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OCR for page 164
Huntsville, Alabama
A University-Schoo' District Partnership Creates a
Multidistrict Program Step by Step
The Hands-on Activity Science Program is a joint venture of the Universi-
ty of Alabama at Huntsville and the following seven local school districts:
Athens, Decatur; Fort Payne, Huntsville, Madison County, Morgan Coun-
ty, and Scottsboro. A total of S9 elementary schools, 1,665 teachers, and
41,S50 students participate in the science program.
Planners of the Huntsville program have emphasized curriculum se-
[ection, professional development, and materials support. A module-based
inquiry-centered science curriculum is in place, and program coordinators
have worked hard to cultivate a cadre of leader master teachers. A consor-
tium-based materials support center serving the seven participating school
districts has also been established.
John Wright has had an eclectic
career. A scientist, university professor, and former college presi-
dent, he now has a new calling. As project investigator of the
Hands-on Activity Science Program (HASP), a joint venture of the
University of Alabama at Huntsville and seven school districts,
Wright is a crusader in the nationwide effort to bring inquiry-cen-
terec! science to elementary school children.
Fortunately, the project has received lots of help. HASP
began as a partnership with the local chamber of commerce, the
Marshall Space Flight Center, and the University of Alabama at
Huntsville. Representatives from each of these groups met with
school representatives to determine how they could improve the
quaTit,v of precollege science education. The project received an
164
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Huntsville,
Alabama
initial boost when it obtained an Industry/School Partnership
Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1990. The
collaboration was further strengthened by the formation of the In-
stitute for Science Education, also in 1990. The institute is housed
. .
at the university.
The institute operates uncler the premise that the university
will share its resources as part of its commitment to improving pre-
college science education. As Frank Franz, president of the Uni-
versity of Alabama at Huntsville, explains, "The Institute for Sci-
ence Education provides a linkage between the university and
K-12 education. The science program offers an important public
service en c! engages the university with the community."
As an experienced administrator, Wright brings to the reform
movement essential leadership qualities that enable him to build
on a strong base of community and administrative support. "I was
comfortable talking to superintendents and corporate executives,"
recalls Wright. "And we called the state Department of Education
when we needed their support."
A Vision for Science Education Reform
The reason superintendents and state education officials found
the HASP team so persuasive was that its members had articulated
a vision for science education reform. Attendance at the 1991 Na-
tional Science Resources Center (NSRC) Elementary Science
Leadership Institute was of key importance in the development of
this vision. Knowledge acquired at the Institute irrevocably
changed the course of Huntsville's program.
The Institute, Wright recalls, helped the team "reformulate
and crystallize" its thinking. As a result, the team reevaluated some
key parts of its action plan. 'We originally saw hands-on science in-
struction as a way to supplement our science curriculum," Wright
recalls. But the experience convinced Wright and his colleagues
that effective science reform would require replacing the existing
curriculum with an inquiry-centered science program.
The decision to change to an inquiry-centered program also
meant another important step: developing a moclule-based cur-
riculum program. Before they attended the NSRC's Leadership In-
stitute, Wright and his colleagues *om Huntsville were not aware
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Inquiry-Centered
Science
in Practice
that modules were available in the marketplace. In fact, they hac3
assumer! that they would have to create the modules themselves.
'bile hac3 already arranged for teams of scientists and teachers
to begin working," recalls Arlene Childers, HASP associate clirec-
tor. But after reviewing materials at the Institute, the team went
home and spent the year assisting school districts as they piloted
modules in local classrooms. The program is now built around a
combination of modules from the Science and Technology for
Children (STC) program, Insights, and the Full Option Science
System (FOSS) program.
Establishing the Materials Center
While teachers were developing the program's curriculum matrix,
HASP team members were working on another key component of
an effective elementary science program: a central materials center.
To determine the most effective way to begin, the HASP team in-
volved both teachers and engineers in the planning process. Teach-
ers visited a materials center in Mesa, Arizona, and a team of engi-
neers and teachers conducted a study on the best way to distribute
and refurbish the materials. The consensus from both groups was
that a central system was the most efficient way to deal with the ma-
terials component of HASP's elementary science program.
- To implement this recommendation, HASP started a materi-
als center in the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce building; later,
the center moved to the university. While the university provided
the space, Huntsville and Madison County agreed to use their dis-
tricts' transportation systems to deliver moclules to the schools.
With that partnership in place, HASP adopted a consortium
model. The program charges participating school districts approx-
imately $6 per stuclent per year to refurbish the kits. In aciclition,
each participating school district pays a flat fee of $300 per teacher
per year; this money is used to builcl the inventory of modules.
This system has been highly successful. The consortium has
worked so well that five additional school districts- Decatur,
Athens, Fort Payne, Scottsboro, en cl Morgan Counties have
oinecl since the materials center opener! in 1991. "Establishing a
materials center is a critical element that people may wish to ig-
nore," says Wright. " But it is crucial to the success of the program."
166
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Huntsville,
Alabama
Creating a Cadre of Leader Master Teachers
As in many school districts engaged in reform throughout the coun-
try, professional development is a key element in HASP's elemen-
tary science program. HASP has enjoyed continuous support from
NSF for its professional development programs. Between 1993 and
1995, HASP had a Teacher Enhancement Grant. The goal of this
project was to train 126 Leader Master Teachers (LMTs) who wouIcl
assume leadership roles in their schools. The teachers' training took
place at a three-week summer institute and at sessions conducted
midway through the teaching of a module. Topics coverer! at the
training sessions included classroom management, science content
related to the selected modules, constructivist learning theory and
the learning cycle, and the use of questioning strategies designed to
evelop higher-order thinking skills.
