Program demystifies experiments
Positive outcome
Dana Lizik
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: News
Students spread the enthusiasm in a science service-learning program that allows them to become the teachers as they go to Genoa Elementary School and assist fourth grade classes in performing different experiments.
"The main reason [for the program] is to help demystify the scientific process and assist the students in their first real scientific investigation," Tiffany Bennett, Genoa Elementary principal, said. "With the college students bringing in real scientific equipment and lowering the teacher to student ratio, students are able to really be involved in a process that may seem overwhelming on paper."
This program, started by the San Jacinto chemistry department chair Ann Cartwright, began last summer after an extremely successful science night presented to Genoa Elementary, and Cartwright offered to present science lessons to the highest grade level at the school, fourth grade.
"They kept a list at the door and almost 500 people came through," Cartwright said.
Cartwright took 15-20 students to Genoa Elementary for four Fridays to present a multitude of experiments. The seven classes of fourth-graders had the opportunity to test the absorbency of different brands of diapers, the amount of gas in regular soda drinks versus diet soda drinks, different brands of toothpaste on stained eggs and how dirty the tops of soda caps are in plastic rings versus from boxes.
"We cart everything in and out so all the [fourth grade] teacher has to do is cover the tables," Cartwright said.
The demonstrations stress the basic concepts of conducting an experiment, like what question is being asked. This helps prepare the fourth-graders for the real science fair that they must all do individually in the spring.
"These projects will be used as a resource for our other students to model their Science Fair projects after," Bennett said.
"I hope to see a confidence in students and in teachers on how to go through the scientific process without great fear and to see that science can be fun."
"The main reason [for the program] is to help demystify the scientific process and assist the students in their first real scientific investigation," Tiffany Bennett, Genoa Elementary principal, said. "With the college students bringing in real scientific equipment and lowering the teacher to student ratio, students are able to really be involved in a process that may seem overwhelming on paper."
This program, started by the San Jacinto chemistry department chair Ann Cartwright, began last summer after an extremely successful science night presented to Genoa Elementary, and Cartwright offered to present science lessons to the highest grade level at the school, fourth grade.
"They kept a list at the door and almost 500 people came through," Cartwright said.
Cartwright took 15-20 students to Genoa Elementary for four Fridays to present a multitude of experiments. The seven classes of fourth-graders had the opportunity to test the absorbency of different brands of diapers, the amount of gas in regular soda drinks versus diet soda drinks, different brands of toothpaste on stained eggs and how dirty the tops of soda caps are in plastic rings versus from boxes.
"We cart everything in and out so all the [fourth grade] teacher has to do is cover the tables," Cartwright said.
The demonstrations stress the basic concepts of conducting an experiment, like what question is being asked. This helps prepare the fourth-graders for the real science fair that they must all do individually in the spring.
"These projects will be used as a resource for our other students to model their Science Fair projects after," Bennett said.
"I hope to see a confidence in students and in teachers on how to go through the scientific process without great fear and to see that science can be fun."
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