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'Science is so Much Fun' University Program Mixes 'Real-Life Scientists', K-12 Students

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 February 2005, 15:00 CST

HAMPDEN - Minute Maid is telling the truth about the health benefits of its orange juice, high school students here learned recently after analyzing the popular breakfast beverage during chemistry class.

"I'm drinking 128 percent of my vitamin C - want some?" Hampden Academy 11th-grader Lili Berube said she now can confidently say to people.

She and her classmates had just completed an experiment proving the company correctly advertised on its carton that a cup of its orange juice contained at least 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.

Students made their discovery with help from University of Maine doctoral student Kristi Crowe, who visits each week as part of a science education program that recently received accolades from the New England Board of Higher Education.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the program enables outstanding graduate students in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics to collaborate with classroom teachers and provide hands-on activities designed to make science and math fun and relevant.

"Science is cool. It's going on everywhere and it's a part of our everyday life. It's nothing to be afraid of," Crowe said she wants students to realize.

As many as 10,000 elementary and high school students from eastern and central Maine will have benefited from the program by 2006.

During the past year, fifth-graders at Hancock Grammar School assembled the bones of animals eaten by barn owls to understand how different life-forms interact.

Eighth-graders at the Lewis Libby School in Milford began a long- term analysis of the vegetation in Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge to evaluate how prescribed burns affect trees.

And Hampden Academy chemistry students measured the amount of antioxidants in blueberry leaves to help a local grower determine the best time to harvest them to make blueberry tea. The students' results may be published in a scientific journal.

"The students were so excited they were part of something that was brand new that no one else had ever studied before," said Hampden Academy teacher Bill Leatham.

UM Marine Sciences professor Susan Brawley spearheaded the initiative to bring the program here in 1999 with a three-year, $1.3 million National Science Foundation grant.

The program initially involved mostly school systems along the Penobscot River, but expanded into Hancock and Lincoln counties after receiving another $1.5 million to continue through 2006.

On Friday at UM's Buchanan Alumni House, Brawley was recognized for her efforts by the New England Board of Higher Education.

Calling the program "outstanding," NEBHE President Evan Dobelle said it not only addresses Maine's shortage of math and science teachers, but increases the quality of elementary and high school education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

UM Interim President Robert Kennedy praised the program for enabling graduate students "to share their knowledge and excitement and inspire learning."

The program was nominated by Deirdre Mageean, associate vice president for research and dean of the graduate school, and former state Sen. Mary Cathcart of Orono, a member of NEBHE's executive committee.

National Science Foundation funds have been used to take students on field trips and send teachers to scientific conferences both in and out of the country. Also with the funds, UM purchased sophisticated science equipment that is shared among participating schools.

As they hone their communication skills, graduate students expose teachers to the latest research information about fields like chemistry, molecular biology, geology and mathematics.

Advocates say the program could help reverse a couple of troubling trends showing that Americans are less interested in entering technical fields and that students here aren't as well- prepared in math and science as their counterparts in other nations.

By connecting the university's science faculties with public school educators, children get to see real-life scientists at work and may be spurred to choose a similar career, said Brawley.

"These fellows are all passionate about their subjects. They are terrific role models to encourage children to enter these fields and just to see their importance even if they don't have any career interest," she said.

Last week, graduate student Shannon Cromley helped eighth- graders in Stephen Kingsbury's class at the Lewis Libby School in Milford get a better idea of how genetic mutations occur by having them build DNA structures out of licorice and colored marshmallows.

"You've got to match up the colors or the gene won't be put together right," said Nick Levesque as he carefully connected a toothpick to green and yellow marshmallows.

"The kids are a lot of fun. They're full of questions," said Cromley.

Kingsbury praised the program for enabling his students to borrow high-powered microscopes from UM. Now they'll be more likely to score better on the Maine Educational Assessment.

"How can eighth-graders answer a question about microscopes if they haven't had hands-on experience with them?" he said.

Teachers who have participated in the program say they are more confident about science instruction and in their ability to work with sophisticated concepts and equipment.

Those who didn't specialize in science say they have been more easily able to meet the requirements of Maine's academic standards.

Joan Hildreth, a fifth-grade teacher at Hancock Grammar School who has a master's degree in reading and language arts, was so inspired by the program that she has begun working toward a second master's degree in science inquiry.

"I never had any intention of going back to school. But science is so much fun," said Hildreth.

Source: Bangor Daily News

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