GUEST COLUMN

K-12 outreach already taking place,
but more can be done

By David Haase
Director of The Science House

Dr. Robert Bruck has proposed a Faculty Senate resolution urging the university to encourage faculty to assist teachers in schools, and to establish a K-12 oversight position in the Office of Extension and Engagement. Dr. Bruck should be applauded for reminding us that nurturing K-12 must be a focus of the land-grant university. NC State is doing much, and yet could do more to benefit K-12.

Several campus programs already work daily in NC schools. The Science House, the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, the Kenan Fellows, 4-H and Humanities Extension are only the more visible activities in each of the colleges. No doubt, NC State is more engaged with K-12 than any other campus in the state.

For example, the Science House, NC State’s statewide K-12 science and mathematics program, has six offices from Asheville to Jacksonville. Through teacher training, student enrichment activities and curriculum development, the Science House annually reaches more than 3,000 teachers and 20,000 students in the state, and many in other states.

Every day, Science House staff members assist teachers in the classroom to learn hands-on inquiry-based teaching methods. The Science House facilitates outreach for two multi-university NSF research laboratories and leads an annual Conference on K-12 Outreach from University Science Departments. Few universities have such a sustained nationally recognized program that brings the science and technology of the campus to all of the state.

Yet NC State could do more to assist the state’s 2,200 schools. It is our challenge, in a time of limited budgets, to make an impact statewide.

Of course, the first way to improve K-12 teaching is to set an example in our own courses. Many K-12 teachers are lateral entries who did not major in education. We should consider each undergraduate as a future teacher. Because K-12 teachers teach as they are taught, our teaching is reflected every day in K-12 classrooms.

We must participate in all parts of the education enterprise. School boards, education commissions, and PTA’s need our faculty’s content knowledge and education expertise. The National Science Education Standards emphasize that successful school reform must include not only teachers, but principals, administrators, parents and the community. We should also use our unique position as the science and technology campus to promote science education to groups that focus now only on reading and mathematics.

Educational success is linked to economic development. Because rural schools lack resources and an educated infrastructure, the engineer or agriculture scientist that helps bring a new business to a rural county is helping improve K-12 education.

We should share our knowledge and enthusiasm for our disciplines with teachers and the public. Many NC State faculty already volunteer their time to visit classrooms, judge science fairs and run student programs. These faculty and NC State should receive more encouragement and credit for all their efforts.
I urge the Senate and the Office of Extension and Engagement to consider how to enhance already excellent K-12 outreach programs and to nurture innovative approaches that reach more K-12 schools.

Posted September 17, 2004

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