What is Science After School (SAS)?
It is science enrichment after school program for children that are in kindergarten through sixth grade. It is planned and organized by the Elementary Science Methods class every semester.
The professor, Angela McKeen, gives the students an overall topic/theme for the program and the undergrad elementary education college students do the rest.
The design for SAS:
There is a new theme every semester. This is because there is a new group of college students every semester. It also gives the elementary students fresh topics to explore. The program is usually one a week for four weeks. There are two separate age categories; one for kindergarten through second grade and one for third grade through sixth grade. Each day there is a new sub-topic and new teachers. There are two teachers for each group level for each day.
Parents and guardians are more than welcome to come and watch SAS action. We provide seating and a closed circuit video for all to watch. The lesson is recorded for learning purposes only. After teaching, each pre-service teacher must watch the video with Professor McKeen, who then evaluates all aspects of our teaching with us, provides feedback to us, and assigns our grades.
What are the responsibilities of each elementary education major?
Each elementary education student is to find a partner. Then they get into two groups, primary and intermediate, and discuss ideas that will go with the main theme. Once they have brainstormed for a while, then they pick their sub-topics that they will be teaching. Then, with their partners, the method students research their topics and start putting together ideas for their lesson. After they have their lesson put together, it gets checked by Professor Angela McKeen to make sure that it is a well-prepared lesson to present to elementary students.
While the method students are planning their lessons, they also are making decorations to make the entrance of the classroom and the classroom itself welcoming and exciting.
What's done before the elementary students show up?
About an hour before the elementary students show up, tape is flying and the smell of markers is everywhere. College desks are being pulled out of their rooms and being replaced by children-sized tables. A video recorder is getting set up, all wires are being connected, and Angela is almost ready to say "Action!"
What happens after the elementary students leave?
Once Angela says "That's a wrap," for the next hour decorations are torn down, tape is picked off the walls and floors, the tables are put away, and the desks are put back in their rightful places. The videos are finalized and the cameras are carefully put away. Then the college students go home to do homework.
Later, the method students who taught that night meet with Angela to watch their video and discuss how they did. They talk about what they think went well, what didn't go so well, what they could have done better, and tips for how to better handle situations that came up.
How do I sign up my child?
Every semester the director of SAS sends out brochures not only to each elementary and middle school in Marion County but also to the students that have previously participated in the program. There is an application form in each brochure. Fill it out and send it in with the check. Then you wait for a call to confirm that your child has been accepted into the program. If the program is full already, they will add your name to the mailing list and send you a brochure next semester.
~Sophie
No comments:
Post a Comment