This project develops an inquiry oriented, quantitative science program in the elementary school and establishes a program by which peer teachers provide inservice guidance to other teachers. During the summer of 1987, five peer mentor teachers trained in a former NSF project will attend a one week intensive leadership seminar on the SUNY/Cortland campus. The purpose of the seminar is to prepare the teachers to serve as consultants and facilitators of instruction for teachers from the five school districts participating in the 1987-89 project. A two day workshop will also be held during the summer for five peer/mentor teachers, twenty K-6 teachers, ten junior/senior high school science teachers, and elementary principals from each of the five districts. The purpose of this workshop is to promote working relationships between peer/mentor teachers and staff of the districts. During the 1987-88 school year the twenty k-6 teachers will participate in sixteen 2 1/2 hour instructional sessions which will be held every other week. During alternate weeks the project staff will visit each participants classroom. The purpose of the staff visitation is to help these peer teachers implement the science content instruction and the methodologies into their classrooms. During the implementation phase (academic 1988-87) the four teachers from each district will conduct inservice programs. During this phase Dr. Barr will make ten visits to each of the five schools. The visits will help facilitate implementation of the science program into all elementary classrooms of the districts. Mini-grants, supported by local organizations, businesses, and industry, will be available to the participants to conduct a mini research project in their classrooms. A second unique feature of the program is a Make It/Take It Workshop during which classroom instructional materials will be constructed for use in the teachers' classrooms. Dr. Bonnie B. Barr, Project Director, has conducted numerous inservice science workshops for elementary teachers. She is author of a textbook series and has been involved in numerous curriculum projects.
