Effects Of Elementary And Middle School Based Gk 12 Programs On Graduate Student Teaching And Communication Skills

The NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education program at the University of South Carolina supports engineering graduate students and advanced undergraduates to serve as content resources in local schools. A primary objective is to develop the teaching and communication skills of the fellows, who can become the faculty of the future. This GK-12 program includes three main elements: a service learning component where the fellows work ten hours each week with teachers and students; an education course developed specifically for the fellows; and a GK-12 Summer Institute for Teachers designed and taught by the fellows. During the 2001-2002 academic school year, eleven fellows were partnered with teachers in elementary schools. During the 2002-2003 school year, a second cohort of ten fellows was partnered with middle school teachers. This paper compares and contrasts the elementary school-based and the middle school-based programs in terms of their effects on the fellows’ teaching and communication skills. Qualitative and quantitative assessment data collected from the fellows, the teachers, and the fellow’s advisors is evaluated. Results indicate that both approaches are effective in improving the fellows’ teaching abilities. There is also some indication that the elementary school-based program may have been slightly more effective.