aims of the proposal are to adapt the on-campus (at Vanderbilt) model for implementation in three public high schools with different academic profiles (SSM Academies); to define the variables and features required to sustain the program and to replicate the model in any high school setting; and to define a strategy for disseminating the model to additional schools. Students entering 9th grade in a school in which an SSM Academy has been implemented will be encouraged to apply. Those who are accepted into the program will spend three hours every other day in two courses based on the adapted curriculum. As with the SSMV, rising seniors will have opportunities to enter Vanderbilt laboratories for summer research internships. Teachers from the high school will work with Center for Science Outreach scientists to adapt the SSMV curriculum for implementation. Ongoing, year-long teacher professional development will be conducted to ensure that the curriculum is dynamic and the teachers are well-prepared to engage and guide the students in the curriculum. The anticipated outcomes include enhanced student achievement as measured by GPA, and scores on ACT science reasoning and end of course tests; increased SSM student interest in careers in science; increased district-wide enrollment in SSM programs; increased graduation rates and postsecondary education enrollment by SSM students; development of unique curricular science units that can be adapted for a novel four-year interdisciplinary research- based curriculum; development of a sustainable model built on effective features of each SSM that can be exported to other high schools within and outside Nashville; enhanced community and family involvement in the SSM programs and school community in general; a strengthened partnership between Vanderbilt and MNPS that will serve as a national model of a successful university-K-12 collaboration to enhance science teaching and learning.
Having developed the concept of near-peer mentorship at the middle school/high school level and utilized it in a summer science education enhancement program now called Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science or GEMS at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), it is now our goal to ultimately expand this program into an extensive, research institute-based source of young, specially selected, near-peer mentors armed with kits, tools, teacher-student developed curricula, enthusiasm, time and talent for science teaching in the urban District of Columbia Public Schools (specific schools) and several more rural disadvantaged schools (Frederick and Howard Counties) in science teaching. We describe this program as a new in-school component, involving science clubs and lunch programs, patterned after our valuable summer science training modules and mentorship program. Our in-house program is at its maximum capacity at the Institute. Near-peer mentors will work in WRAIR's individual laboratories while perfecting/adapting hands-on activities for the new GEMS-X program to be carried out at McKinley Technology HS, Marian Koshland Museum, Roots Charter School and Lincoln Junior HS in DC, West Frederick Middle School, Frederick, MD and Folly Quarter Middle School and Glenelg HS, in Howard County, MD. Based on local demographics in these urban/rural areas, minority and disadvantaged youth, men and women, may choose science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) careers with increasing frequency after participating, at such an early age, in specific learning in the quantitative disciplines. Many of these students take challenging courses within their schools, vastly improve their standardized test scores, take on internship opportunities, are provided recommendations from scientists and medical staff and ultimately are able to enter health professions that were previously unattainable. Relevance to Public Health: The Gains in the Education of Mathematis and Science (GEMS) program educates a diverse student population to benefit their science education and ultimately may improve the likelihood of successfully entry into a health or health-related professions for participating individuals. Medical education has been show to improve public health.
This cooperative effort among Purdue University, public schools in Indiana, and The Children's Museum of Indianapolis aims to develop, evaluate and disseminate educational programs for K-12 students, parents, teachers and the public about the science involved in keeping people healthy. Obesity prevention, cancer prevention and asthma will be emphasized. Fitness programs, research programs using animal models, K-12 outreach programs, professional development workshops and recruiting efforts will be networked to fill gaps in health science education, interest schoolchildren in health science research and improve public health. This project will develop and rigorously assess curricular modules for grades three, six and nine. The science behind health advances, the clinical trials process and the role of animals in developing drugs and medical devices will be addressed. In addition, the project will engage schoolchildren in becoming health science researchers by providing them with role models. Researchers will interact with K-12 students during classroom visits, camps and after-school programs. Finally, the project will involve and engage children, parents and the public in educational fitness activities and programs. Dogs will be incorporated into fitness programs as exercise companions. The program includes an interactive traveling exhibit, highlighting the science involved in keeping people healthy.
Adolescents face many conflicting messages and influences related to high-risk behavior. Choices confronting middle school students often have the potential for adverse effects on their overall health and well being. Montshire Museum proposes to develop an educational outreach program to allow students an opportunity to learn about key health issues in a context that is based on high-quality research and offers hands-on inquiry and self-directed investigations. The proposed educational outreach program will serve students in grades 5-8 in rural Vermont and New Hampshire schools. The project team will create four health education modules, each one related to current NIH-supported research by faculty at Dartmouth Medical School (DMS). DMS researchers will collaborate with Montshire Museum's science educators in developing the modules, connecting with students and teachers, and providing support for all aspects of the project. For each module, the project team will support hands-on classroom investigations and independent research using materials, objects and exhibits developed specifically for the program. In addition, professional development institutes for middle school health and science educators will provide science content and instructional strategies needed to successfully implement health science lessons that are aligned with national and state standards for health and science education. The curriculum materials developed for school-based programming also create opportunities for broader public outreach. Montshire's educators will adapt them for special family activities and presentations within the museum setting. The educational curriculum will be designed to provide all participants with information that will assist in making personal health decisions in the subject areas; raise participants' awareness of the ways that culture and media affect their choices; and expose participants to the interesting and relevant research taking place locally, while increasing their understanding of the diversity of health science careers and research processes. A thorough process of formative and summative evaluation will enable the project team to take an iterative approach to curriculum development and to provide the best possible learning experience for participants.