Evaluation of the Implementation of the National Institutes of Health ScienceAlliance Program

摘要

Science Alliance pairs teams of scientists from the National Institutes of Health(NIH) with two elementary schools: Brookhaven Elementary School in Washington, D.C. The goal of the program is to help the schools enhance their life sciences curricula. The report examines the implementation of the program and identifies features that facilitated or impeded it. The key component of the program, classroom visits by scientists, involves students in hands-on experiments and demonstrations, as well as presentations to students about science or health-related topics. The component works well when a high level of mutual commitment between teachers and scientists is present. A second component of the program, the Science Alliance Bulletin Board (SABB), allows teachers and students to communicate directly with NIH scientists. However, many students and teachers find the system difficult to operate, and many consider responses untimely. The third component is workshops for the teachers and scientists. Two workshops were held during the academic year, but there was some difficulty in determining their purpose. The report recommends organizational changes to the workshops, so that they may be dedicated to allowing teachers to discuss curriculum ideas and science lessons in grade-level groups.