'We had our first training in The Life Cycle of Butterflies, which
created excitement for both teachers anti kids," says Joy Drummoncl,
a second-grade LMT in the Huntsville City Schools. "The kids were
beside themselves, they loved it so much. Their enthusiasm captured
the teachers' imaginations and made them excited as well."
In the early clays of the program, familiarizing the teachers
with the modules en cl generating excitement were the chief prior-
ities. Tereasa Rollings, science coordinator from Madison Count,v
Schools and one of the original teacher trainers, recalls, 'When
the first group of teachers came to the initial training session,
many lacked science content knowlecige. They were particularly
anxious about the physical science modules."
Time and experience with the modules have helped ease
their concerns. After receiving intensive training, teachers have
become much more comfortable teaching inquiry-centeret1 sci-
ence. Rollings notes that "teachers are using the new questioning
strategies and the four-stage learning cycle in other areas of the
curriculum. They have become used to chilclren moving around
the classroom en c! working together in cooperative groups. And
teachers are discovering that integrating science with language
arts and other curriculum areas gives them enough time to teach
all the subjects."
Pam Patrick, an LMT at the kindergarten level in the
Huntsville City Schools, uses science as the driving force in the
167
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Inquiry-Centered
Science
in Practice
overall curriculum. While her students studied the FOSS module
Wood, they also read about trees en cl animals that live in the forest
and discussed the work lumberjacks do. They even managed to
talk about Smoky the Bear and the importance of protecting trees
from forest fires.
But Patrick's all-time favorite experience with this module
came at the encI of the year. She bubbles over with enthusiasm as
she describes how the module's final activity created a memorable
conclusion to her students' kindergarten clays: "At the end of the
module, after studying different kinds of wood and their charac-
teristics, the children applied what they had learned to make wood
sculptures. We showecl them how to hammer, and they would still
be hammering if we hadn't gotten out of school. When all the
sculptures were completed, we invited parents and the rest of the
school to come see them. The fifth-graders complained that the
kindergarten children got to do all the fun stuff."
Yet in Patrick's school, older children have opportunities to
show off, too. After fourth-graclers finish building their flashlights
during the STC Electric Circuits module, they come to the kinder-
garten class to show them how they work. In these ways, HASP has
fostered communication among the different grade levels in the
building.
~ The Struggle to Become Leaders
In addition to becoming proficient science teachers, HASP also ex-
pects the LMTs to become leaders in their own schools. Most
schools have two or three LMTs, from K-l, grades 2-3, en cl grades
(6. While most teachers find leading their peers to be a chal-
lenge, Drummond and her fellow LMTs have discovered two
strategies that bring success working closely with their principal
and planning carefully.
"Our principal was supportive, and she showed her support
by giving us faculty meeting time five or six times a year to give pre-
sentations on inquiry-centered science," says Drummond. 'We
also made ourselves available during the year to answer the teach-
ers' questions."
Yet even with this support, Drummond admits that "teaching
teachers is hard.... At first, the teachers dicln't want to go through
168
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Huntsville,
Alabama
the whole moclule. They thought that doing one or two activities
was enough." With more experience, however, teachers have come
to see that the way to build a concept is by working through the
whole module. And by completing all the modules each year at
each grade level, teachers help children gain a strong foundation
. .
In science.
Patrick had a less positive experience. 'We encountered re-
sistance from the teachers," she says. "l think that was partially be-
cause we came on too strong at first. We gave teachers too much
information too fast. The result was overload, and a desire on the
part of their teachers to go back to their rooms and shut the door."
To try to rectify the situation, Patrick and her colleagues
backed off during the 199195 school year and clecided not to ini-
tiate any faculty discussions, though Patrick clid continue to answer
questions and help with materials problems. This approach
seemed to work better. By the end of the school year, more than
'75 percent of the teachers were using the modules.
'We learn and go as we can," says Patrick. "It is clear that the
program has macle a big difference in chiTciren's attitudes about
science."
Future PIans for HASP
In 1995, HASP received a Local Systemic Change Initiative (LSCT)
grant from NSF. Under it, HASP will work with five additional
school districts and build on the experience gained over the past
two years. Participating school districts will select teachers and re-
lease them from their teaching responsibilities for a period of time
so that they can work with the Institute for Science Education ant!
train all the teachers in their districts. The program will further ex-
pand the number of school-based leaders.
While retaining successful components from the first grant,
HASP has modified the program on the basis of the experiences
of the past two years. For example, HASP learned that two years
wasn't enough time to complete the neeclec! reform. The LSCI will
allow five years for professional development. Other realizations
include the importance of cultivating teachers as leaders and the
need to train principals so that they, too, can be advocates for the
program.
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Inquiry-Centered
Science
in Practice
"This is a rapidly changing field," says Wright. 'me believe
that HASP has demonstrated its utility, but it is a living mode! that
improves through experience."
.!
A strong base of community support from local business and in-
dustry, local academic institutions, and the chamber of commerce
can be extremely helpful.
Teachers implementing reform activities need to be given adminis-
trative support. In many instances, principals may need training to
help them understand the importance of identifying lead teachers
who can collaborate with teachers new to inquiry-centered science.
School districts should periodically revise their plans, incorporating
the"lessons learned" into the program.
170
Representative terms from entire chapter:
science education
