2002 Precollege HHMI Programs

The NC State University Precollege Outreach Program funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2002 Grant includes several components: (1) the Precollege Collaboratory Research Program; (2) establishing and supporting a Northeast Regional Science House in Edenton, NC; (3) Science and Technology from The Science House, a teacher training and equipment loan program located at the Northeast Regional Science House; and 4) cosponsoring the Expanding Your Horizons Conference.

Precollege Collaboratory
The Precollege Collaboratory Program is designed to provide an introduction to scientific research at the University to high school teams consisting of a teacher and two students. Few high school teachers have conducted authentic scientific research. In order to understand and teach the nature of science and inquiry, teachers need to experience the research process. In this program, the teacher and students work side by side in a NC State University research laboratory for two weeks with faculty, graduate students, and technicians. Students discover the challenge and excitement of research and learn about possible career fields. Mentors for the program are selected by looking at their content areas and their willingness to work with the teams and communicate the research experience. As a result of previous years of this program, several of the participating students now attend NC State University majoring in various science disciplines. There have also been students who attended the Precollege Collaboratory in the summer prior to their senior year in high school, deciding to attend NC State University, and then applying for our incoming freshman and undergraduate research programs.

Applications are received from high school teams in the spring. Five teams are selected and matched with mentors in content areas of the teacher and student’s interests. At the conclusion of the two weeks, each team gives an oral presentation of the work that they have done while in the program to invited guests, mentors, family, and their school administration. Teams receive stipends and are provided room and board on campus. While in residence at NC State University, the teams visit research facilities, attend lectures from scientists from the University and nearby Research Triangle Park, and are instructed in research procedures. Teachers have reported feeling more confident in guiding student research within their classrooms after participating in the program. Students have confirmed their decision to pursue a career involving the sciences.

Although five teams were accepted for the summer of 2002, one team withdrew at the last minute because of medical problems with the teacher of the team. The four participating teams worked with mentors in animal science, marine biology, textiles chemistry, and materials science. Titles of their presentations follow.

Effects of Leptin and Type of Growth Medium on Success of In Vitro Fertilization in Cattle
Clone Comparisons of the Red Tide Dinoflagellate Karenia brevis
The Molecular Modeling of Carbon Nanotubes
Solid State Polymerization of Nylon 6,6

The Precollege Collaboratory Program is unique in its combination of teachers and students working together in a research laboratory. Both are learning new content and technology. The teacher assists in mentoring the students while being mentored by the faculty member and their supporting students and technicians. Teachers learn the capabilities of high school students in working in a research setting and become more inclined to include research into their instructional methodology. Students learn about the true nature of science. Many are not exposed to experimentation except in the short term, as one laboratory period. Students usually are taught to look for only the right answer instead of learning how to ask questions to direct them to how to seek solutions, often creating more questions than finding answers. This experience exposes them to the indefinite nature of science and shows them what a career in science could be like. By giving oral presentations at the conclusion of the program, students learn how to organize their work into a scientific presentation.

Comments from Teachers in the Precollege Collaboratory Program

Teachers were questioned at the conclusion of the program and again one year after the program ended as to the influence of the program on their teaching, the value of the program, and its influence on their students. Early comments included the following responses. “The value of the research experience was very high! Best experienced I’ve had!” “I don’t know how you choose mentors – but Dr. Kotek was perfect! He was very down to earth and eager to have the STUDENTS work! He was encouraging and happy to help. I wish I had had more college professors like him! We truly loved every minute in the lab!” “The mentor and staff were very supportive. They involved the students in research and they became team members.” When questioned a year after participating, all of the teachers reported using both content and research methods that they learned in the program in their teaching. “As a result of the program, I do more research type activities and use some of the things I learned in the lab methods for collecting data, ways data is organized, etc. I also don’t get as bent out of shape over error in lab, because I have seen through the summer activities how error can lead to some of the best learning! We have even developed a new course called ‘Research Methods and Techniques,’ which I teach, and use a lot of what I learned!” “it is amazing how what they (students) learned continues to make them better prepared. I think the program helped their critical thinking and analytical skills in science. It helped them to take what they knew from class lecture and books and see how it applies to real chemistry and real research.”

Comments from Students in the Precollege Collaboratory Program
The students’ responses concerning the program are only from the immediate conclusion of the program. In follow-up with the teachers as to the students’ college majors, one student is listed as “undecided”, one in geology, three in chemistry, and one in pre-med. One teacher did not report the information. All but one of the students ranked the program overall as “Excellent” with the one student ranking the program as “Very Good”. All of the students said that it would be “Very Likely” that they would recommend the program to others and participate in similar programs. When asked about mentor support, one student commented, “he devoted much time in helping our group. He was very easy to talk with and made us feel that our ideas were good.” Another student responded “Awesome! Dr. Kolch was there a lot to help and Kyeong answered every question and was with us every minute we were there to help. Also it was good that they let us do it and did get us involved. They made it our project, they only helped when needed.” As to the value of the experience, “it showed me how a real research facility operated, was very educational, and taught me to work within a research assignment for a large project.” Another stated, “I how know more about real research and it was a lot of fun. Hopefully, it will help me decide about college!”

