The state of science education in elementary schools in the
Bay Area is critical.
A recent survey by
the Lawrence Hall of Science
reveals
that there is a lack of time, training, money, and relevance when it comes to
science teaching.
Eighty percent (80%)
of elementary school teachers spend less than an hour a week on science.
In 2006-2007 the funding for teacher
professional development for science in
California
was $10M out of $668M (about 1.5%).
This situation poses several serious problems. Practically – an inability to understand science
in middle or high school; economically – lack of a properly trained workforce
in
California; personally – an inability
to function in an increasingly technological society.
Vision
Leveraging children's inherent curiosity through hands-on experiments, in small groups, guided by scientist and engineer volunteers
Science education must be relevant, exciting, and
experiential. We leverage the
natural curiosity and creativity of elementary school-aged children.
Volunteer groups of engineers and scientists (1 adult per 5
children) bring "cool" hands-on experiments to the classroom and allow children to explore
on their own while asking directed questions to guide their thought processes
and investigations. Experiments
draw on children’s everyday experiences to show them that science is all around
them and is fun.
In later phases, teacher training through workshops,
one-on-one coaching, and a rich website (curriculum, lesson plans, interactive
forum) will be developed to ensure a foundation of science literacy for the
future.
