94-06-10 Science Program Benefits Local School and May Become National Model

Note:  Lizz Crabtree and her students will be using the learning
materials described below Monday through Thursday morning, June 13-
16.  To arrange a visit of the classroom activities, call Crabtree
at (804) 295-0144.

SCIENCE PROGRAM BENEFITS LOCAL SCHOOL
AND MAY BECOME NATIONAL MODEL

       CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 10 -- Teachers, students and an
elementary school are benefitting from a new student-centered
approach to science education.
       Clark Elementary School Principal Valerie Gregory last week
confirmed that a two-year-old program is paying off in higher
achievement scores, student interest and teacher enthusiasm.
       Five Clark teachers are participating in the Integrated
Physical Science for Elementary Teachers (IPSET) program,
sponsored by the University of Virginia's Curry School of
Education and the physics department and funded in part through a
National Science Foundation grant.  
       According to J. Preston Prather, a U.Va. assistant professor
of science education and principal investigator of the grant,
IPSET is designed to prepare 60 Central Virginia elementary
teachers for leadership in reforming science education--through
their own student-centered teaching and by presenting the new
approach to other educators.  
       The program encourages teachers to approach physics,
chemistry and earth and space science as an integrated unit
rather than as a separate subjects, noted Stephen T. Thornton, a
U.Va. physics professor who is co-principal investigator of the
project.  It also assists teachers in designing hands-on
activities that engage students' interest while allowing them to
explore scientific principles themselves.
       "The teachers' creative use of their new skills and
knowledge is the key to the program's success," Prather said.
       The Clark teachers, who lead classes in kindergarten through
fourth grade, agree that their new ideas have brought about
significant changes.
       "I have seen a real growth in problem-solving skills in my
students," said Lizz Crabtree, a second-grade teacher.  What is
really exciting is watching my children with low reading
achievement choose nonfiction science books to read--especially
the girls.  I am seeing students with a history of low academic
achievement find success."
       She created a curriculum that integrates science topics into
all elementary subjects.  "If you tell my students we are going
to do science now, they would be confused.  To them, science is
what we normally do in school," Crabtree said. 
       Gregory noted that the Clark science program has been
transformed from a textbook-oriented one to a hands-on, inquiry-
based approach.  "I couldn't tell you where a science text is at
this point," she said.
       "The IPSET teachers have gone from sitting in the background
to taking leadership roles.  They have become resources and
mentors to others," Gregory said.
       She added that the teachers are also presenting programs at
national conventions and writing grant proposals.  One such
proposal would build a science and math center at the school. 
"Because of the change Clark has undergone, we can set this
goal," she noted last week during a visit by an NSF
representative.   
       Impressed with the program's success, NSF officials hope
IPSET will become a national model for spurring interest in
science at the elementary school level.
       During the visit Gregory discussed the importance of
describing the IPSET approach to teachers and principals of other
schools that students will attend after Clark.  "The students
will be moving up with stronger science backgrounds, and that
interest and ability should be maintained," she noted.
       The trend toward hands-on, "constructivist learning" is
endorsed by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, the National Science Teachers Association and more than
120 major agencies concerned with improving science teaching,
Prather said.
       IPSET was based on input from more than 50 elementary and
middle school teachers during interviews conducted by the
Charlottesville Science Education Task Force during the 1990-91
school year.  Prather chaired the task force.
                                              ###
                                                                             
    June 9, 1994
       FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Prather at (804) 924-0839,
Thornton at (804) 924-6808 or Gregory or Crabtree at Clark
Elementary school, (804) 295-0144.

Karen A. Castle
University News Office
kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu
(804) 924-7116


[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Fri, 10 Jun 94 09:48:57 EDT]