K‐12 Outreach: Identifying the Broader Impacts of Four Outreach Projects |
| |
| Authors: | Barbara M Moskal Catherine Skokan Laura Kosbar Agata Dean Caron Westland Heidi Barker Que N Nguyen Jennifer Tafoya |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Mathematical and Computer Sciences Department Colorado School of Mines;2. Barbara M. Moskal received her Ed.D. in Mathematics Education with a minor in Quantitative Research Methodology and her M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh. She is an associate professor in the Mathematical and Computer Sciences at the Colorado School of Mines. Her research interests include student assessment, K‐12 outreach and equity issues. In 2000, she received a New Faculty Fellowship at the Frontiers in Education Conference and in 2006, she received the William Elgin Wickenden Award with her colleagues, Barbara Olds and Ronald Miller.;3. Division of Engineering Colorado School of Mines;4. Catherine K. Skokan is an associate professor in the Division of Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. She received her Ph.D. in Geophysical Engineering with a minor in Geology and her M.Sc. in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Her research interests include near surface geophysical measurements especially in the area of groundwater mapping, humanitarian engineering, and educational outreach. She has taught Electrical Geophysical Exploration classes, circuits, digital data analysis, linear systems, and Senior Design.;5. IBM;6. Laura L. Kosbar received her PhD. in Chemistry from Stanford University and is currently a research staff member at IBM's T.J. Watson Research center in New York. Her research interests include the physical and chemical properties of polymers, self‐assembled and highly ordered small molecule systems, and K‐12 outreach in science and technology. She is currently a member of IBM's corporate Technical Outreach Committee whose mission is to expand hands‐on educational outreach activities throughout the corporation.;7. Agata K. Dean is an adjunct instructor in the Mathematical and Computer Sciences Department at the Colorado School of Mines. From Colorado School of Mines, she received her B.S. in Engineering with a Mechanical Specialty in 2004 and her M.S. in Mathematical and Computer Sciences in 2006. She was a graduate teaching fellow for the GK‐12 program for two academic years. Her research interests include pre‐college technology education and equity issues in education.;8. School of Education University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center;9. Caron A. Westland is senior instructor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with minors in Program Evaluation and Planning and Organizational Theory at Cornell University. Her research interests include at‐risk youth, pre‐service teachers with disabilities, and Professional Development Schools (PDS). Currently, she prepares general education and special education teachers and serves as a site professor in a PDS.;10. Department of Education Regis University;11. Heidi Bulmahn Barker received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign. She is an assistant professor at Regis University where she teaches courses in the special education minor, teaches methods courses for elementary licensure, and also supervises preservice teachers in school settings. Her research interests are the personal aspects of school change, pre‐service and in‐service teacher development, and relationships between and among teachers, children, and content in the context of school reform.;12. Solutions Developer Avanade Inc.;13. Que N. Nguyen is a solutions developer for Avanade Inc. She received her B.S. in Engineering Physics with a minor in Mathematics and Computer Science and her M.S. in Mathematics from the Colorado School of Mines. She was a graduate teaching fellow for the GK‐12 program for two academic years.;14. Environmental Engineer Science Applications International Corporation;15. Jennifer Tafoya is an environmental engineer for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). She received her B.S. in Engineering with an Environmental Specialty and her M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. She was a graduate teaching fellow for the PSMM program for one year. |
| |
| Abstract: | Over the last four years, a series of outreach programs have been offered through the Colorado School of Mines to middle school teachers from eleven school districts in the State of Colorado in the United States. Each of these programs is designed to illustrate through hands‐on activities the application of mathematics to science and engineering. Each also has an academic year follow‐up such that a faculty member, an expert teacher, or a graduate student assists the teachers in the classroom. An expected outcome of this effort is the improvement of instruction in mathematics and science in the participating middle schools; an unexpected outcome has been the impact of these projects on the culture of the participating schools, both middle schools and university. Based on our assessment efforts, this article describes the qualitative and quantitative outcomes of this sequence of projects on middle school students, teachers, graduate students, professors, and college curriculum. |
| |
| Keywords: | K‐12 outreach middle school pre‐college instruction |
|
|