Northeast Regional Science House in Edenton, NC
The primary goals for the Northeast Science House Outreach Program continue to be focused on increasing the awareness and understanding of the methods of science/mathematics teaching. The Northeast Regional Science House, which was established in Edenton in 1999 through this grant, has provided sustained educational and technical support for the area middle and high schools through a variety of channels. The use of technology such as computers, calculators, and probeware integrated into the curriculum is a key component of our service to the school and community. The satellite office coordinator continues to develop a strong network among the teachers in this region to promote leadership growth and support for innovative teaching within these rural counties. The collaboration of ideas and teaching strategies is a challenge for this rural area where there is commonly one high school and one middle school per county. There is a distance of thirty miles or more between counties and schools. The Science House has a strong involvement with the community in Northeastern North Carolina and has developed and delivered many projects to enhance the science, mathematics and technology experiences for the Northeast teachers and students. To accomplish the above goals, the Science House has provided a diverse array of services to teachers in the Northeast. These services include both long term and short-term activities. Examples of activities include teacher training with an emphasis on technology integration, ongoing support with equipment loans and in-class assistance, and classroom presentations. During the period May 1, 2002 through August 31, 2003, the regional coordinator worked with twenty-five teachers on a long-term basis and 737 students (407 were minorities). The exposure to our programs on a short-term basis of less than one week greatly increases the numbers. A total of 219 teachers participated in workshops and programs delivered by our coordinator and 618 students participated in field trips and activities led by our coordinator. As teachers and administrators become more familiar with the services of the NE Regional Science House, the regional coordinator has become active in providing additional training and support to the schools, teachers, and students in this region.

"Science and Technology from The Science House”
Within the four years of the “Science and Technology from The Science House” extended program, teachers experienced a team approach to learning and implementing the use of technology in teaching science and math. In July 2002, we met with the eleven teachers to encourage the continued use of technology in their classrooms and to assure them of the availability of on-loan equipment and support. Better than half of the schools served during the four years of the grant have purchased their own sets of equipment and regularly consult with the Northeast coordinator for classroom science and math ideas and technical equipment questions. In several cases, teachers other than those who were a part of the official program became so interested in using the technology tools, that they sought advice and training from the Regional Coordinator to enhance their programs. Two of the original teachers in the grant, presented a workshop session for the North Carolina Science Teachers Association Conference in the fall of 2002 that emphasized the use of mathematics in an inquiry based science lesson on osmosis.

Responses of teachers in “Science and Technology from The Science House”
A focus group discussion, individual interviews, and questionnaires were used to evaluate the long-term effects of the program with the teachers during the summer of 2002. All but two of the teachers reported acquiring some of the equipment found in our lending sets. Teachers received funding from community technology grants, Eisenhower Grants, PESA (NSF summer program for students), 21st Century funds, and Bright Ideas Grants. Grant writing information on The Science House web page was credited with being of assistance in writing the proposals needed for funding. One teacher reported “being involved in this program has made teaching come alive for me. It has shown other teachers at my school that there is a different way to teach that will get the students involved.” When asked what the teachers liked most about the program, the group responded that the support of the regional coordinator with teaching ideas and technical support, the lending of the equipment, and the continued training made this program unique and more beneficial than other professional development that they had experienced. All responded that they would sign up again to be part of the program.

Additional Activities in Science and Math Education from the NE Regional Science House
During the summer of 2002, the Northeast Science House office offered a two-week technology integration training opportunity for Middle School teachers from Gates, Chowan and Hertford Counties and supplied these teachers with their own equipment though Eisenhower funding. The thirteen participating teachers returned for two follow-up meetings in the fall of 2002 and the spring of 2003 to refine their skills. The teachers were expected to develop a classroom unit using the probeware or other associated technologies. The diversity of classroom applications ranged from studies of music with data-collecting microphones to the water quality comparison of two streams from different parts of a watershed. The teachers in Chowan County borrowed classroom equipment sets from the Northeast Office during the 2002-03 school year to conduct experiments in raising brine shrimp, measuring the pH of the soil, and examining the temperature of an exothermic chemical reaction. These teachers continue to call the Northeast coordinator for loaner equipment and support. Under the support of the Northeast Coordinator, a Science Club was initiated at Chowan Middle School to prepare students for competition in the regional Envirothon, and to conduct other experiments using the probeware lent to the school by our grant.

