Selling Your Soul for Science

1
Selling Your Soul for Science

• Notes on Being an NSF GK-12 Fellow
• By Ted Pavlic
• Wednesday, May 30, 2007

2
Agenda

• About Definitions, Mission, Topics
• Fellowship Benefits and Requirements
• Conclusions Reflections, Pros, and Cons
• Questions

3
Some Definitions

• NSF National Science Foundation
• GK-12 Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12
  Education
• GRFP Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and
  Mathematics
• CPS Columbus Public Schools
• NCLB No Child Left Behind (nickel-be)
• EOY End Of Year
• PI Principal Investigator
• PC Program Coordinator

Reference to Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens
novel 2002 Douglas McGrath movie (see also
Hard Times).
4
Synopsis from NSF

• Provides funding to STEM graduate students to . .
  .
• acquire additional skills to prepare for 21st
  century careers
• improve communication, teaching, collaboration,
  and team building skills
• enrich STEM learning and instruction in K-12
  schools
• gain a deeper understanding of own STEM research
• Encourages universities to add inquiry-based
  learning to STEM graduate programs
• Strengthened and sustained partnerships in STEM
  between universities and local school districts

Summarized from http//www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_su
mm.jsp?pims_id5472.
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Scientific Inquiry

• Repackaging of scientific
• method for use in teaching
• Motivate students to ask a question
• Develop hypotheses
• Test them
• Draw conclusions
• Show that process should continue possibly forever

Image taken from http//acept.asu.edu/courses/phs
110/si/chapter1/main.html.
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OSU GK-12

• Collaboration with CPS
• Focus on 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students
• 9-11 year old students
• Each fellow paired with two teachers
• Usually different schools
• Usually different grades
• Huge testing pressures
• NCLB
• NSF reporting
• Job is NOT to teach students!

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Topics to Teach

• Grade 3
• Earth Science Properties/composition of rocks
  and soils
• Life Science Animal life cycles, morphological
  classification, habitat, adaptations
• Grade 4
• Matter Physical and chemical properties
• Life Science Plant life cycle, parts,
  adaptations, habitat
• Earth Science Water, weather, geological
  processes
• Grade 5
• Earth Science Solar system
• Life Science Food chains, webs
• Physical Science Electricity, energy,
  light/sound waves
• Design Process positive and negative impacts of
  technology
• Common Elements
• Observation, Measuring, Classification
• Communication
• Technology and Careers

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Concrete Fellowship Benefits

• Bona fide NSF fellowship
• Looks great on a CV
• 12-month NSF GRFP level stipend (e.g.,
  2500/month)
• 12-month tuition
• Administered by OSU
• Fewer applicants Better award chances
• Delivery via OSU payroll Funded graduate
  student health insurance subsidy (note after tax
  deduction)
• 1099 Income
• No social security or PERS (?)
• File estimated taxes quarterly (-)
• Easy to milk/exploit social service aspect
• Looks great on CV
• Social do-gooders attract public attention (for
  personal gain)

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Fellowship Time Requirements

• Time Requirements
• 10 hours per week in classroom
• 5 hours per week for lesson planning and
  development
• 1 hour biweekly meeting of fellows and PIs
• 2 half-day focus meetings (January and May)
• 1 hour EOY summary of experience (e.g., right
  now)
• 4 half-day training meetings as trainees (June)
• 2 half-day training meetings as trainers (June)
• Adviser requirements
• Adviser must visit classroom once per semester
• Adviser must meet with PC at EOY

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Fellowship Deliverables

• On-line Course Human Research(once for 2-3
  hours)
• On-line NSF EOY survey(once for 0.5 hour)
• Pre-test and post-test data (one per quarter)
• Lesson plans MS Word chemistry-lab format (one
  per week (ish))
• Biweekly reports one page form (one every two
  weeks)
• Presentations focus meetings and EOY summary
  (three total)
• Possible additional tracking information

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Heart of Educational Darkness

• Classroom control
• NCLB always an obstacle (spinning out of control)
• Testing pressures are huge
• Schedules/resources frequently change
• Teacher expertise in wrong areas
• Homework not an option
• Schools serve as foster parents
• Cannot count on parent involvement
• Inquiry-based teaching incompatible with testing
  requirements
• Program mission avoid teaching to test
• Program performance measures test
• NSF reporting (contradictory)
• NCLB requires high test scores
• How to teach vocabulary and inquiry?

Reference to Joseph Conrads The Heart of
Darkness (see also F. F. Coppolas 1979
Apocalypse Now).
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Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Interface with graduate students from other
  fields
• Financially attractive
• Learn about inner-city public schools
• Expand content knowledge to surprising extent
• Cons
• Can be a major time burden
• Can lead to an attenuated sense of personal
  efficacy
• Future
• Continuously improving fellowship experience
• Web resources getting better
• PIs and PC sincerely want to make program a
  success

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Conclusions (Selling Your Soul for Science)

• Investment
• Time
• Energy
• Returns
• Cash / CV
• Expanded content knowledge
• Expanded awareness
• Impact on teachers future lessons
• Hopefully plant seeds of citizen scientists

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Questions?

• For more information . . .
• NSF GK-12 Website http//www.nsfgk12.org/
• OSU GK-12 Website http//gk-12.osu.edu/
• OSU GK-12 Program Coordinator
• Mary Allison Timby (Mary Allison)
• [phone]
• mtimby_at_chemistry.ohio-state.edu
• Ted Pavlic pavlic.3_at_osu.edu