GEMS program helps science and math teachers in local districts

Southwestern Central School teacher Sandra Everson examines one of several clues in a science exercise held during a GEMS training session for local educators at SUNY Fredonia. In back are Albert Foley, from Silver Creek Central School, and Cynthia McMillen of Dunkirk City Schools.

More than 50 teachers from area school districts gathered at a workshop hosted by SUNY Fredonia Oct. 9 to 11 to enhance their teaching skills through participation in GEMS, a resource of innovative science and math education developed by the University of California at Berkeley.

GEMS (Greater Explorations in Math and Science) is an inquiry-based method for teaching science and math.

“The biggest difference between GEMS and more traditional teaching is that GEMS uses inquiry as a lead-in to teaching, as opposed to a follow-up,” explained Dr. Michael Jabot, associate professor in the College of Education. “A lot of times the teacher teaches content, and then you do the lab, whereas in GEMS you are doing the science as the lead-in to develop content understanding.”

SUNY Fredonia is home to the only GEMS center in the entire Northeast, according to Dr. Jabot. “It’s a great resource for our region to be able to focus on the best practices in science education,” he said. The center at SUNY Fredonia was established last year.

Development of GEMS units began more than 30 years ago. They have undergone national field testing in thousands of classrooms and are designed to provide supplemental learning experiences for preschool through eighth grade, Dr. Jabot explained. Science education in the primary grades was emphasized at this week’s session held at the Williams Center. Middle-level science was addressed at the 2006 program.

Two GEMS trainers from the University of California at Berkeley, John Erickson and Laura Tucker, engaged teachers in a series of lessons that could be adjusted, based on grade levels, and then presented in their own classrooms. The entire GEMS series includes more than 70 teachers’ guides and handbooks.

Attendance was by invitation only, based on recommendations by science education leaders in the area, Dr. Jabot said. Participating teachers become GEMS associates. School districts represented at the program included: Fredonia, Dunkirk, Jamestown, Westfield, Ripley, Silver Creek, Gowanda, Southwestern, Cattaraugus-Little Valley, Pine Valley and North Collins