The range of opportunities for classroom science, technology and mathematics assistance in this part of the state continues to expand as a result of the regional office. The Northeast Coordinator directly assisted a sixth grade class with the development of a special demonstration project comparing genetically engineered corn to regular corn. The results of this experiment were displayed for the community at the Albemarle Learning Center Heritage Corn Festival during the spring of 2002. During spring and fall of 2002 and 2003, teachers from Perquimans and Chowan County used our equipment to extend the classroom learning to outdoor technology applications measuring dissolved oxygen levels for an AP Biology lab and measuring humidity in the schoolyard for an Earth Science activity. Two of the teachers who participated in our four-year equipment loaner program were successful in receiving funding for teacher written and directed grants; one for biotechnology equipment and another for an automated weather station. During the spring and fall of 2002, we conducted regular 3-hour weekly workshops for area 4th grade students on simple machines and additional special programs reaching totally over 350 students (grades 4-12). We supported many short programs throughout this time frame including using GIS in the classroom, special preparation session for the Envirothon, and training with Palm Pilots linked to the LabPro data collectors.

The impact of the outreach program sponsored by HHMI was extended through the many formal workshops provided to teachers in the Northeast and other parts of the state. From May 2002 to August 2003, the Northeast regional office conducted 16 workshops/conference events reaching 255 teachers. The majority of our workshops focused on the use of data collection technology such as CBL and MBL units, however, we have expanded the our offerings to include GIS training workshops and Satellite Imagery in the Ocean Sciences workshops. The Northeast coordinator has presented at the T³ conference, the National Marine Educators Association conference, the North Carolina Science Teachers Association conference, the Regional Math and Science Conference, and the NOAA sponsored, Satellites in Our Everyday World conference. The Science House in the Northeast has been successful in helping students and teachers prepare for local and state science contests such as Science Olympiad and National Ocean Science Bowl, the Regional Envirothon, and in mentoring candidates for National Board Certification. Our community involvement ranges from 4-H workshops to the support of special events at the Albemarle Learning Center.

Overall, the involvement of students and teachers with the Northeast Science House program continues to be very favorable and on the increase. Hands-on science experiences or laboratory work is lacking in most science classes due to time constraints and/or inadequate facilities. The technology focus from this grant has provided many students with the opportunity to become active and engaged learners. Teachers also benefit from the student successes. As teachers commit to an enhanced science curriculum including technology-based labs, we observe more creative and extended use of these program materials. The Northeast Science House is committed to encouraging teachers to learn new technology skills and to providing them with the needed support for technology implementation into their classroom objectives. Through this model program of sustained interaction with the HHMI participants and other grant programs, we are building a leadership network of dynamic science and math teachers in the Northeast.

The web site for The Science House is www.science-house.org and for the NE Regional Science House is www.science-house.org/info/east/index.html.

Expanding Your Horizons Conference
The NC State University HHMI grant co-sponsors the annual Expanding Your Horizons Conference each year. The 11th Expanding Your Horizons Conference was held at NC State University on Tuesday, March 11, 2003. The objective of the conference is to inspire 7th grade girls to pursue careers in science, engineering, and mathematics. Approximately 350 girls and ninety teachers, representing fifty schools and fifteen North Carolina counties attended the conference. Over fifty professional women from NC State University, businesses, government agencies, and other universities in a three-state area shared their enthusiasm for science, engineering, and mathematics as conference speakers and hands-on workshop presenters. In addition to the speakers, twenty-six women scientists volunteered as guides, nineteen members of the steering committee, and most of The Science House staff volunteered in various capacities on the day of the conference.

The opening session keynote speaker was Dr. Lundie Spence, formerly of North Carolina Sea Grant, and recently appointed Director of the Southeast Center Ocean Science Education Excellence Program in Charleston, SC. Dr. Spence has a long history in marine science education at NC State University and served as the keynote speaker for the first Expanding Your Horizons Conference held in the Triangle area in 1993. She engaged the seventh graders in exploring careers involving mathematics and science in an interactive format.

The students participated in many hands-on and interactive activities, the most popular of these included extracting DNA, applying stitches to animal skin samples, and holding a mock public meeting following a chemical spill. As documented by their comments, students emerged from sessions thinking about new careers and the educational requirements needed to pursue them. On the feedback forms, the girls were asked to comment on ways to improve the future conferences. The most common response was to have more workshops. The responses were very positive, as one student said, “this was awesome and I’m so glad I had the opportunity [to attend].”

The afternoon session concluded with the young ladies receiving empowering strategies from the Enloe High School Drama troupe, who demonstrated how to deal with teasing and harassment for being smart, and a game show where students guessed the career of women scientists.

Teachers and volunteer guides were asked to evaluate the two workshops they attended with students. 97% replied the sessions were presented at an appropriate level for 7th grade students, and 98% indicated the students were successfully exposed to career options in science, math, or engineering. 100% of teachers who responded stated that the conference succeeded in encouraging girls to continue science and mathematics studies.

The Expanding Your Horizons Conference is an important vehicle for demonstrating the NC State University’s desire to increase the number of females in science, mathematics, and engineering careers. The Conference has built a community of professionals who enthusiastically participate each year. There is substantial community involvement through these professionals and the co-sponsors of the Conference.

Our web site for the EYH Program is: www.science-house.org/student/eyh/index.html