Dr. Harold Slavkin is a research scientist at the University of Southern California, and an active participant in efforts to improve pre-college science teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Dr. Slavkin has organized Project PRAXIS, a 24-school effort to develop and implement an exemplary hands-on inquiry-based elementary school science curriculum. These schools are located in central and eastern Los Angeles, in regions of high minority populations with little previous emphasis on science teaching. Teachers and school administrators will work with university scientists and science educators to develop school-based instructional programs. Teachers and administrators will be trained in the use of instructional science kits, which will be managed and refurbished at LAUSD regional Science Centers. Project PRAXIS will create 24 centers of exemplary science teaching, from which other Los Angeles schools will draw expertise and guidance. The students in the 24 participating schools will be immersed in direct and relevant science activities that will develop their abilities to inquire and investigate independently. Their success will promote more widespread adoption of this approach, giving this project the potential for wide-ranging impact in this large school district. The Los Angeles Unified School District and the University of Southern California are providing cost sharing during the project's three years that amounts to 104% of NSF's contribution.
