Mr. Don Herbert, also known as "Mr. Wizard", has entered into a collaborative effort with Nickelodeon Cable Television for production and broadcast of 70 teacher workshops on elementary science education. These 15-minute programs will feature exemplary hands-on science teaching, and will offer teachers and school administrators current information on teaching methods, instructional materials, and models for managing educational change. The programs will be broadcast over cable television in the early morning hours for videotaping and later use. Newsletters and teachers guides will be produced and distributed, and a toll-free telephone support system will answer teachers' questions. Mr. Wizard's reputation as a science educator will attract a broad audience, and Nickelodeon will provide the means to reach this audience. This partnership has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of teachers across the country, thereby improving their understanding of effective science teaching. Cost sharing provided by Nickelodeon amounts to 35% of the NSF support for this project.
