Jul 23, 2007, 06:13

The University of Toledo College of Medicine has received a $749,820 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to give junior high and high school teachers new tools to effectively teach the mysteries of science and technology to students.

The five-year project is aimed at equipping teachers to use what are called "project-based learning" techniques to help students learn and become more interested in science and to be more comfortable and excited with the scientific process used to make discoveries.

UT was one of 31 institutions selected for an award from 127 applicants. The project will involve faculty members from the Judith Herb College of Education, College of Engineering and the College of Medicine and the Toledo Public Schools.

"My hope is that the project will strengthen the skills of high school science teachers," said Dr. Robert Crissman, associate professor of neurosciences and project principal investigator who wrote the grant proposal with co-investigator Dr. Charlene Czerniak, professor of science education and director of the Office of Research Collaboration. "Making science more hands-on, more practical, more relevant in junior high and high school is one way to attract students and have them consider careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine and other fields. It is very gratifying that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute recognizes UT's commitment to develop innovative teaching methods in the pre-college biomedical and other sciences."

"This partnership will be tremendously beneficial to Toledo high school teachers and students," said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, provost and executive vice president for health affairs and College of Medicine dean. "The project fits nicely with the state's emphasis on the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics."

"Toledo Public Schools is excited to continue our rich partnerships with The University of Toledo and the colleges of Medicine and Education," said TPS Superintendent John Foley. "The demands of economic development and growth will require our students to have a rich and deep understanding of science. The Precollege Science Education Initiative, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, will provide professional development and collaboration between scientists and educators that can only enhance the learning opportunities for all of our students."

Project-based learning (PBL) is touted as having great potential because students are encouraged to develop skills in research, collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking instead of simply listening to a lecture, reading a book chapter and taking a test, according to Crissman.

"A PBL curriculum is more demanding than traditional textbook instruction because students utilize original documents and data to engage in inquiry on the topic, thereby learning concepts in more meaningful ways," Crissman explained.

The faculty members, working with Toledo Public Schools, will recruit more than 20 mathematics and science teachers from grades seven through 12 starting this fall and for each of the next five summers to work beside UT scientists in laboratories on the Main and Health Science campuses. They will update and hone their lab techniques and teaching methods in the biological sciences and math to take back to their classrooms and use to excite students.

They will attend weekly seminars to learn more about the nature of scientific inquiry and how technology is applied to biomedical science, and a two-week summer workshop to teaching project-based science.

They also will present results of their summer research projects at a symposium and later develop, with the help of UT scientists, problem-based teaching tools and modules.

The mentorship will extend beyond the summer to include classroom visits by the teachers and their students to the scientists' labs during the school year.

The program also can help enrich the science education of minority students and demonstrate to them that college and a science career are real possibilities, according to Crissman.

Other co-investigators are Czerniak, Drs. Mark Templin, professor of education in the Judith Herb College of Education; James Kleshinski, associate professor of medicine and College of Medicine associate dean of admissions; and Samuel H. Hancock, assistant to the president and director of the Office of Institutional Diversity.

Templin will direct a two-week workshop on incorporating project-based science teaching into the classrooms that investigate a real-life question with experiments that organize principles and concepts, encouraging teacher-student collaboration.

Czerniak, who has authored a book on project-based science, is project liaison, while Kleshinski will share information about medical and health-care careers with teachers and students, and also keep data to see if students enter college and pursue science careers. Hancock will talk on career choices.

With calls increasing for better education in the STEM fields to prepare the future work force for a high-tech world, Crissman said he hopes the program encourages teachers to adopt the model to better master the challenges of teaching math and science.

"This is an important and beneficial grant to the community as a whole," Crissman said. "It will strengthen the ties between medical researchers and science teachers of grades seven through 12. Ultimately, the students will be better-trained and qualified to enter biomedical science fields, as well as help them understanding science in everyday life experiences."

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Chevy Chase, Md., is a nonprofit organization that works to promote biomedical research and science education. Created in 1953 by aviator-industrialist Howard Hughes, the institute employs 297 investigators who head research groups at 70 universities across the United States. The largest privately funded education initiative of its kind in the United States, HHMI's grant program is enhancing science education for students at all levels, from the earliest grades through advanced training. Since 1988, HHMI has awarded approximately $1.5 billion in grants.

By Jim Winkler