UIC GK-12
Graduate Fellows in K-12 Education
Supported by the National Science Foundation

2001 Dates Included

The UIC Graduate Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, offers an exciting opportunity to UIC graduate and undergraduate students in science, mathematics, and engineering. There are Fellowships for ten graduate students and five undergraduate students in return for working with teachers and schools that are implementing and developing new science and mathematics curricula.

The goals of the program are to (1) foster an understanding among tomorrow's science, math, and engineering researchers of the opportunities and challenges of working with pre-college teachers and students and (2) provide teachers with an opportunity to enhance their understanding and skills in science, math, and technology through extended interaction with, and direct support from, the GK-12 Fellows.

Each graduate fellowship offers an $18,000 stipend over 12 months; each undergraduate fellowship offers $5,000 over 9 months. A waiver of tuition accompanies the graduate fellowships.

Who is involved

Four UIC departments in three different colleges participate in the GK–12 program. The principal investigators are Donald Wink and Wade Freeman (Chemistry), Maria Varelas (Education), Tom Moher (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), and Phil Wagreich (Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science).

These faculty will work together to supervise Fellows in the general training program and in specific, established interventions in the schools in four different areas. Each of these interventions also has a teacher professional development program in which the Graduate Fellows will participate.

The interventions are:

The schools that involved with the program will be determined by their ongoing or new participation in the interventions.

Who can be a Fellow

GK–12 is open to all students in degree programs in chemistry, mathematics, or computer science. Fellows must be either U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must be in good standing in their degree program.

Activities for Fellows

We anticipate that all Graduate Fellows will begin their work in June prior to their work in the schools during the following academic year. Undergraduate Fellows will begin work in late August. A tentative schedule of activities follows.

Graduate Fellows training program (June–July). All Graduate Fellows will enroll in a section of a course that will give them credit for their training as Fellows. The training will consist of a one-week workshop on teaching in schools. The workshop will be taught by the principal investigators and by participating school teachers. The Fellows will then spend the rest of the summer under the guidance of one of the principal investigators in the development of a specific intervention. For 2001, this program will take place June 25th-June 29th.

Teacher professional development (July-August) Graduate Fellows will be part of the teacher professional development program associated with the interventions. Fellows will participate actively in these when these occur during the Summer.

School year teacher and classroom support (August–May). As appropriate for the given program, Graduate Fellows will spend 10 or more hours per week in direct support of teachers, with additional time set aside for out-of-school work. The support will vary depending on the intervention but will always involve the Fellow's involvement in K-12 classrooms. The Fellow will also collect information as part of a Fellow-developed research program for the systematic study of some aspects of his or her work with teachers, students, and schools.

Academic year Fellows seminar (August–May) All Fellows will register for a one-hour course for both semesters of the Fellowship year, to be led by one of the five principal investigators in a rotating schedule. The seminar will reinforce the work from the previous summer, support and expand understanding of the classrooms and schools where Fellows are working, and allow for the entire cohort of Fellows to discuss the progress of the various interventions. Once a month the Fellows, PI's, and teachers will assemble for additional common discussions.

Fellows research program (All year). The Graduate Fellows' training will include a plan for classroom and school-based research in educational settings. Each Graduate Fellow will collect and analyze data for possible long- and short-term effects of these interventions in the teaching and learning of science, mathematics, and technology in K-12 classrooms.

How to apply

All applicants for a Graduate Fellowship must be enrolled in, or have applied to, a UIC graduate-level degree program in chemistry, mathematics, or computer science. Applicants for an Undergraduate Fellowship must be enrolled in one of these programs.

