The College of Education at the State University of New York at Fredonia – with partnering schools – is ready to go forward with a proposal that is designed to change the way young people learn science.
 
The Young Inquiring Scientists Want To Know Project is a three-year, $3.6 million program funded through the United States Department of Education and New York State Math Science Partnership Program in cooperation with the Dunkirk City School District. It will help transform science classes to a "hands-on/minds-on" method. In addition to educators in Dunkirk, teachers from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 in the Fredonia, Gowanda, Silver Creek, and Westfield school districts will benefit from this experimental reform in science education. They are being joined by educators from two non-public schools – Northern Chautauqua Catholic School and St. Hyacinth’s – as well as special educators of Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES.
 
"Teachers are smart, smart people," said Dr. Michael Jabot, Assistant Professor in the SUNY Fredonia College of Education "We haven't given them the time to collaborate together, to focus on instruction, and to change their environment to focus on their needs. . . If we lay out expectations and give people resources to get it done, we will be amazed by what they can do." Dr. Jabot is the lead scientist behind the proposal, which was written by he and Dr. Kathleen Gradel for the Dunkirk City School District.
 
According to the terms of the YISWTK grant, more than 300 educators will receive a minimum of 60 professional development hours annually over a period of three years, to incorporate inquiry-based scientific learning in their classrooms. Curriculum maps for students from Pre-K through Grade 12 will be developed based on New York State standards, and a network of science mentors will be established for the participating educators.
 
"Our greatest focus in year one of this project is to establish a baseline of student thinking in the sciences, and use that to inform the curriculum that is developed," said Dr. Jabot. "We really want to help develop educators’ content knowledge in the context of the areas where students struggle. It isn’t about trying to teach the teachers everything about astronomy, for example; rather, it is to teach them why their students struggle with specific topics, such as the phases of the moon, or the causes behind the changing of the season, and issues along those lines."
 
In addition, an assessment based on the impact of the inquiry-based science learning approach will be conducted in each district, focusing on student achievement, teacher science instruction competency and comfort, and relevant reform activity.
 
The project is being directed by a consortium of district representatives. Teachers participating in the project will be those who routinely work in diverse settings with academically at-risk students, those who lack permanent certification, and those who have the least amount of preparation and experience in teaching science.
 
According to Mrs. Joanne Russo, the Dunkirk lead on the project, "By essentially ‘teaching the teachers,’ the project will help teachers and students throughout Western New York develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the sciences, while simultaneously collecting insights into the way young people learn."
 
"I think this is important," said Dr. Jabot. "There are going to be a lot of questions that get answered, and a lot of questions we are going to try to answer – for instance, how can we really use student ideas to frame curriculum that has a positive impact on their lives? The long-term educational implications are enormous. We can change science to math to art to ELA to literacy and on and on…This is going to be a great opportunity."