Olmer Peters Ruesink

WonderLab, the museum of science, health and technology in Bloomington, will host Science Standards in a Snap Institute, beginning Monday, June 27, and running through Friday, July 1. The institute hopes to give fourth- and fifth-grade teachers a confident start in teaching the new FOSS (Full Option Science System) science curriculum in preparation for ISTEP testing in fifth grade.

"Elementary teachers must be prepared to set the stage for success in middle and high school science and beyond," said Karen Stucky, education director at WonderLab. "Although the adopted curriculum companies provide limited support to teachers, teachers still need help identifying science concepts that are appropriate for problem-based inquiry instruction. They also need time to revamp their lesson plans to align with the new curricula."

WonderLab's partners in the effort are IU and the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC). The pilot program is being funded by a $20,000 grant from the Raymond Foundation. Funding during the next three years will come from part of an $88,000 grant from the Brabson Library and Educational Foundation.

To improve the effectiveness of science education, Indiana is in the process of providing new science curricula for all public schools to implement n ext year. MCCSC is among those school districts that have adopted the FOSS science curriculum for elementary schools next year. According to Stucky, "many elementary school teachers do not feel comfortable with science and do not devote a lot of class time to it. That will have to change now."

IU faculty who will be involved in the institute presentations, along with WonderLab staff, are Catherine Olmer, professor of physics and executive director of WonderLab; Dennis Peters, the Herman T. Briscoe Professor of chemistry; and Al Ruesink, professor of biology and special assistant to the IU president for faculty relations.

Future summer science institutes will expand support to teachers of other grade levels and teachers using science curricula other than FOSS. In-service workshops will be on focused topics, such as solar and other alternative energies; chemistry; and earth science.

Indiana administered a preliminary ISTEP science test to fifth grade students in the fall of 2003. Approximately a third of students statewide failed the preliminary test; test results in south-central Indiana school districts generally reflected the statewide failure rate, suggesting serious implications for Indiana's future business and job growth in the science and technology sectors. Science will continue to be tested in fifth grade, and Indiana will add science testing at the seventh-grade level next year and at the ninth-grade level in 2007.

Related story: WonderLab, IUB chemists to offer 'explosion of science' July 2

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