McREL creating and studying "Cosmic Chemistry" space science summer learning program in Tulsa
October 12, 2009
Denver—Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), a Denver-based nonprofit, has begun work on a three-year project to design and study the effects of a two-week, summer science program designed to encourage high school students to enroll in high school chemistry. Creation of the program, called "Cosmic Chemistry," is supported with funding from the United States Department of Education’s Institute for Education Science (IES).
Cosmic Chemistry will use the real-world context of space science to set high expectations, build background knowledge, and motivate students, with the ultimate goal of increasing their science achievement. The curriculum will be based on real world science from the NASA Genesis Mission (http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov), the fifth in a series of un-manned NASA Discovery Program space missions focused on the solar system.
It will be designed for 9th- and 10th-grade students at Union Intermediate High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and held during the summers of 2010 and 2011. Union Public Schools District will identify 30 students who may need additional support before taking high school chemistry to participate in the pilot test.
The goal of the program is to both help students learn complex science concepts while building their confidence to take higher level science courses. It will teach students to think and communicate like scientists by identifying questions, generating hypotheses and conducting investigations to test their hypotheses.
Recruitment of student participants will begin in February 2010, with the first session starting in June 2010. Evaluation data from the 2010 program will be used to refine and improve the program as necessary for the following summer.
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McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Denver, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. In 2008, McREL provided research-based guidance to educators and policymakers in four countries and 47 states across the U.S.
