An evaluation of cross age science outreach within public schools

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of using advanced science high school students to teach science to elementary students. High school students were given a life science topic and worked in groups to develop a lesson that covered key concepts. High school students worked in groups of two to three to develop the lessons and teach the elementary students. Both, the high school and elementary students were given pre and post tests to determine if and how much content knowledge was gained during the experience. Both groups also received pre and post interest surveys to determine if the students' perception of science changed during this experience. Results showed that elementary students were actively engaged in the learning and showed an increase of content knowledge of the lessons that were presented by the high school students. Also, the high school students gained a deeper understanding of the concepts they were teaching. Upon completion of the outreach project, both the elementary teacher, and students involved were excited about the science outreach and ready to participate in more outreach experiences.