[Previous] | [Session 2] | [Next]
E. D. Miner (JPL and NASA's SSE Forum)
The great emphasis on assuring that the nation’s students become competent in reading and writing has led in many US states to the elimination of science teaching in the lower elementary grades. This in turn has led to an ever-decreasing understanding of science by students, as well as a corresponding drop in those who choose scientific careers. One method of attacking this problem is to include scientific content in the reading and writing curriculum. The Cassini Mission has funded an initiative which has included the Bay Area Writing Project, Project FIRST (Foundations In Reading trough Science and Technology), and CAPSI (Caltech Pre-college Science Initiative) in writing such a science-based reading and writing curriculum, entitled "Reading, Writing and Rings." The author worked closely with one of the primary writers to assure that the content was scientifically accurate, serving in the process as an educator-mentor for the curriculum writer. This paper discusses that interaction, shows the finished product, and documents some of the results from beta testing in elementary schools in Victorville and Oakland, California, as well as in other classrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area. This type of involvement in education and public outreach utilizes the respective strengths of both the scientific and educational communities and can serve as a model for effective interaction between the two. More information on the product is available at the website listed below.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/edu-k4.cfm. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
[Previous] | [Session 2] | [Next]
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #4
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.