$850,000 NSF GRANT TO PLACE SAINT JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR 'PLACE-BASED' SCIENCE TEACHING
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 30, 2002) -- A Saint Joseph's University biologist has been awarded an $850,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a project that sends university students to public schools in North Philadelphia to develop and teach hands-on science programs that increase science literacy in traditionally underserved neighborhoods.
NSF will support Dr. Karen Snetselaar's "GK-12 and GeoKids: Bringing Place-Based Science to Urban Philadelphia Schools" for the next three years. The project, which received strong bipartisan support from Senator Rick Santorum and U.S. Representatives Chaka Fattah and Joe Hoeffel, also will receive $180,000 in matching funds from Saint Joseph's.
"GK-12 and GeoKids" builds on strong existing collaborations between Saint Joseph's science faculty and North Philadelphia's Wagner Free Institute of Science (WFIS), and between WFIS staff and principals at three nearby public schools -- Meade Elementary School, General Philip Kearny School, and Reynolds Elementary School.
GK-12 Fellows are graduate and advanced undergraduate students in biology, chemistry and environmental science at Saint Joseph's. Under the program, for each of the next three years, four to eight Fellows will work with WFIS education specialists, university faculty, and teachers of kindergarten through sixth grade to develop and present semester-long thematic units at the three schools.
The schools' own neighborhoods will be used as resources for the teaching of earth and life sciences. The program emphasizes hands-on science, project-based learning, and development of fundamental skills, such as reading, writing, and observing.
"The activities supported by this grant are perfect for Saint Joseph's -- encouraging excellent teaching, promoting quality research by faculty and students, providing meaningful service opportunities, and creating partnerships with other outstanding educational institutions in our area," said Dr. Snetselaar, associate professor of biology. "The program is complex, but it's going to let us carve out a special niche for the university in which teaching, research and community service activities are not only intertwined but strengthen each other."
Joining Dr. Snetselaar as co-principal investigators from Saint Joseph's are Dr. Michael McCann and Dr. Scott McRobert, of the Department of Biology, and Dr. Roger Murray, of the Department of Chemistry.
They and others planning the project expect that it will result in the development, testing and documentation of environmentally based lessons, as well as the empowerment of K-6 teachers to develop their own placed-based lessons. Additionally, they hope to increase the commitment of Saint Joseph's faculty and graduate students to enhancing science literacy, and to incorporate elements of the project into existing Service-Learning activities at the university.
The program includes annual summer workshops at which GK-12 Fellows, K-6 teachers, and participating Saint Joseph's and WFIS educators will review curriculum standards, study in appropriate content areas, and become more familiar with education issues specific to students from the target schools. Students in Saint Joseph's doctoral program in education will collaborate with education assessment experts in designing and administering assessment tools.
Developed by the Wagner Free Institute 10 years ago, GeoKids now serves 250 schoolchildren. Even prior to the NSF funding, Saint Joseph's science faculty members worked with WFIS in the program.
"One of the distinguishing features of GeoKids is the intimate involvement of professional scientists who serve as collaborators on program development and also interact with the children in the classroom and on field trips," said WFIS director Susan Glassman, a co-principal investigator on the project. "The addition of Saint Joseph's graduate and undergraduate Fellows will allow us to bring GeoKids to more children, and it will reinforce a central goal of engaging the children's enthusiasm for science and learning. We have found no better way to do this than by direct interaction with people who love the subject."
Salome Thomas-El, the principal at Reynolds Elementary School, which is participating in GeoKids for the first time, noted "the dramatic effect" the program has had in the school's community.
"As a principal and teacher, I truly believe that quality teachers and effective educational programs are the key to closing the achievement gap in inner-city schools," he said. "With GeoKids, we will have taken a big step toward achieving that goal."
"Because of Kearny's participation in GeoKids, student achievement in science, over the past four years, has improved dramatically in the SAT-9 achievement test," said Kearny principal Eileen Spagnola. "Due to the problem-solving format of the program, students write about their discoveries, explain the various steps taken to achieve the outcome, and prove their understanding of the concept.
"Since the Wagner Institute has partnered with Kearny School, great strides have been made with student achievement. The GeoKids program is so innovative, challenging, and extremely popular with all the teachers. Teachers and students are so excited when they are selected to take part in the program."
Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851, Saint Joseph's University is celebrating more than 150 years of academic excellence. One of just 137 schools nationwide with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and AACSB business school accreditation, Saint Joseph's is home to 3,600 full-time undergraduates and 3,000 graduate and nontraditional students. The university's strong liberal arts tradition is marked by rigorous and open-minded inquiry, high academic standards, and the development of the whole person.
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Contact: Thomas W. Durso, Director of University Communications, 610.660.1532, [email protected]
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