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CONTACTS:
Anae Rosenberg, Program coordinator
541-346-4762
Dean Livelybrooks, Program director
Program partners with school districts, ESDs to improve math and science education
Sure, a picture's worth a thousand words, but nothing's better than hands-on for learning science and math. Since 2003, the University of Oregon's GK-12 Science Outreach Program has worked with more than 225 teachers and their elementary and middle school students throughout Lane, Deschutes and Jefferson counties.
Ten chemistry and physics graduate students, serving as GK-12 Science Outreach fellows, visit classrooms about once a week. The GK-12 Program uses science-kit instruction to teach such topics as the properties light and liquids. At the same time, the program puts UO fellows into classrooms for some hands-on experience teaching elementary and middle-school students.
Lane and High Desert ESDs partner with GK-12 schools. Lane ESD, for instance, attends GK-12 seminars about kit implementation and teaching strategies; coordinates the check-in, check-out and refurbishment of the K-8 kits; and collaborates with the program to develop teacher sessions on kits and science teaching.
"It's been an awesome program," said Bob Curtis, a school-improvement specialist at Lane ESD. "Teachers and kids can't emphasize enough how nice it is to have `real' scientists as role models."
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