PHYSICAL SCIENCE BY INQUIRY PROGRAMS
FOR THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OF INSERVICE K-12 TEACHERS

Physics Department
University of Cincinnati
Program Director - Dr. Robert Endorf

Sponsored by Cincinnati Public Schools, Southwest Ohio Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education and the University of Cincinnati

Support for these Programs is provided by grants from the Improving Teacher Quality Development Program Administered by the Ohio Board of Regents

• A High Quality Activity-Based Inquiry Program in Physical Science
• Free Tuition and No Fees for Graduate Courses
• A Large Amount of Graduate Course Credit in Physics
• A Cash Stipend
• Free Equipment
• No Previous Background in Physics is Required
• Aid in adopting the new Ohio Science Academic Content Standards

Summer 2008 Workshops

• Physical Science by Inquiry for Teachers in Grades 5-12
• Physical Science by Inquiry for Teachers in Grades K-5

For additional information you may contact Dr. Robert Endorf at 513-556-0530 or send e-mail to: Robert.Endorf@UC.edu
Cincinnati Public School Teachers may also contact Kevin Stinson, CPS Science Manager, for more information.

Detailed Program Description:

The Physical Science by Inquiry Programs are high quality, sustained, standards-based professional development programs for teachers in grades K-12. The goal of the programs is to increase student achievement in science and altitudes toward science by providing science teachers in grades 5-12 and teachers in grades K-5 with the science content knowledge and science process skills needed to teach science as a process of inquiry. The programs conform to the National Science Education Standards for professional development and will aid teachers in adopting the new Ohio Academic Content Standards in Science, which require teachers to have a strong understanding of both science content and science process skills. Teachers completing the programs will be able to teach using inquiry and help their students gain a deeper understanding of basic concepts and scientific reasoning skills.

The Physical Science by Inquiry Programs are a partnership of the Physics Department and College of Education at the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Public School District and the Southwest Ohio Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education. These are well established programs that have been taught successfully at the University of Cincinnati from 1996-2007, with the enthusiastic acceptance of the participants.

There are two Physical Science by Inquiry Programs. The Physical Science by Inquiry Program for teachers in grades 5-12 includes a four-week summer workshop, consisting of graduate courses in Physics by Inquiry, which will meet daily from 9:00-3:30 for twelve graduate credit hours. The Physical Science by Inquiry Program for Teachers in Grades K-5 includes a two-week summer workshop, consisting of a graduate course in Physics by Inquiry, which will meet daily from 9:00-3:30 for six graduate credit hours. This program, which emphasizes more preliminary concepts for science teachers in grades K-5, is a shortened version of our grades 5-12 program that has been designed specifically for teachers in grades K-5. The participants in the programs will receive scholarships to cover the entire cost of the tuition and fees for the graduate courses. They will also receive monetary stipends and equipment for their classrooms.

The Physics by Inquiry graduate courses are intense activity-based courses that are taught using cooperative learning groups. They cover both scientific content and the scientific process skills. The courses are taught with the Physics by Inquiry curriculum, which was developed by Dr. Lillian McDermott and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington. This is a set of inquiry-based hands-on activities that have been developed using scientifically-based research to prepare preservice and inservice teachers to teach science as a process of inquiry. Both traditional and alternative methods of assessment are used that emphasize reasoning, rather than memorization of facts and figures. Each teacher will also write inquiry-based science lessons that may be taught in a class at their school. At the end of the workshop each teacher receives copies of all of the lessons developed by the teachers in the workshop.

The teachers who have completed the summer workshop then apply the inquiry-based science knowledge and teaching methods, which they have acquired in the program, within their schools. These methods of teaching physical science will be further developed, supported and sustained throughout the academic year. The teachers will meet together for three academic year seminars, totaling fifteen hours, which will earn the participants an additional one hour of graduate credit. There will also be web-based follow-up support for the participants, either through an iDiscovery course or through the University of Cincinnati's Blackboard system. The program instructors will provide additional support by visiting the classroom of each participant during the school year.