U. sponsors teaching enhancement program

A new era in science education was launched last Wednesday with the creation of a 5-year, $3 million teacher enhancement program, sponsored by the University, the Philadelphia School District and Merck Institute for Science Education. Greg Reaves, manager of Public Affairs for Merck & Company, Inc. in West Point, Pa., founded the program. "I had been tutoring kids in middle school, and noticed how lacking their science background [was]," he said. "They saw none of the fun and wonder of science." Reaves proposed a collaborative effort between the University and Merck -- with $1.8 million of funding from the National Science Foundation -- to create the teacher enhancement program. Beginning in July, 250 elementary school teachers will attend an intensive three-week summer training session, followed by graduate-level education seminars during the 1994-95 academic year and then another three-week summer session in 1995. According to Sally Baldwin, news officer in the Department of News and Public Affairs at the University, teachers will learn specific ways to incorporate more science experiments and demonstrations into the classroom. Baldwin said she feels these teachers will teach students the idea of "scientific exploration and discovery [in] the classroom." "They'll see a liquid such as water turn into ice, and wonder, 'hmmm, what else can it do?'" she said. Reaves said that given the limited science background of many elementary school teachers, incentives such as college credit and stipends will be available for teachers who participate in the project. Baldwin added that "hopefully, the collaborative will not just be a mentoring program, but these teachers will become mentors themselves, and go help other teachers make science become more alive for their students." Kate Hann, news officer in the News and Public Affairs Office, said the collaborative can only help to improve Penn's image. "These are the kind of things Penn likes to do," she said. "They really like to take a hands-on role in affecting the community." As a result of this collaborative, Reaves hopes more students select science-related careers. By targeting elementary school children, Baldwin said, "we can get kids excited about science as early as possible." Interim President Claire Fagin echoed Baldwin's sentiments. "Building the elementary school programs is so important and it does, I hope, pay off," she said. "We have got to be focussing on this part of our population when we start to look at the world 20 years from now."