Brian Goldner
Brett Wanamaker
Program Description
Science in the City is a novel program aimed at inspiring inner city children to question
and explore scientific phenomena. Throughout the year, three team members will consult
with faculty and administrators at Tench Tilghman Elementary to develop science
demonstrations, often health-related, for school children. The demonstrations will be held
after school. While the sessions can conceivably be held for children of all ages,
structured scientific curriculum at Tilghman does not begin until the fourth grade.
Consequently, fourth or fifth grade students would be most appropriate to target.
Once specific demonstrations have been designed, they will be performed for students in
an informal observatory environment. Initially the students will only be expected to
watch, comment, and ask questions if they wish. Eventually, we anticipate students to
become increasingly interested in the weekly demonstrations. At this point, they will be
encouraged to help the Schweitzer scholars conduct the experiments if they can
demonstrate adequate responsibility and maturity. If so, they may eventually be allowed
to perform the experiments under supervision, or serve as mentors to students who are
new to the program. In this way, we envision the allure of science demonstrations to not
only inspire students, but also to be an incentive for behavior improvement. Students will
not be expected to complete formal work of any kind; Science in the City is only intended
to elicit interest and excitement in the sciences.
The three Schweitzer fellows will work together with faculty and students to contribute to
the program’s success. However, certain responsibilities will be delegated to each of the
fellows. One fellow will serve as a liaison between Science in the City and faculty. As
previously mentioned, Tilghman science faculty may have suggestions about specific
demonstrations that complement school curriculum. In addition, some experiments will
promote health and wellness to students. A second fellow will be responsible for planning
each demonstration. His responsibilities include obtaining reagents and supplies and
planning the logistic execution of the experiment in the science classroom. A third fellow
will be responsible for monitoring the experiment, ensuring that students are well-
behaved, and for a conducting a brief lesson on the science behind the experiment. It
should be noted that while each fellow will have his own responsibilities, we will often
be working together to achieve our program goals.
Students Stopping Violence is another volunteer group that will be serving at Tench
Tilghman, and we anticipate working alongside them in an effort to improve the student
community.
March/April: Meet with teachers, administrators, and students to determine the most
effective way to get students to buy-in to the program. Basic logistics will be arranged for
the year’s upcoming events including summer and regular school-year activities.
Contacts will also be established with the Johns Hopkins University School of Education
faculty to optimize after-school science activities.
March: Our program will culminate in a symposium in which students can design,
implement, and present their own science projects with other students, teachers, mentors,
and interested members of the community. Schweitzer fellows will be available as
mentors to these students as they design and complete their projects.
The Maryland School Assessment (MSA) is a standardized exam given in math and
reading to grades 3-8, and in science to grades 5-8. Currently, inner city schools place a
strong emphasis on exam performance, tailoring curricula to maximize students’ testing
abilities and their demonstration of state-mandated math and reading skills. While we
understand that standardized testing is an integral component of assessing school
progress and scholastic aptitude, and is an important skill for students to acquire, we
strongly believe that the students should not lose sight of the exciting phenomena of the
realm of science. As we reflect back upon the moments that inspired us to pursue science-
based careers now, we remember visually exciting observations that pushed the
boundaries of our imagination and left us in wonder.
Our program aims to inspire students to similarly question and explore the phenomena
we demonstrate for them in our experiments; actions that a test-based curriculum may not
accomplish alone. In the best case scenario, students who become interested in our
weekly demonstrations may gain the motivation to improve their performance in class as
well.
Moreover, inner city school children require a productive outlet for their spare time. Our
program will serve to engage students in informal, yet fun, learning and encourage them
to demonstrate civil behavior and improved social skills as described above.
Sustainability
We expect that our project will continue long after the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship
period expires and even after we graduate from medical school and begin practicing
medicine. We hope to use our close ties with medical and graduate students to recruit
capable and enthusiastic science mentors.
In August the new class of medical students will begin classes and it is our hope to
involve a select few in our program at that time. By March of 2011, when we begin
clinical rotations, we will have already selected our successors and ensured that they are
fully trained and prepared to continue our project. To facilitate this smooth transition we
will be passing along written directions for our lesson plans, including protocol for all of
our laboratory demonstrations. We will also ensure that they have access to the chemical
reagents and equipment we have accumulated, as well as connect them to future sources
of materials.
In addition, we believe that student buy-in is an important aspect of our project, and will
be selecting responsible students along the way to work with us. It is our hope that these
peer educators will eventually be able to carry out demonstrations on their own, albeit
supervised, and perhaps serve as mentors to fellow students.
In summary, we feel that continuity is one of the most important aspects of any
community service project and have already begun planning for Science in the City to be
a sustainable and beneficial initiative for the community.