How Do I Get Training?

You're a microscopist; you know your lab and your scientific field. You may even have graduate students. None of that means that you know how to really help a middle school teacher in a classroom. You need to know a bit about the changes that are happening in science education; the new methods are so successful that they're "trickling up" into collegiate education. You need to review the cognitive abilities of young folks. This won't take a lot of your time, but it's important.

The simplest way is to join a MSA local program, or attend a GEMS workshop; you'll find contact information on the preceding "How do I volunteer?" page. One of the "model" programs described on the RISE website (www.nas.edu/rise) may be located near you, and you can attend their training. If none of this is possible, get advice from RISE, starting with "Working effectively with students and teachers" (Sandia Labs).

The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science produced "Sharing science with children" as two excellent pamphlets in the early 90s. They have now been reprinted, and can be ordered (the first five copies are free) from the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, PO Box 15190, Durham, NC 27704. Both are available in downloadable form on the web: Sharing science with children - a Survival Guide for Teachers and Sharing science with children - a Survival Guide for Scientists and Engineers

If you plan to organize a program you need more help than the brief approaches suggested above can provide. The National Science Resource Center of the Smithsonian developed a one week "crash course" in science education for scientists and engineers some years ago; it's still being offered, now under the sponsorship of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Make an effort to attend; it will save you many, many mistakes. The SSI Education Workshop for Scientists is described in detail at http://lasagna.colorado.edu/Education/ResourcesForScientists/1.html