This project addresses two significant issues; the need to improve graduate students education and training for careers either in or outside the laboratory, and for the educational and research communities to collaborate at all levels of the educational spectrum to improve K12 science achievement.
The goals of the project include: Improved communication, collaboration, team building and leadership (graduate fellows); improved outreach and collaborations (STEM faculty); increased professional development and research laboratory skills (high school teachers); increased science achievement and interest in STEM careers (high school students); improved graduate education (Temple University). Key elements of this project are: (1) a required science ethics course for all Fellows; (2) a professional development program that STEM faculty and teaching and learning experts will pilot with the intent to incorporate into a college-wide permanent addition to the graduate programs; (3) the GK Fellows in-school component, and (4) GK Fellows /teacher summer institute which will combine pedagogy, content, and laboratory research.
The broader impact of the project includes the immediate affect all participants by improving STEM graduate education at Temple University and increasing collaborative relationships between a large urban university and the complex urban school district of Philadelphia. On-line and in-person dissemination of the outcomes will support the wider impact of the project. Changes in the graduate science programs will have lasting effects on the participants and future Temple University students throughout their careers and students at other universities implementing elements of our project.
