Welcome
A scientifically literate public is vital to our national interests. Practicing scientists
are often not very good at engaging and informing the public. National Science Foundation
recognized this disconnect and created a program that exposes science graduate students
to pre-college classrooms. GK-12 fellows at Wichita State University worked with high
school biology teachers and students in the Wichita Public Schools (USD259), thereby
becoming better science communicators. One focus was to bring molecular biology and
microbiology activities to the classroom. A second focus was to engage high school
students in scientific research. Together, Wichita State and USD259 trained a new
kind of graduate student, while providing incomparable experiences to secondary science
students and teachers. Federal funding for this program ended in 2011. Some aspects
of the program continue with WSU funding and with support from the WSU Chapter of Sigma Xi.
