Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Surface, T. M.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
WEST VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY
PO BOX 1000
INSTITUTE, WEST VIRGINIA 25112

4-H GROWTH ON THE GO

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: It is a truth universally acknowledged that when media giants like Verizon are using advertisement dollars to encourage youths to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) these fields must be in want of a well-educated workforce. Unfortunately, our bright scientific minds are underserved in the early years when it should be easiest to engage with their questing minds. Enter, then, Growth on the Go, a program aimed to reinvigorate science engagement in the classroom. As it stands, science and math, instead of being frontiers of exploration and possibility, are either absent from the classroom or, perhaps worse, made unappealing. This is in large part because early education and elementary teachers are underprepared to teach these subjects; they have little training in the sciences, particularly in chemistry, engineering, and physics. This lack of content knowledge is combined with a lack of pedagogical practices on delivering science education and leads, detrimentally, to avoidance. An alarming number of elementary students do not receive science education weekly when, in fact, they should be receiving it most days if not every day.Growth on the Go aims to change this by providing teachers with low-anxiety trainings that increase teacher confidence in content knowledge and their ability to teach STEM subjects. Rather than teachers translating their anxiety to their students, Growth on the Go will help them cultivate and convey enthusiasm for the topics at hand. The program will target both pre-service and in-service teachers with trainings; it will provide additional support to in-service teachers through a lending library of curriculum boxes developed on 14 themes and other tools such as iPads and microscopes. Each themed box focuses on hands-on learning opportunities and incorporates multiple scientific disciplines as well as literacy, history, and other relevant subjects. Growth on the Go will also provide event days, delivering positive STEM encounters to students in underserved communities in West Virginia. This is all made possible by its mobile capacity, bringing tools, professional development, and resources to the communities in the tradition of George Washington Carver's Moveable Schools. With this vibrant beginning, students will grow into questioning, engaged citizens and students of the sciences.

OBJECTIVES: Goal Statement: Growth on the Go aims to increase the amount of time spent on and the quality of engagement with STEM in prek-5th grade classrooms by better preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to engage with STEM; the program will increase their confidence, knowledge, and professional support network through trainings while providing necessary supplies.Objectives1. Extension ObjectivesTo increase Preschool-5th grade educators' confidence in teaching STEM and agriculture concepts.To increase the amount of time Preschool-5th grade teachers spend on STEM and agriculture concepts in the classroom.To provide materials and curriculum for hands-on science education to Preschool-5th grade teachers.To engage communities in schools in positive experiential STEM learning opportunities.2. Teaching ObjectivesTo increase pre-service teachers' confidence in teaching STEM and agriculture concepts.To increase curriculum development and instructional opportunities for pre-service teachers.To increase technology use in science lessons.