Western New Mexico University will provide the opportunity for 40 elementary school science teachers, grades K-6, from southwest New Mexico and southeast Arizona to upgrade their backgrounds in the physical sciences. A four-week workshop, which will include the areas of physics, chemistry, geology, and astronomy, will be held during the summer of 1986. The teaching of science for inquiry will be stressed, and emphasis will be placed on a number of methods of teaching physical science that require investigative approaches by both student and teacher. The program will be liberally scheduled with laboratory and problem-solving activities and will provide time and support for independent study under faculty guidance. The project director and instructor will provide follow-up support in classroom implementation of the science curriculum, in the development of a laboratory resource center, and the science in-service training program at the schools.
