|
|
Building Parent Partnerships in Science Education will extend the established program and partnership between Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) scientists and Renton School District (RSD) teachers to develop a series of experiences for parents to help them understand aspects of contemporary science, serving as motivation for supporting their children in studying and understanding science. ISB scientists will increase their abilities to communicate science to the public and gain a deeper understanding of contemporary science education.
Through a series of three Elementary Parent Experiences, parents will be introduced to an innovative and contemporary science topic or concept through a Showcase event. Parents will also learn about RSD science curriculum adoption, how it builds students learning of science over time, and as appropriate, its connections to other content areas. Approximately 1 month after each Showcase event will be an Exploratory event in which K-5 students will help Teacher Facilitators and ISB Postdoctoral Fellows demonstrate selected activities from the RSDs adopted science instructional materials. Parents will also be introduced to strategies for supporting science learning at home. It is expected that each Showcase and Exploratory event will run approximately 2 hours in duration.
A Model Protocol will be developed, becoming part of the ISBs Center for Inquiry Science program, and will be introduced to Washington States ten LASER Alliance Directors and made available to participants in future National Science Resources Center (NSRC) LASER Strategic Planning Institutes.
|
