Emory goes to high school

MASTERING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING

Real-world science

A teacher draws a case study at random from the online list. She reads about elbow injuries, and five minutes later, she is offering ideas of how to make that case study relevant to high school science students. She proposes to connect the information to a prominent athlete’s injury, say a recent injury by Queen Latifah.

The Atlanta area high school teachers are attending a summer workshop at the Emory Center for Science Education. In addition to discovering the latest research and resources for science students, they are learning to integrate problem-based learning into their classrooms.

Today they are exploring a database of cases that the center has designed to engage students in exploring the science behind real-world problems. These lessons address a variety of objectives across the sciences and mathematics. And educators can search the collection to find cases appropriate to the grade levels, subjects, and topics of interest for their students in grades K-12.

The center’s goal is to enhance science teaching and student experiences at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels. In addition to undergraduate research, mentoring, and future faculty development initiatives, the center offers a range of programs for K-12 teachers and students throughout the year. “Our outreach mission is to help Georgia teachers get their students more excited about learning science and pursuing college and science careers,” says Assistant Director Jordan Rose. “At the same time, we want to highlight Emory research and engage Emory students and faculty in improving science education for all.” —Rhonda

Mullen

WEB CONNECTION For more information on the programs and opportunities offered by the Emory College Center for Science Education, visit cse.emory.edu.