Experiencing Light, Heat, and Motion

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The main goal of the project is to develop a three-year inservice program for middle school teachers in the Philadelphia area which integrates several academic subjects in the school setting. There are intensive courses offered for three consecutive summers to 46 middle school teachers (each year) to increase their in-depth knowledge of science and mathematics. There is a series of academic year seminars for the participants to reinforce and continue the goal of inquiry-based learning. There is a leadership component which draws on the experiences of participants from previous projects to work with new participants. The program also includes workshops, during the third year, in which the participants learn to be part of a cadre of Teacher-Consultants for science and mathematics in their school and District. The participants learn to work with researchers applying cognitive science to applications in an urban setting. The staff's intent is to promote institutional change among colleges and universities which insure that inservice teachers benefit from the results of programs such as this one. The staff is developing indicators for assessing effective science instruction. The results of the project are to be disseminated through national publications, conferences on educational reform, assessment, and teacher networking. There is a very active consortium of agencies involved in the host institution and this is reflected in the multi- layered participation in the project as well as cost sharing the project activities. The cost sharing amount is $449,766, which is $449,766/$698,274, or over 65% of the funds requested from National Science Foundation.