IMPROVING SCIENCE INQUIRY PROJECTS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL BY SETTING UP A MENTOR PROGRAM WITH LOCAL UNIVERSITIES

At Leslie Middle School, we have set up a mentor workshop that allows our science research students the opportunity to work with scientists from the Salem area, including the faculties from Willamette University and Western Oregon University. The goals of the program are to improve the quality of our students’ science fair projects by providing them access to experts, equipment, labs and ideas that they would not normally have. For example, we have had a number of students work with the Civil Air Patrol’s wind tunnel to design different styles of airfoils. We also hope to create an on-going relationship between the students and the mentors, so that the students can continue to learn and grow throughout their project.

We solicit mentors from local universities and other scientific entities, with the desire to pair mentors up with students who have a research interest in their field. We have brought in chemists, physicists, geologists, aerospace engineers, psychologists, materials scientists and mechanics to work with our students. During the four hour morning workshop, the mentors work with a small group of students, helping them with background research, experimental design and troubleshooting. After the mentor workshop, the students continue to correspond with their mentors through email or in person, dealing with questions that arise during their research.

In the short life of our program, we have produced many high quality science fair projects that have won numerous awards from our regional and state science fairs. In 2007, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry named Leslie Middle School the best middle school science research program in Oregon. In the years before the program began, we entered 2-3 projects per year in our state science fair. Since the programs inception, we regularly enter 10-20 projects per year.