November 24, 2008
Warner program encourages girls to ‘get real’ with science
Middle schools girls at Wilson Foundation Academy are learning science the fun way—and perhaps the most effective way—by doing science. The Warner School’s after-school program, Science STARS, gives girls the opportunity to engage in hands-on projects and laboratory experiments. At the same time, Warner graduate students get the opportunity to hone their skills as science educators, including Suzanne Kirsche, who is pictured above with Wilson student Sarasha Gamble. The project is part of the Get Real! Science teacher preparation program.
Getting seventh-grade girls excited about science is the idea behind an after-school program at Wilson Foundation Academy led by graduate students at the Warner School of Education. Whether launching model rockets or feeding yeast in the lab, the middle school students are learning to think like scientists and, in the process, they may even discover that science can be fun.
Science STARS (Students Tackling Authentic and Relevant Science) is an initiative that encourages girls to explore the world around them from a scientific point of view. Heather Bradstreet, a master’s student in the Warner School’s biology teacher education program, says in the seventh grade, girls believe—and, rightly so—that they have the potential to do anything.
“I hope that we can keep that thought alive in them as they continue through school,” adds Bradstreet. The key, she says, is allowing girls to become active learners in guided scientific activities, such as launching rockets, stimulating water fleas, and shooting off rocket cars.
Four groups of young scientists in training at Wilson Foundation Academy have developed and conducted a series of original scientific investigations in biology, chemistry, and physics. The teams are working to answer questions such as: What are the factors that affect the flight of a water bottle rocket? How do yeast use different sugars for energy? How do energy drink ingredients (caffeine and ginseng) affect heart rate? What combination and amounts of chemical reactants will make the rocket car go the farthest?
April Luehmann, an assistant professor at the Warner School, developed Science STARS as part of the Get Real! Science teacher preparation program (www.rochester.edu/warner/getreal). The program supports novice science teachers in their development as educators while offering seventh- and eighth- grade girls the opportunity to participate in learning experiences that are designed to help the girls recognize and appreciate the role science plays in their daily lives.
“Pre-service teachers learn first hand about the power of open-ended inquiry to lead to rigorous and engaged science learning and teaching,” explains Luehmann. “In addition, these new teachers develop a rich sense of the unique skills and interests urban middle school girls can bring to their science learning and how to capitalize on these.”
The Wilson Foundation Academy students will unveil the results of their scientific inquires to the community on Saturday, December 6, from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Hawkins-Carlson Room in the Rush Rhees Library. The event is free and open to the public.
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