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Workshop Detail: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
(K-2): Science into Early Elementary Classrooms - the SCIENCE Project
presented by
Anissa J. Lewis, BS UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Denise DeMersseman-Smith, BA Bandera ISD
Curriculum Developed by The SCIENCE Project
Age Appropriate Introduction and Instruction of Scientific Principles, Methods and Skills through Cross-Curricular and Inquiry-Based Instruction in the Regular Education Early Elementary Classroom
The Science Centered Inquiry-Based Educational Activities iN Collaborating Elementary Classrooms (SCIENCE) Project assists in nurturing elementary students' interest in environmental health science and research. The initial grant, funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Minority Health Research and Education Grant Program, utilizes inquiry-based science instruction to improve K-2 teachers' science knowledge and pedagogical skills. Furthermore, the project encompassed an environmental health science summer institute that provided professional development and valuable information on multiple strategies used in teaching environmental health sciences to Hispanic and African-American students in FBISD. The SCIENCE Project developed and implemented SCIENCE Centers supplied with science education materials for teachers and students to conduct hands-on inquiry-based science activities. Overall, the SCIENCE Project concentrated on increasing the number of under-represented minority students in health professions and biomedical research, fostering increased interest in science and strengthening scientific skills needed to succeed in school. We are proud to say that the program has recently been awarded the Texas Association for Partners in Education Crystal Award for Texas Collegiate Partners. In 2007, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Minority Health Research and Education Grand Program funded the CRMH to continue the program in the 3rd through 5th grade.
Anissa Lewis, Program Coordinator for Education at the Center for Research on Minority Health at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center coordinates the overall environmental education outreach program for the SCIENCE Project. Ms. Lewis, prior to joining the Center for Research on Minority Health (CRMH), was a secondary science teacher in the Houston ISD and Fort Bend ISD and a faculty advisor for Teach for America. She is familiar with curriculum design and instructional techniques, as well as the skills needed to integrate new science teaching strategies into the classroom. In addition, Ms. Lewis is bilingual.
Denise DeMersseman-Smith, Kindergarten teacher in Bandera ISD at Hill Country Elementary. Ms. DeMersseman-Smith has been a kindergarten teacher for 29 years and attended the Summer Institute in 2005. She has a unique way of centering all subjects in her classroom on science and science education. Ms. DeMersseman-Smith has spearheaded the SCIENCE Project at Burton Elementary, transformed her classroom into a SCIENCE Center, and assisted in the recruitment of teachers to the Summer Institute. She has designed kindergarten science curriculum for Fort Bend ISD available to all kindergarten teachers. Ms. DeMersseman-Smith has worked with the Center for Research on Minority Health for the past two summers developing inquiry based, cross curricular, centers oriented curriculum appropriate for the early elementary classrooms, specifically K-2.
Summer Institute, a component of the MIDAS Project, is supported by a