The application consists of the following materials.
  1. A letter stating the applicant's understanding of and commitment to the goals of the GK–12 program for the full term of the Fellowship.
  2. A two- to three-page essay indicating why the applicant should be considered for the program. The essay should list qualifications for the program, tell personal expectations, and indicate any particular knowledge of and commitment to urban public school settings.
  3. A list of three references, with contact information, who can comment on your ability and prior experiences relevant to this program.
Applications should be sent to the address on the reverse. We will access applicants' academic records as part of the application process also. For full consideration, applications must be received by May 21st, 2001. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Details on GK-12 Components The Department of Chemistry will use the GK–12 in the "Chemistry Van Program" that has been operated successfully since 1994 by the Chicago Science Alliance. The van is housed at UIC and has worked with dozens of teachers in the delivery of new experiments and techniques for high school chemistry. Fellows working in the Van program would provide monthly follow-up training, support on-going program development and give teachers opportunities for research participation. The Van Program operates with Chicago public high schools whose teachers have participated in the Van's training program. Contact: Wade A. Freeman The TIMS Project is a teacher professional development and curriculum development project that focuses on grades K-8. One of the hallmarks of the TIMS Project is the TIMS Laboratory investigations. The investigations are organized around two big ideas: understanding variables and relations between variables and understanding and using the scientific method. GK-12 fellows will complement teachers in the classroom, helping students to overcome procedural obstacles, listening to student questions and moving them toward answers, and asking students questions to probe their understanding. They will also be a resource to the teacher, providing expertise on content matters and assisting in the development of new technology-based experiences for the classroom. Schools for the TIMS interventions are those that have adopted this curriculum for their classrooms, including public schools in Chicago and Cicero. Contact: Philip Wagreich For the past several years, Tom Moher and his colleagues in computer science, education, and psychology have been investigating the use of advanced visualization technologies, particularly immersive virtual reality (IVR), in support of conceptual science learning by young (K-6) children. This effort has now expanded to include the establishment of a semi-permanent IVR resource Lincoln Elementary School in Oak Park, Illinois. The GK-12 Fellows working on the project will participate in the design, implementation, and evaluation of IVR-based science and mathematics learning units, assisting elementary school (K-6) teachers in the effective use of visualization technologies. Contact: Tom Moher As part of the new Chicago Public Schools' initiative, the "Math, Science, and Technology Academy" (MSTA), UIC has joined with the faculty and administration at Crane High School, on Chicago's West Side. Flexible use of GK-12 Fellows from different UIC Departments will be critical. During the initial year of the MSTA's operation (1999-2000), particular needs for teachers and administrators are expected to emerge as the most important constraints on the development of the MSTA. This problem will become the object of particular teacher development efforts, and is where UIC’s GK-12 Fellows will begin participation in 2000-2001. The MSTA will evolve with time, and the nature of the GK-12 Fellows will change as well. Contact: Donald Wink CONTACT INFORMATION

Please submit applications to:

UIC GK-12 Fellows Program
Institute for Mathematics and Science Education (m/c 250)
950 S. Halsted Street, 2075 SEL
Chicago, IL 60607-7019

PROGRAM PERSONNEL. The five Principal Investigators, listed below, can all be contacted with questions about the program. But particular questions may be more efficiently directed to one of them in particular, as noted after their name.
 
Donald J. Wink (Crane High School MSTA) 
Department of Chemistry (m/c 111) 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
845 W. Taylor Street, Room 4478 
Chicago, IL 60607-7061 
312-413-7383 
dwink@uic.edu		 Maria Varelas (Fellows training)
College of Education 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
1040 W. Harrison Street 
Chicago, IL 60607-7133 
312-996-2454 
 mvarelas@uic.edu
Philip Wagreich (TIMS) 
Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science (m/c 249) 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
851 S. Morgan St., 322 SEO 
Chicago, IL 60607-7045 
312-413-3019 
wagreich@uic.edu		 Wade A. Freeman (Chemistry Van Program) 
Department of Chemistry (m/c 111) 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
845 W. Taylor Street, Room 4478 
Chicago, IL 60607-7061 
312-996-3161 
wfreeman@uic.edu
Thomas Moher (Advanced Visualization) 
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (m/c 154) 
851 S. Morgan Street, 1120 SEO 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
Chicago, IL 60607-7053 
312-996-4562 
moher@uic.edu