General Project Facts: Institutions

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General Project Facts Institutions

• School District of Philadelphia
• elementary teachers and principals interested in
  hands-on science
• Gesu School
• an independent Catholic school
• Our Mother of Sorrows
• after school service learning
• Wagner Free Institute of Science
• historic and vital 153-year old natural history
  museum
• GeoKids program begun 16 years ago
• Saint Josephs University
• tradition of outreach, student research
• MS students in Biology, BS in Biology,
  Environmental Science

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Schools Served by GeoKids LINKS Activities
School Enrollment/grades
Demographics
low income Spec Ed/MG
Gesu is a private independent Catholic school,
located between Meade and Reynolds and serving
the same population of students.
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General Project Facts Institutions

• School District of Philadelphia
• elementary teachers and principals interested in
  hands-on science
• Gesu School
• an independent Catholic school
• Our Mother of Sorrows
• after school service learning
• Wagner Free Institute of Science
• historic and vital 153-year old natural history
  museum
• GeoKids program begun 16 years ago
• Saint Josephs University
• tradition of outreach, student research
• MS students in Biology, BS in Biology,
  Environmental Science

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The present home of the Wagner Free Institute of
Science, at its opening in 1865
A few of the many display cases that fill the
second floor of the museum and are used in
GeoKids lessons.
Undergraduate Fellow Diana Tacelosky poses in
front of the Wagners main entrance
Museum director Susan Glassman standing in front
of one of the museums skeleton collections.
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The GeoKids Philosophy

• Build on childrens sense of wonder
• Develop science process skills
• Place-based emphasis
• Use hands-on activities to spark student interest
  in reading, writing, and math

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GeoKids Curriculum Features

• Standards-based lessons grouped into year-long
  thematic units

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GeoKids Curriculum Features

• Standards-based lessons grouped into year-long
  thematic units
• Equipment and materials brought to classes

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GeoKids Curriculum Features

• Standards-based lessons grouped into year-long
  thematic units
• Equipment and materials brought to classes
• Curriculum-integrated field trips

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GeoKids Curriculum Features

• Standards-based lessons grouped into year-long
  thematic units
• Equipment and materials brought to classes
• Curriculum-based field trips
• Most units with culminating creative project
• GeoNews
• One 90 minute lesson per week per class
• Options for teachers to build on lessons

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GeoKids LINKS Program Features

• SJU graduate and undergraduate students help
  teach and develop lessons
• Program expansion

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Evolution of GeoKids LINKS
Year
Fellows
Schools
Units
Classes/ Kids Grades
Gesu does service learning in 04-05, full
GeoKids in 0506 Gompers does service learning
beginning in 05-06 Our Mother of Sorrows
after school service learning beginning 07-08
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Service Learning with Gompers
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GeoKids LINKS Program Features

• SJU graduate and undergraduate students help
  teach and develop lessons
• Program expansion
• Careful attention to development of Fellows
  skills in K-6 education

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• 1st Semester
• Attend Summer Workshop
• Understand Science Standards
• Assist with Museum Operations
• Coteach GeoKids with WFIS staff
• Conduct Followup GeoKids Lessons
• Begin SJU classes Research Lab Rotation

• 2nd Semester
• Coteach GeoKids with WFIS staff
• Collaborate with WFIS staff classroom teachers
  to develop semester long lessons
• Independently develop one lesson
• Plan GeoKids field trips to SJU
• Lead WFIS fieldtrips
• Plan end of year GeoKids Celebration
• Attend Conference
• Begin Miniunit development with guidance from
  WFIS Staff
• SJU classes initial Research in labs

Sample progression of a 2-year Graduate Fellow

• Summer One
• Aid in planning for upcoming Workshop
• Assist with WFIS summer programs
• Complete development of MiniUnit
• Pilot Miniunit in School Summer Programs
• Apply teacher student feedback to revisions of
  Miniunit
• Begin development of second Miniunit with
  teachers at Summer Workshop
• Thesisbased Research at SJU

• 4th Semester
• Assist with WFIS programs
• Aid in Summer Workshop planning
• Attend Conference
• Continue Teaching Miniunits
• Implement Assessment for Miniunits
• Revise Miniunits based on classroom feedback
• Conclude Thesis Research
• Graduate!

• 3rd Semester
• Assist with WFIS programs
• Complete Second Miniunit
• Teach 2 Miniunits to 4 teachers
• Assist with Miniunit Teacher Kit assembly
• Develop assessment for Miniunit
• Design Miniunit pages of GeoNews
• Thesis Research class at SJU

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GeoKids LINKS Program Features

• SJU graduate and undergraduate students help
  teach and develop lessons
• Program expansion
• Careful attention to development of Fellows
  skills in K-6 education
• Summer workshop for all participants
• Stipends, graduate-level science education
  credits for teachers
• Monthly group meetings

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GeoKids LINKS Program Features

• SJU graduate and undergraduate students help
  teach and develop lessons
• Program expansion
• Careful attention to development of Fellows
  skills in K-6 education
• Summer workshop for all participants
• Stipends, graduate-level science education
  credits for teachers
• Monthly group meetings
• Outcomes and formative assessments

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Evaluation and Assessment

• NSF is doing program evaluation
• collecting data for all projects
• Alex Schuh and Frontier21 doing our evaluation
• Test data for five years

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Other Outcomes

• Increased science content knowledge for teachers
• Increased science communication skills for
  Fellows
• Better understanding of public education systen
  for Fellows

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Of 28 college students who have participated as
Fellows to date, 20 were graduate and 8 were
undergraduate 64 female 25 students of color.
Of these, 25 are now in doctoral programs, 28
are employed in industry, government, or academic
science-related jobs, 14 are or will be teaching
K-12, and most of the rest are still in the
program. (These data do not include the students
who have participated in Service Learning approx
25)
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Funding

• National Science Foundation
• Bringing place-based learning to urban
  Philadelphia. With S. McRobert, S. Glassman,
  and M. McCann. NSF DGE 0139303 832,320.
  2002-2005
• GeoKids LINKS in Philadelphia Continuing a
  University, Museum, Elementary School
  Collaboration in Science. NSF DGE-0440506     App
  rox. 1,700,000. 2005-2010
• Saint Josephs University and Wagner Free
  Institute provide significant annual support
• Donations to the Wagner Free Institute via the
  Education Improvement Tax Credit program
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2008-2012)
• Outreach is one part of activities

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Future plans

• Expand Service Learning?
• Involves more college students
• More burden on the teachers
• More teacher professional development?
• 5-year programs in math and science
• Science education specialist in K-6

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Year end celebration
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Wagner Participants
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Distinctions

• Ms. Gail Gay is a teacher of the year in the
  School District of Philadelphia
• Award for Excellence in Programming, from the
  American Association of Museums, to the WFIS
• The Biology Department is named a Signature
  Program at SJU

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Ignatian College Connection
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Focus on reading and writing