Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology (EUV)

Graduate Students Bring the Excitement of Experimentation and Discovery into K-12 Classrooms

Graduate students from the NSF Engineering Research Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology (EUV ERC) take advantage of the unique infrastructure of an ERC to routinely conduct interactive physical science workshops for K-12 students in Colorado and California. These workshops involve young students in hands-on experiments that teach them basic concepts of light and matter. The enthusiastic ERC students who volunteer to teach the workshops serve as role models for grade school students interested in science or engineering. In addition, the experiments and constructivist approach to teaching employed in the workshops are transmitted to the K-12 teachers of these students for their adoption.

EUV ERC graduate students working at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) have been meeting with 5th grade students in the Bay Area. This outreach effort has an in-house component where students work on experiments at LBL, and an at-the-school component where graduate students travel to the schools. During the fall of 2005 the in-house program involved 90 students and 6 teachers from elementary schools in Oakland, Mount Diablo, West Contra Costa, and Orinda, while at-the-school programs typically involved Berkeley schools.

Simultaneously, EUV ERC students in Colorado have collaborated in organizing a program that brings the excitement of their Center research into the classroom. A day-long optics workshop for 120 students of Lupton Middle School was organized by graduate student David Alessi. Another student, Ariel Paul, is using inquiry-based learning to teach an introductory physics course to 28 students at Boulder High School. A "Lets Make Light" workshop is annually offered to elementary school girls in Fort Collins, as is an optics and laser workshop for high school students.

Enthusiastic graduate students bring the excitement of experimentation and discovery into K-12 classrooms, serving as powerful role models for future engineers and scientists.

To learn more about this topic:
Visit the Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology web page at http://euverc.colostate.edu/education/education.shtml.

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Ryan Miyakawa, a first-year graduate student at
the EUV ERC, is teaching 5th graders from
Oakland, California, fundamental concepts in
electricity, conductors, and insulators.

Fifth-grade students performing experiments with
Brooke Mesler, a second-year graduate student
at the EUV ERC.

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Last modified: May 16, 2007