Students aren't the only ones learning a thing or two.
Thirty-two Ohio science teachers embraced their role as students during an "Operation Physics" graduate course atOtterbein University in Westerville. And they seemed to enjoy it -- from roaming the halls on a hovercraft powered by a leaf blower to being immobilized inside a trash bag during an air pressure demonstration.
For two weeks, the teachers participated in a variety of hands-on experiments that they can adapt for middle schoolers. They learned about color, light and sound. They discussed astronomy, energy and magnetism. And they explored electricity, fluid dynamics, forces and motion, properties of matter -- and the list goes on.
“We want teachers to understand the science of each of these concepts and how the course topics link to the Ohio Academic Content Standards,” said Wendy Sherman-Heckler, an associate professor and class coordinator. “We want them to take away from the course some ideas on how to teach and assess student learning around these topics.”
The course will continue with five one-day sessions through March. Teachers also will attend the Science Education Council of Ohio Conference in February. And like their students, they're being tested: By designing pre- and post-tests to measure whether their students’ understanding of science improve under the new teaching techniques.
The tuition-free, nine credit-hour graduate course combines basic physical science concepts with hands-on materials and activities for fourth- through ninth-grade teachers. It is modeled after a program developed by the National Science Foundation and is supported by the Ohio Board of Regents under its improving teacher quality grants.
