News :: Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach

The NSF GK-12 Program Summer Workshop brought teachers and graduate students together to plan and prepare for the up-coming school year. Thirteen teachers from six Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and twelve graduate teaching fellows from Vanderbilt University, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University met for four weeks at the Stevenson Center on the Vanderbilt Campus forming partnerships to enhance science instruction in middle school classrooms.Graduate students from Vanderbilt University include: Valerie Busler, microbiology and immunology; Jonathan Hunter, electrical engineering; Vena Jones, earth and environmental sciences; Nichole Knepprath, earth and environmental sciences; B.J. Walker, earth and environmental sciences; and Jerry Wilmink, biomedical engineering. Graduate students from Tennessee State University include: Kimberly Gold, electrical and computer engineering; Barbra Mullaney, mathematics; Yvette Rankin, biomedical engineering; and Seth Sowers, mathematics. Graduate students from Meharry Medical College include Jeffrey Handy and Kaneatra Simmons who are both working toward a Ph.D. in microbiology. Participating teachers at Cameron Middle School include Kimberly Byrd, Rita Salman, Avy Long, and Phyllis Cathey. Teachers at Head Middle School include Keeble Baltuth, Sylvia McCarthy, and Dwayne Hardin. At Kennedy Middle School Dianne Grizzard and Trent Anderson are participating in the program. Teachers at Wharton Middle School include Keli McInnes and Jessica Northern. Shannon Vick from West End Middle School and Patti Hornaday from Wright Middle School are also participating. Highlights of the summer workshop involved field trips to Shelby Bottoms Natural Area, Adventure Science Center, and the Nashville Zoo, to broaden scientific knowledge and reinforce the teacher-fellow partnership. The field trips also provided an opportunity for teachers to learn more about community resources available to classrooms. Much of the workshop focused on preparing fellows to work with middle school students. Teachers shared their classroom experience and prepared the fellows by discussing characteristics of middle school students. Fellows and teachers also discussed their expectations of each other and clarified their roles in the program. At the end of the first week, teachers hosted the fellows in their schools for a tour and to meet the principal. Each Graduate Teaching Fellow presented a 20-minute synopsis of their research to teachers and the other graduate students. By communicating their research, the graduate students shared their scientific background with middle school teachers to improve teachers’ scientific knowledge and link the educational science communities in Nashville. Teachers than had the opportunity to spend an afternoon in their partner STF’s research lab on campus. During the last week of the workshop teachers and fellows joined together to participate in hands-on training at Rose Park Middle School for the Catastrophic Events kit, part of the MNPS seventh and eighth grade curriculum and the state science standards. The graduate teaching fellows majoring in earth and environmental science shared their expertise, extending the scope of the training experience. The summer workshop prepares teachers and fellows to experience a successful and rewarding school year. The most exciting part of the program takes place in fall in the middle school classrooms when the fellows and teachers present the hands-on lessons they prepared during the summer workshop. Students are thrilled to have the additional attention and conduct hands-on experiments under the guidance of real scientists. brought teachers and graduate students together to plan and prepare for the up-coming school year. Thirteen teachers from six Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and twelve graduate teaching fellows from Vanderbilt University, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University met for four weeks at the Stevenson Center on the Vanderbilt Campus forming partnerships to enhance science instruction in middle school classrooms. Graduate students from Vanderbilt University include: Valerie Busler, microbiology and immunology; Jonathan Hunter, electrical engineering; Vena Jones, earth and environmental sciences; Nichole Knepprath, earth and environmental sciences; B.J. Walker, earth and environmental sciences; and Jerry Wilmink, biomedical engineering. Graduate students from Tennessee State University include: Kimberly Gold, electrical and computer engineering; Barbra Mullaney, mathematics; Yvette Rankin, biomedical engineering; and Seth Sowers, mathematics. Graduate students from Meharry Medical College include Jeffrey Handy and Kaneatra Simmons who are both working toward a Ph.D. in microbiology. Participating teachers at Cameron Middle School include Kimberly Byrd, Rita Salman, Avy Long, and Phyllis Cathey. Teachers at Head Middle School include Keeble Baltuth, Sylvia McCarthy, and Dwayne Hardin. At Kennedy Middle School Dianne Grizzard and Trent Anderson are participating in the program. Teachers at Wharton Middle School include Keli McInnes and Jessica Northern. Shannon Vick from West End Middle School and Patti Hornaday from Wright Middle School are also participating. Highlights of the summer workshop involved field trips to Shelby Bottoms Natural Area, Adventure Science Center, and the Nashville Zoo, to broaden scientific knowledge and reinforce the teacher-fellow partnership. The field trips also provided an opportunity for teachers to learn more about community resources available to classrooms. Much of the workshop focused on preparing fellows to work with middle school students. Teachers shared their classroom experience and prepared the fellows by discussing characteristics of middle school students. Fellows and teachers also discussed their expectations of each other and clarified their roles in the program. At the end of the first week, teachers hosted the fellows in their schools for a tour and to meet the principal. Each Graduate Teaching Fellow presented a 20-minute synopsis of their research to teachers and the other graduate students. By communicating their research, the graduate students shared their scientific background with middle school teachers to improve teachers’ scientific knowledge and link the educational science communities in Nashville. Teachers than had the opportunity to spend an afternoon in their partner STF’s research lab on campus. During the last week of the workshop teachers and fellows joined together to participate in hands-on training at Rose Park Middle School for the Catastrophic Events kit, part of the MNPS seventh and eighth grade curriculum and the state science standards. The graduate teaching fellows majoring in earth and environmental science shared their expertise, extending the scope of the training experience. The summer workshop prepares teachers and fellows to experience a successful and rewarding school year. The most exciting part of the program takes place in fall in the middle school classrooms when the fellows and teachers present the hands-on lessons they prepared during the summer workshop. Students are thrilled to have the additional attention and conduct hands-on experiments under the guidance of real scientists.