Transcript Selling Your Soul for Science

Selling Your Soul for
Science
Notes on Being an NSF GK-12 Fellow
By Ted Pavlic
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Agenda
 About: Definitions, Mission, Topics
 Fellowship Benefits and Requirements
 Conclusions: Reflections, Pros, and Cons
 Questions
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Some Definitions
 NSF: National Science Foundation
 GK-12: Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12
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Education
GRFP: Graduate Research Fellowship Program
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics
CPS: Columbus Public Schools
NCLB: No Child Left Behind (“nickel-be”)*
EOY: End Of Year
PI: Principal Investigator
PC: Program Coordinator
*Reference to Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens novel & 2002 Douglas McGrath movie (see also: Hard Times).
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Synopsis from NSF*
 Provides funding to STEM graduate students to . . .
 acquire additional skills to prepare for 21st century
careers
 improve communication, teaching, collaboration, and
team building skills
 enrich STEM learning and instruction in K-12 schools
 gain a deeper understanding of own STEM research
 Encourages universities to add inquiry-based
learning to STEM graduate programs
 Strengthened and sustained partnerships in STEM
between universities and local school districts
*Summarized from http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5472.
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Scientific Inquiry*
Repackaging of scientific
method for use in teaching
1. Motivate students to
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ask a question
Develop hypotheses
Test them
Draw conclusions
Show that process
should continue
possibly forever
*Image taken from http://acept.asu.edu/courses/phs110/si/chapter1/main.html.
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OSU GK-12
 Collaboration with CPS
 Focus on 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students
 9-11 year old students
 Each fellow paired with two teachers
 Usually different schools
 Usually different grades
 Huge testing pressures
 NCLB
 NSF reporting
 Job is NOT to teach students!
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Topics to Teach
 Grade 3
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Earth Science: Properties/composition of rocks and soils
Life Science: Animal life cycles, morphological classification, habitat,
adaptations
 Grade 4
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Matter: Physical and chemical properties
Life Science: Plant life cycle, parts, adaptations, habitat
Earth Science: Water, weather, geological processes
 Grade 5
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Earth Science: Solar system
Life Science: Food chains, webs
Physical Science: Electricity, energy, light/sound waves
Design Process: positive and negative impacts of technology
 Common Elements
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Observation, Measuring, Classification
Communication
Technology and Careers
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Concrete Fellowship Benefits
 Bona fide NSF fellowship
Looks great on a CV
 12-month NSF GRFP level stipend (e.g., $2500/month)
 12-month tuition
 Administered by OSU
 Fewer applicants = Better award chances
 Delivery via OSU payroll = Funded graduate student health
insurance subsidy (note: after tax deduction)
 1099 Income
 No social security or PERS (+?)
 File estimated taxes quarterly (-)
 Easy to milk/exploit social service aspect
 Looks great on CV
 Social do-gooders attract public attention (for personal gain)
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Fellowship Time Requirements
 Time Requirements
 10 hours per week in classroom
 5+ hours per week for lesson planning and
development
 1 hour biweekly meeting of fellows and PI’s
 2 half-day focus meetings (January and May)
 1 hour EOY summary of experience (e.g., right now)
 ~4 half-day training meetings as trainees (June)
 ~2 half-day training meetings as trainers (June)
 Adviser requirements
 Adviser must visit classroom once per semester
 Adviser must meet with PC at EOY
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Fellowship Deliverables
 On-line Course: Human Research
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(once for 2-3 hours)
On-line NSF EOY survey
(once for 0.5 hour)
Pre-test and post-test data (one per quarter)
Lesson plans: MS Word chemistry-lab format
(one per week (ish))
Biweekly reports: one page form
(one every two weeks)
Presentations: focus meetings and EOY summary
(three total)
Possible additional tracking information
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Heart of Educational Darkness*
 Classroom control
 NCLB always an obstacle (spinning out of control)
Testing pressures are huge
 Schedules/resources frequently change
 Teacher expertise in wrong areas
 Homework not an option
 Schools serve as foster parents
 Cannot count on parent involvement
 Inquiry-based teaching incompatible with testing requirements
 Program mission: avoid teaching to test
 Program performance measures: test
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NSF reporting (contradictory)
NCLB requires high test scores
How to teach vocabulary and inquiry?
*Reference to Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness (see also F. F. Coppola’s 1979 Apocalypse Now).
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Pros and Cons
 Pros
 Interface with graduate students from other fields
 Financially attractive
 Learn about inner-city public schools
 Expand content knowledge to surprising extent
 Cons
 Can be a major time burden
 Can lead to an attenuated sense of personal efficacy
 Future
 Continuously improving fellowship experience
 Web resources getting better
 PI’s and PC sincerely want to make program a success
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Conclusions
(“Selling Your Soul for Science”)
 Investment
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Time
Energy
 Returns
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Cash / CV
Expanded content knowledge
Expanded awareness
Impact on teachers’ future lessons
Hopefully plant seeds of citizen scientists
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Questions?
 For more information . . .
 NSF GK-12 Website: http://www.nsfgk12.org/
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OSU GK-12 Website: http://gk-12.osu.edu/
OSU GK-12 Program Coordinator
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Mary Allison Timby (“Mary Allison”)
(614) 688-0501
[email protected]
Ted Pavlic: [email protected]
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