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University of Wyoming

Science Inquiry Grant   

Impacting student content knowledge of science while enriching professional development for their teachers is the focus of a new program sponsored by the University of Wyoming Science and Mathematics Teaching Center (SMTC).

    Funded by a $130,000 Wyoming Department of Education grant, “Project Inquiry” brought 18 teachers from four school districts to the UW campus to explore and practice inquiry-based learning centered on the physical sciences. The grant also will support follow up via video meetings, visits by SMTC faculty, and a reunion sharing session in the spring.

   While many programs offer activities teachers can take to their classrooms, “Project Inquiry” shifts the focus to professional development, equipping the teachers with new skills and perspectives to transform their classroom practices.

   “We’re trying to infuse a whole new thought process with respect to how to teach science,” assistant professor of elementary and early childhood education Scott Chamberlin says. “They can take that information back and look at their whole curriculum in a different way.”

   Chamberlin and co-principal investigator Kate Muir Welsh  coordinate Project Inquiry. Participants represent four professional learning communities (PLCs), districts partnering with the College of Education to provide field experiences for pre-service teachers and professional development opportunities in-service teachers. Pilot PLCs are: Albany County District 1 in Laramie, Laramie County District 1 in Cheyenne, Sheridan County District 2 in Sheridan, and Fremont County Districts 14 and 25 in Ethete and Riverton.

   Joining Welsh, Chamberlin and other faculty affiliated with the SMTC on the project instructional staff are four teacher liaisons: Sonya Browe, Laramie; Tammy Caywood, Cheyenne; Elena Goggles-Singer, Wind River Indian Reservation; and Jim Johansen, Cheyenne. Liaisons participated in the February2004 Institute for Inquiry at the San Francisco-based Exploratorium. Liaisons helped deliver curriculum during the initial workshop. They also will support project participants during the school year and serve as district-based resources for other colleagues.

   While on campus, Project Inquiry participants took part in half-day workshops demonstrating hands-on approaches to teaching science, process skills of science (e.g., observation and classification). Teachers also designed their inquiry experiences, built around the theme of “shadows and light,” and revised an existing science lesson using an inquiry-based approach.

   Project Inquiry is a natural extension of ongoing efforts to support Wyoming teachers’ ability to provide quality science instruction, according to program coordinators. It expands upon concepts used in preparing undergraduates, enriching them to meet the needs of teachers already in the classroom. In turn, lessons learned via the Project Inquiry experience will inform future work with pre-service teachers.

   The Title II grant supporting Project Inquiry is renewable for up to two years. Should the program receive additional funding, Chamberlin and Welsh plan to offer similar opportunities highlighting the life and/or earth sciences in succeeding years.

   Teacher participants were:

   CHEYENNE – Cathy Foster, Karen Pannell, Larry Wyman.

   ETHETE – Rosalie Brockle, Anel Brodie, Dona Coffey, Cleo Goggles, Cheryl Williams.

   LARAMIE – Mike Busch, Eric Dean, Andrea Hayden, Kate Kniss, Dee Swanson.

   SHERIDAN – Mandy Adami.