Tina Demirdjian
Partners Coordinator
Los Angeles Educational Partnership
Susan O'Donovan believes in partnerships. "I have benefitted tremendously from this summer's experience," she says. "I have contacts at a major university, [and] I learned hands-on technical skills which I can pass on to my students."
Susan's summer as a teacher fellow with Dr. Hans Bozler at USC was part of the Partners in Science and Industry program, which introduced her to a research environment - the university laboratory - and gave her the opportunity to work with a leading edge scientist.
Other teachers in the program work with industry engineers, as well as other scientists, who serve as mentors and turn real-world technologies into hands-on activities.
"You can't anticipate what's going to happen in the classroom," claims Debra van Hoosen, a teacher partner who worked with retired engineer Fred Weil. "We were studying circuitry and Diangelo put the circuit together faster than my gifted student... I sat there with my mouth open."
Initiated by a National Science Foundation grant, Partners in Science and Industry links K-12 teachers and students with scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and researchers in local industries and universities.
The goal is to heighten student interest in the sciences and mathematics, introduce them to role models and mentors outside their known world, and provide opportunities to understand the world they live in through hands-on, inquiry-based activities.
Partners workshops give teachers and mentors a variety of opportunities to prepare lessons for the classroom. The workshops also provide productive time in which partners work together to further develop their ideas and solidify their partnership.
"[As a result of the Partners workshops,] I have materials and concrete ideas I may use in my class," another teacher states. "We have shared many exciting ideas with our students. They enjoy science and are sharing their excitement with their parents, siblings, and peers."
Of course, teachers and mentors need to find how they work best together. Their expectations, as in any relationship, must be clear, and time availability must be discussed so that the partnerships can benefit both the teacher and the mentor.
While some scientists want to give back to the community what they have been given, teachers want to learn what they can bring to their students from "outside." Robert deGroot, a teacher from LaSalle High School, Pasadena Unified School District, who worked with Dr. Phoebe Dea at Occidental College, felt he had more to pass on to his students.
"The most valuable experience... was to gain a sense of the process of research. Using the scientific method to study an unknown frontier of science rekindled a sense of... adventure in my life."
What does this mean for teachers in Los Angeles? It is an opportunity to open our eyes to a new world and provide a bridge to the world of teaching for an engineer or scientist in the community.
