9555650 Smith Title: Technology and Invention in Elementary Schools (TIES) Project Description This proposal describes a teacher enhancement project designed to enhance teams of teachers to teach the integrated science and technology through active inquiry using the mechanism of technological problem-solving and invention. The primary delivery site for the summer intensive workshops will be at the National Inventor's Hall of Fame (Inventure Place) in Akron, OH. Thirty-two first tier teachers, representing four member teams from selected schools, will participate annually in the enhancement. A major goal of the project is to improve teachers' ability to more effectively encourage underrepresented students, including a cohort of Native Americans from New Mexico, to participate in active, technology-based scientific inquiry. Instruction will consist of a series of activity based units focusing on major inventions including the development of polymers, the electron microscope, electronic digital memory, air-conditioning, and biotechnology. Participants will interact with noted inventors, explore the interface of science standards with technological inventiveness, engage in hands-on inquiry, and participate in on-site internships at several Fortune 500 corporations.
