Power Up for Science
A partnership between Indiana University and Gary Community Schools
Principal Investigator: Gayle Buck, Associate Professor of Science Education
Funding Agency: Indiana Commission for Higher Education
Watch a short video of the upper elementary and middle school science teachers from the Gary Community School Corporation participate in the four-day summer workshop. In this video, educators work with IU geology professor and earthquake expert Michael Hamburger to learn more about earthquakes and how to incorporate these hands-on activities into their lesson plans.
Power Up for Science is a focused effort to address the academic achievement needs of Gary Community School Corporation students in the upper elementary and middle school grade levels by enhancing the capacity of their teachers in the area of science instruction. This collaborative effort among GCSC teachers and faculty from Indiana University-Bloomington and Indiana University-Northwest extends and deepens professional development activities that began in spring 2007 with one Gary elementary school to other elementary and middle schools across GCSC.
The objectives of this project are to:
- Increase teachers’ science content knowledge
- Increase teachers’ pedagogical understandings and skills
- Improve the scientific attitudes and achievements of 4 - 8th grade students in Gary
- Improve the use of technology in schools to enhance student learning
- Increase long-term cooperation between Indiana University-Bloomington and the Gary Community School Corporation.
The professional development activities will take place in the form of seminars focused on instruction in content, project-based instruction, content/pedagogy relations, and scientifically-based instructional strategies for urban youth. These seminars will be followed by a four-day intensive summer workshop that will provide guided opportunities for teachers to plan for, design and receive constructive feedback on science projects to be implemented in classrooms in the coming year.