Monday, August 4, 2008: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
102 C, Midwest Airlines Center
SS 8 - Pedagogical Frameworks for Teaching Inquiry in Middle and High School Classrooms: Lessons from GK-12
Increasingly educators and scientists alike are becoming aware of the need to teach the process of science in K-12 classrooms, and recently scientific inquiry has been added to the list of standards that must be addressed in public school curricula. However, many K-12 teachers lack experience in inquiry-based education, and many of those that have such experience are not sure how to include inquiry in their daily lesson plans, which must focus on preparing students for standardized testing. There is a need to provide training and experiences for these teachers, and in an effort to bridge this gap between scientific research and science education, the National Science Foundation’s GK-12 program partners graduates student fellows in the sciences in public school K-12 classrooms. Teachers and fellows collaborate in developing practical pedagogical frameworks for teaching the process of science, thereby merging the world of science education and science practice. The lessons learned by teachers and fellows in this context are an invaluable tool for understanding how best to revise K-12 science curricula to include inquiry. K-12 teachers have learned how to be better scientists, and graduate students have learned the challenges and obstacles to the inclusion of inquiry in K-12 classrooms.GK-12 fellows, Teacher/fellow pairs and GK-12 PIs are invited to present successful pedagogical frameworks developed in GK-12 programs for teaching inquiry. The session will focus on knowledge gained in teacher/fellow partnerships and seeks to provide tools for new teachers and fellows for building a pedagogical framework for including inquiry in their curriculum.
Organizer:	Juliana S. Medeiros, University of New Mexico
Co-organizer:	Ali Whitmer, Georgetown University
Speakers:	Brook Wilke, Michigan State University Sigrid D.P. Smith, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Todd Hartle, Idaho State University Ali Whitmer, Georgetown University Juliana S. Medeiros, University of New Mexico Kenda Meathenia, Belen Independent School District Todd M.P. Robinson, Michigan State University Lauren Kinsman, GK-12 Fellow - Michigan State

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See more of The 93rd ESA Annual Meeting (August 3 -- August 8, 2008)