Science Mentors: Building Stronger
Middle School Science Programs Through Telecommunications

Overview: Science Mentors is a minigrant-funded project sponsored by the Texas Education Network (TENET). Its primary purpose is to match middle school students who are working on projects with experts in the corresponding fields. Electronic mail links students and mentors. A database of people who are willing to assist and students who request assistance was established at the Mentors Web site. In fact, a secondary purpose of the program was to establish a database of resources that can support student science projects.

Because middle school science is one of the most challenging areas of education, the classroom teacher must become a facilitator. Teachers who are involved with the Science Mentor program act as guides by showing the students how to find the knowledge they seek in an atmosphere in which everyone can achieve their goals.

Goals and objectives:

Telecomputing is a necessity for students to locate mentors for these projects due
to the wide variety of their interests and the relatively rural nature of the area. The
project will:

• Encourage collaborative learning through teacher and student access and application of TENET resources including Gopher, Newsgroups.
• Create a community of learners in which social, temporal, and physical barriers are removed.
• Create a source of motivation for the students by utilizing telecommunications as a research tool.
• Locate and match mentors and resources to students with interest in specific fields.
• Increase understanding for areas of individual student interest by use of mentors in the fields each has chosen to research.
• Increased written communications skills through practice through the use of electronic mail.
• Allow e-mail exchanges between students with similar project interests.
• To establish a means for secondary science students and teachers to exchange information on mentors and possible information sources for projects.
• To demonstrate to the community the value of telecommunications as an educational tool.
  

Prerequisite skills/knowledge:

Teacher:
Intermediate telecomputing skills, word processing skills, knowledge of Gopher, World Wide Web, and TENET newsgroups
Student:
Beginning keyboarding skills.

Materials/equipment:

Hardware

Computer with fax/modem
Printer

Software

Word processing software
Desktop publishing software
Graphics programs

  Printed Materials

Materials for art and display

 

Instructional activities/strategies:

Six-week blocks or the schedule observed by your school, for the entire school year. Teachers will schedule telecommunication classes during this period as they are available. The goal is to have all teachers trained by the end of the third six weeks.

First Six weeks

1.Equipment needed will be acquired.
2.Students will be introduced to telecomputing.
3.Students will select problem to be researched.
4.Call for participation from other schools announced on newsgroup.
5.Students will learn more about TENET and the Internet.
6.Students will turn in research question for approval.

Second Six Weeks

1.Students will make trip to school library to research question. (All local sources for the research question must be exhausted).
2.Those students unable to find information needed through conventional sources will begin research work on TENET during Science class time, tutorial periods.
3.Mentors will be located and dialogue will begin.

Third Six Weeks

1.TENET newsgroup will continue to share sources for projects.
2.Dialogue with mentors will be completed this six weeks.
3.Experiments will began this six weeks.
4.Students/teachers will be invited to post sources and mentors for all
to share.

Fourth Six Weeks

1.Students will complete their science project this six weeks.
2.Student/teacher postings will continue.
3.Thank you e-mails will be sent to all mentors.

Assessment options:

Teacher assessment of the final projects based on the criteria of the scientific process will serve as the final evaluation.

Teaching Suggestions/Extensions:

Once established, this newsgroup is seen as a continuing means to put students and teachers in communication with sources and mentors. Once the project has made this first cycle, it is hoped that a website can be established where students can publish the results of their research.

 

Contributor:

Terry W. Antoine
Decatur Middle School

Decatur, Texas