At the close of our MU GK-12 summer teacher-fellow ‘boot-camp’, one teacher, in commenting on her fellow-mentored research experience said, “It reminded me, a teacher, of how learning feels”. Bringing together master teachers and scientists with a passion for research is the catalysis for learning in all GK-12 programs. Our MU GK-12 program brings fellows as scientists into the teacher’s domain to guide fourth and fifth grade students in visualizing and developing their own grant-funded research project; brings elementary school children into the fellow’s domain by hosting “Science Safaris” where the most motivated students visit campus to take part in their fellows’ PhD research; and connects the two worlds through cyber-infrastructure supporting real-time broadcasts from the lab bench or field site to the classroom. In an elementary school classroom, fellows work with energetic learners and are rewarded with enthusiasm and excitement when they succeed in creating science lessons that stick and communicating them in clear, meaningful terms. To sustain the co-mentoring relationships that develop between graduate students and teachers, we provide stipends to fellows to retain them as consultants and science mentors in a reduced capacity after completion of their Fellowship year.
Results/Conclusions
For our partner schools, we expect that this sustained GK-12 presence, coupled with a commitment from our corporate and governmental partners to supporting student driven research through our mini-grant program will have an enduring legacy. To measure the impact of Fellows’ GK-12 experiences on STEM in higher education more broadly, our team is also conducting research on how participation in GK-12 affects graduate student pedagogy at the collegiate level. Important lessons learned in our GK-12 are that for young children, the opportunity to conduct scientific inquiry in their schoolyard can drive learning across the curriculum.