FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Thirty local teachers are going back to school
to conduct experiments they will take back to their classrooms in hopes of
boosting interest and test scores in science. During one experiment, set to be
conducted Wednesday, July 19, participants will see how much power can be
created using vegetables and common household metals as part of the ongoing
two-week course at the University of Arkansas.
The course for middle and junior high
school teachers presented by the College of Engineering and the College of
Education and Health Professions is part of a three-year program intended to
boost teachers’ content knowledge and students’ subsequent science test scores.
Shannon Davis, director of research in
the College of Education and Health Professions, serves as principal
investigator for the program funded by the Arkansas Department of Education.
The department awarded $285,000 for the project with a $159,000 cost share
between the two colleges.
The project examines the premise that
hands-on experiments have proven to be more effective than other methods in
teaching children from low-income backgrounds and children learning to speak
English, Davis said. Teachers will take a two-week science course at the
university each summer for three years, and Davis will analyze data after each
year to see whether teachers’ content knowledge increased and their students’
test scores improved. This year, the teachers are from the Rogers, Prairie
Grove, Gentry, West Fork, Springdale and Siloam Springs school districts.
Ed Clausen, professor of chemical engineering,
and Carol Gattis, director of recruiting for the College of Engineering, serve
as co-investigators on the grant. Charlotte Earwood, director of the Northwest
Arkansas Education Renewal Zone based in the College of Education and Health
Professions, assisted with recruiting teachers for the project. The Education
Renewal Zone partners with 18 middle and junior high schools in the area,
providing resources and other assistance.
Teachers will learn a variety of science
experiments, including the vegetable-based battery test, they can use in their
classes. The experiments, which are directly aligned with Arkansas Department
of Education science frameworks for sixth through eighth grades, range from
producing ethanol to testing acidity levels in a variety of household items.
Each day, participants will be introduced
to a new experiment, learn the background of the science and then have time to
discuss how to implement the experiments at their schools, Clausen said.
Teachers will work in groups according to the grade they teach. They receive a
stipend for attending.
The program will give teachers a
refresher in areas of science including physical, life and earth/space, Clausen
said. It is also expected to raise their enthusiasm and that of their students
to learn more.
“A follow-up component allows teachers to
provide feedback and presenters to offer further advice on implementing the
experiments in the classroom,” Davis said. “A Web site will describe additional
experiments and an e-mail discussion group will let teachers trade information
about how experiments are working in their classes and give presenters the
opportunity to respond.”
The project may result in data that can
be published following the three-year period, Davis also explained.
“This is not only a demonstration and
intervention project that will benefit schools and teachers, and ultimately
students, but also is designed to evaluate the program’s effects,” he said. “We
will look at students’ scores to see if they are doing better on their science
tests. No teachers or students will be identified, but we can assess the value
of the hands-on approach.
“If it doesn’t work to improve students’
learning, we as investigators will be personally disappointed, but the
information is still valuable. We will contribute to the knowledge base on what
educational methods are effective,” Davis said.