EQuad News Fall 1999 |
 Electrical Engineering Professor Antoine Kahn, left, works on the Electric Circuits kit with Lawrence Township teacher Leanne DeTampl. Photo by Ann Haver-Allen |
Planting
seeds of science
|
EQuad News Fall 1999 |
Electrical Engineering Professor Antoine Kahn, left, works on the Electric Circuits kit with Lawrence Township teacher Leanne DeTampl. Photo by Ann Haver-Allen |
Planting
seeds of science
|
The faculty of the Princeton Materials Institute (PMI), in collaboration with local school districts, is working with teachers to support and enhance innovative, inquiry-based science curricula.
Many engineering faculty members are participating in these four PMI programs: the Science Curriculum Support Project, Learn-by-Teaching Courses, Research Experience for Teachers, and the Summer Research Program for High School Students.
This outreach program pairs teachers from local school districts with faculty members in science and engineering. After the final bell of the day rings and the last student is put on the school bus home, the teachers pack up and head to school themselves.
This program uses scientific inquiry kits that are suitable for the appropriate grade level. Teachers receive support and advice from faculty members. At the end of the last school year, teachers from Lawrence and Washington Township schools received help with their electric circuits kits from Professors Antoine Kahn and Mansour Shayegan of the Department of Electrical Engineering.
The electric circuits kit is geared to the fourth-grade level. Students are first introduced to the basic properties of electricity as they learn about electric circuits and the parts of a light bulb. The study progresses to conductors and insulators and the symbols used to represent the parts of a circuit in circuit diagrams. They also learn about switches, build a flashlight, and investigate the properties of diodes. The project concludes when the fourth graders apply their new knowledge and skills to wire a cardboard house.
"We are most proud of our teacher outreach program," said David Reibstein, PMI’s outreach director. "Working with teachers and educational institutions makes a long-term impact on the future of science education."
This outreach program provides undergraduates at Princeton with the opportunity to "learn-by-teaching," while at the same time enriching the science experiences of middle school students in local schools.
PMI participates in two K-12 outreach courses, in collaboration with the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The courses are Chemistry 112: Ozone to Oil Spills and Physics 111: Contemporary Physics. The mission for undergraduate students is to develop and deliver effective science lessons for middle school students.
This outreach program hosts two high school teachers for an eight-week summer research internship. Teachers conduct research full-time in the lab of a PMI faculty member.
The experience is intended to enrich the curriculum of those who teach chemistry, physics, technology, or related subjects. The teachers are required to attend introductory lectures that introduce general subjects in materials science.
Near the end of the program, they present a lesson, incorporating their research, to a group of high school students engaged in the summer program at PMI. The teachers prepare a plan for incorporating their research into their school curriculum. This plan is reviewed by the teacher’s faculty mentor and Dr. Reibstein, who visits each teacher’s classroom at least once during the following academic year to track the implementation of the plan.
Related article |
  |
