Internships In Public Science Education Program: A Model For Informal Science Education.

Abstract

The NSF-funded Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE) program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students with diverse academic backgrounds to experience learning and teaching sciencespecifically in the field of nanotechnology-to the general public and middle-school students. The program is a collaboration with Discovery World Museum of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which provides expertise in public science education, access to local science teachers, and opportunities to test materials with a live audience. Since the program began nearly three years ago, UW IPSE interns have created a number of classroom activities ranging from understanding the scale of a nanometer, to experimenting with liquid crystal sensors, to critically examining the societal implications of nanotechnology. The program focuses on both the development of activity modules and the professional development of the interns. During activity development, intern teams learn about nanotechnology, gather background information, brainstorm ideas, present and receive feedback on their ideas, conduct experiments, build hands-on models, and create instructional materials to explain nanotechnology and related science concepts. During professional development, interns learn about creating classroom activities, techniques for presenting to non-technical audiences, and strategies for assessing their materials; and work on their skills in teamwork, project design, leadership, and science communication. In addition to visiting middle-school classrooms, interns participate in on-and off-campus informal science education events where they present to wider audiences ranging from science teachers, to members of the adult lay public, to groups of middle-school-age children. In this paper, we discuss the development, implementation, and assessment of the UW-Madison IPSE program.