
Cornell
School District
Inquiry-Based
Approach Sparks Interest at Cornell Elementary
Before joining ASSET in 1995,
Pam Gibson , a 5th grade teacher at Cornell Elementary, recalls that her
students had no interest in science. Piloting her first module on electric
circuits, however, sparked a current of change in her classroom and throughout
the school.
"Attendance
went up, and my students couldn't wait for science—it became their favorite
subject," Gibson said. "The
hands-on, inquiry-based approach got students to think, and their ideas
became part of the classroom activity. Then we got the whole elementary
school involved (in ASSET) and it's been full-blown from there."
In addition to having a positive
impact on science teaching and learning, ASSET's inquiry-based approach
and assessment strategies are cross-curricular, Gibson noted. "You
can use that expertise through all other areas of teaching."
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