 |
|
|
Today's Student Teachers Guide Tomorrow's Scientists
Science pedagogy class learns
while teaching
Photos and text by Jake Weber
The students in education professor Suellyn Henke's Science Pedagogy class presented their final projects to 115 graders -- second graders, that is -- in a unique campus/community, teaching/learning experience. It all came together at Albion's downtown Kids 'N' Stuff Museum this week. The seven projects created by Henke's students each focused on a different aspect of Albion Public School's second grade science curriculum. In addition, notes Henke, the projects were also chosen to reinforce areas of low performance seen on the science portion of the fifth grade MEAP takers.
As importantly, says Henke, the projects gave her Albion College students valuable experience in creative solutions for concrete problems they may face in their future classrooms. The college students, she notes, didn't simply build some interesting science displays. Rather the college students combined their research into Albion Public Schools' curriculum and test scores with their own research into science pedagogy and child development.
The result: a roomful of kids who were "totally engaged, using their whole bodies to learn about science," says Henke. The students' projects were supported by a Michigan Campus Compact Venture Grant awarded to Henke, "Teaching Science Through Community Collaboration." Through the grant, Henke was able to guide her college students' study within a partnership between the class, Kids 'N' Stuff, the Battle Creek Math and Science Center; and all the second grade classes in Albion Public Schools. "The college students did an excellent job of preparing engaging, hands-on activities that were very relevant to our curriculum," says teacher Letitia Watson Kotas, '98. "The second graders really enjoyed their time." | ||||||||||||
|
