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Reproduced with permission from the Imperial Valley Press. Originally published 10/19/97.
Pupils thrill to world of science
Program develops spirit of inquiry
By Candy t. Cuenco
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EL CENTRO – Italia Espinoza, a bright eyed 9 year-old in Jane Glud's fourth grade science class, enjoys tinkering with the microscope so much she wants to be a scientist , when she grows up.
Italia and her classmates at McKinley Elementary School are learning about: the microscope not by reading about it but by actually using one.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a microscope," Italia said. "It's fun. You learn and see lots of things you've never seen before."
The students are involved in an "inquiry-based science program" aimed at teaching students scientific concepts by carrying out investigations and experiments.
El Centro was one of three districts in California selected to work with the Caltech Pre-college Science Initiative Center for Teacher Enhancement. McKinley, Hedrick and Sunflower elementary schools were chosen to pilot. the new science program, which has been ongoing since 1995.
Sarah Quinn, coordinator at the district's science and math resource center said it is important that children become scientifically literate by applying concepts in real life.
The program, through a grant from the National Science Foundation, enables elementary school districts to develop inquiry-based science programs.
Glud, who has been teaching in the program three years, says she likes it because it gives students a chance to discover science firsthand.
"It's very exciting for the children," she said. "They never knew pictures and words were actually made up of dots if you look really close. The hands-on approach really helps us teach concepts and keep them interested."
In Glud's class, students try to figure out how a newspaper looks under a microscope.
"The background is light with dots!" said Arlene Vargas, 9.
Classmate Mario Plancarte counted 11 dots.
"This is really fun," he said. "You can look inside the microscope and everything gets bigger."
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