Program to Improve the Science Curriculum in Elementary School (PISCES): Workshops to Develop Oklahoma Teachers

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Dr. Robert Howard is the Chairman of the Chemistry Department of the University of Tulsa, and an active proponent of high quality science instruction in elementary schools. Dr. Howard has organized and conducted several teacher enhancement workshops for elementary teachers from the region adjacent to Tulsa, and he has planned a three-year series of workshops for elementary teachers across the entire state of Oklahoma. Underprepared teachers will be offered a five-week workshop experience, during which they will be exposed to exemplary instructional materials and the most current approaches to inquiry-based teaching methods. The teachers will develop their own lesson plans based on these proven instructional materials, and will conduct classes for children in a practicum setting. The following summer these same teachers will have a more advanced five-week workshop that will prepare them to act as lead teachers in their home school districts. The proposed workshops will create a cadre of 150 trained leader teachers across Oklahoma. Each of these teachers will be capable of catalyzing change in their own schools and school districts. The use of teachers as trainers and mentors of other teachers is a highly effective means of effecting broadly-based improvements in science instruction. The cost sharing by the host institution amounts to 127% of the NSF support.