In-service teacher education through an after-school hands-on science program

School Science and Mathematics, Feb 1997 by Spickler, Theodore R, Hernandez-Azarraga, Laurie C, Komorowski, Mary Ellen

An after-school hands-on science program was offered for two years for the purpose of stimulating inservice elementary school teachers to increase their use of a hands-on approach to the teaching of science and mathematics. Parents were brought into the after-school classes as active partners in the education of their children. Surveys of parents and teachers yielded judgments of high regard for the effectiveness of the program. This intervention appeared to be of limited value however in bringing unscientifically oriented elementary school teachers up to a high level of proficiency in the hands-on approach to science teaching.

The need for improving the way science is taught in elementary school is well documented (Maben, 1973; Mechling & Oliver, 1983; Mullis & Jenkins, 1988; Tilgner,1990). Bringing about a change requires improving pre-service science preparation of elementary education majors as well as upgrading the inservice training of practicing teachers. The Science and Mathematics Education Enhancement Council (SciMEEC) was founded and incorporated by the three authors for the purpose of encouraging parental and community involvement in science and mathematics education. SciMEEC's first project was to encourage a hands-on approach for the teaching of science and mathematics within elementary schools (public and private) in Marshall County, West Virginia. SciMEEC developed a new approach to in-service teacher training by adapting an idea that offers hands-on science after school.

A nonprofit corporation in Maryland, run by a Council of PI A's, designed and implemented Handson-Science (HOS), an after-school science program that augments the school science curriculum with entertaining science experiences presented after school (Katz, 1980; Feldman, 1987). A hallmark of the program is the absence of testing, textbooks, and teacher lectures. Exploration through playful activity is the focus for these classes that are guided by nonprofessionals from all walks of life.

SciMEEC applied this model to teacher in-service training by starting with the usual summer in-service workshops for teachers followed by a full year of practice teaching using hands-on materials in an afterschool setting. It was hoped these experiences would stimulate teachers to use hands-on techniques in their own daytime classes.

A second goal for the SciMEEC after-school sessions was to bring about a greater linkage between parents and the education of their children. Following a point raised by Harty (1980) about the need for parental involvement with school activities, two parent volunteers were arranged to be present in each class. Teachers were encouraged to use these helpers in any manner they chose.

This paper describes the SciMEEC After-School Hands-On Science Program (ASHOSP) and offers descriptive observations on its effectiveness. Some additional thoughts on science education in general came from experiences with teachers, parents, and children. The After-School Hands-On Science Program

In-Service Training for ASHOSP Teachers

After-school science classes were designed to run at three different levels. Level I was targeted for first through third graders and utilized lessons from an exemplary science program developed by teachers in Carroll County, Maryland called Hands-On Elementary Science). HOES is a registered program of the National Diffusion Network that emphasizes processes of science as an approach to problem solving (Educational Programs That Work, 1991). Level II classes were scheduled for fourth and fifth graders and were also taken from the HOES curriculum. Sixth graders entered Level III and were exposed to a different exemplary program called Foundational Approaches to Science Teaching (FAST), which integrates the concepts and methods of the physical, biological, and earth sciences with studies of the environment (Promising Practices in Mathematics and Science Education, 1994).

Three in-service summer training workshops were scheduled corresponding to the three different levels of the after-school program. Forty teachers in Marshall County registered to become after school science teachers and took these summer workshops. Trainers from the HOES center at Hood College gave a two day hands-on workshop to 26 of these teachers. Content was appropriate for Level I classes. HOES linked hands-on activities with unifying concepts such as observing seeds, patterns, and the behavior of magnets. Classification exercises were held with insects, and various objects that float or sink. Another two-day workshop was taken by 23 teachers at Level II where experimentation skills were introduced using principles of flight and electricity and magnetism. For Level III, a one week FAST workshop (conducted by a FAST training team) attracted 23 teachers. The FAST program is intended for the junior high school classroom and is structurally sequenced to develop thinking skills. The physical science portion of FAST develops measurement skills with mass, volume, density, buoyancy, and the physical properties of matter.