MOBILIZING WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE OLYMPIAD OUTREACH; EVERYONE’S A WINNER

For the past seven years the faculty and students Department of Geology & Astronomy of West Chester University (WCU) of Pennsylvania have worked with students and teachers from the three middle schools of the West Chester Area School District to prepare 6-8th graders for the Science Olympiad competition. Students and teachers from the schools form two teams; one working on the astronomy competition and the other on the geology competition (Rocks and Minerals or Fossils). From January to March, we meet an hour each week. The astronomy team meets in the planetarium, and Geology team meets in the Paleontology lab. WCU provides information packets and suites of hand specimens that the students can take to their schools to continue their preparation throughout the weeks. Several meetings are held at one of the middle schools. Over the past few years, all three middle school teams have done well at regional and state competitions. This collaboration has been beneficial for all participants. Most of the participating WCU students are pre-teachers. This experience has given them an opportunity to work with middle school students early in their program; to hone their content knowledge and communication skills to develop meaningful learning experiences for middle school students, and to enhance their resume when they begin their job search. The WCU students establish contacts with local teachers that have become field observation and student teaching assignments. Benefits to the WCU faculty and department has been a venue for student recruitment to the department (a challenge to most geoscience departments in these troubled economic times in higher education). A benefit to the department and the university is that this program documents requirements for teacher preparation programs for accreditation by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the NCATE Standard 3: Field Experiences and Clinical Practice. Benefits to the school district and local community are the prestige of their students’ success in the science competition, and the opportunity of the school district to recruit WCU students to their teaching staff.