University of Arkansas Program Wins National Science Foundation Media Award

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A University of Arkansas National Science Foundation program designed to improve math and science education for middle school students in northwest Arkansas has earned an award from the National Science Foundation.

The university’s Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education program, known as GK-12, was selected from nearly 150 other NSF programs to receive The Media Award. The university program earned the award primarily for the production of a video about the university’s efforts and the program’s results. The video was produced by the media services department of the University of Arkansas Global Campus. The program and video were cited by the NSF for “bringing national prominence to the GK-12 program.”

“We are very proud to receive this award and recognition from the National Science Foundation,” said Morgan Ware, program coordinator for the GK-12 program.

The video was funded through the National Science Foundation, the university and the University of Arkansas Alumni Association. It is structured as a special news report on the “Crisis in Education in America.” The video reports on the decreasing number of young students, especially female and minority students, who are choosing science and engineering as a career. The report stresses the danger this trend poses to America’s role as the world’s innovation leader.

The video points out that national academies, government agencies, academic institutions and the private sector all share a growing realization that innovation is the key to global competitiveness, economic strength and national security. These groups also agree that innovation leadership depends on the ability of America’s schools to produce the next generation of innovative scientists and engineers. The video demonstrates how the University of Arkansas NSF GK-12 program is working to meet this goal through a program called “K-12, I Do Science” or KIDS.

This program, developed by university faculty, is based on a “learning by doing” approach in a middle school setting. University graduate student fellows in math, science and engineering are trained to work in partnership with middle school teachers. Together they guide students through hands-on experiments and projects. The video “news report” shows how the middle school students learn math and science by posing their own scientific questions and working to find the answers for themselves.

“We are delighted that the video is bringing national awareness to such a wonderful program here at the University of Arkansas;” said Chris Erwin, the video’s producer.

The KIDS program is now in its sixth year. It is funded by the NSF, with matching funds from the university. It is a partnership between the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Health Professions and the College of Engineering. This year there are 10 graduate fellows working with 19 science and math teachers. The program draws graduate students from science departments across the university, including physics, chemistry and biochemistry, biology, microelectronics and photonics, engineering, and mathematics. The teachers come to the program from Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville schools. Graduate fellows spend approximately 10 hours each week team-teaching in the middle school classrooms.

The KIDS program does more than teach the middle school students, however. The graduate student fellows in science, engineering and mathematics also acquire skills that broadly prepare them for professional and scientific careers. They gain a deeper understanding of their own research and learn how to explain it in a clear and exciting manner by working with the middle school teachers and students.

The GK-12 program is directed by Morgan Ware and guided by professors Art Hobson, Gay Stewart, Greg Salamo, Ronna Turner, Paul Calleja, Lynne Hehr and Caroline Beller. They now plan to use the success of the KIDS program in northwest Arkansas to try to attract state support to expand the program into more public schools across Arkansas.