Gk 12 Enhances Teaching Skills Of Engineering Graduate Students

The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program at the University of South Carolina provides fellowships for graduate students in engineering to serve as content resources in K-12 public schools. During its first year, the USC GK-12 program improved the teaching and communication skills of 11 engineering graduate students, enhanced the ability of 51 elementary school teachers to use engineering applications to teach science, and inspired hundreds of elementary children. This cohort of Fellows included 4 PhD, 5 MS and 2 BS/MS students from the departments of mechanical, chemical, civil, and environmental engineering. The Fall 2001 cohort of 11 teacher partners were from schools that are part of USC’s Professional Development School network. The spring 2002 cohort of teachers were from schools that have not traditionally benefited from a relationship with the university. In addition, 29 elementary teachers from across the state participated in the GK-12 Summer Institute for Teachers. During the institute, the Fellows presented to the teachers the best activities that they had implemented during the school year. For most Fellows, this was their first opportunity to teach adults in a formal setting. In a post-institute survey, all of the participants strongly agreed or agreed that the Fellows were good teachers. The comprehensive assessment data indicates that the program is meeting its objectives. This paper focuses on the experiences of the graduate students participating in the program. This includes descriptions of an education course developed specifically for the GK-12 fellows, their in-school activities with two different populations of students and their development and implementation of the GK-12 Summer Institute for Teachers.