Science of TV’s the Big Bang Theory, The by Zobel Dave

Author:Zobel Dave [Dave, Zobel]
Language: ara
Format: epub
Tags: PER010030
ISBN: 9781770907072
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2015-05-31T23:00:00+00:00

EUREKA! @ CALTECH.EDU

Aren’t You Just a Little Curie-ous?

Without social bonding, schools would never work; without schools, society would never work. Institutions of higher learning have a vested interest in the primary- and secondary-school programs that feed them. It’s a chain that supports itself.

That explains Caltech’s heavy commitment to educational outreach, with a particular emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The Caltech Center for Teaching, Learning, & Outreach coordinates partnerships with local educational foundations and school districts. The center also takes an active role in educating educators and offers courses in online education, flipped classrooms, and other emerging learning technologies. Director Cassandra Volpe Horii, whose doctorate is in atmospheric chemistry, is an expert in learner-centered teaching and curriculum innovation.

Caltech’s student houses stay open year-round to support summer programs for high-school students and underrepresented groups. Pasadena’s middle-schoolers are invited onto campus for the annual robotics challenge (see “Ro-, Ro-, Ro- Your ’Bot”) and other special events. And the Caltech Precollege Science Initiative (CAPSI), a collaboration to create science and engineering programs for use in secondary schools, brings together some of the most talented educators and industry professionals on the planet.

Meanwhile, an army of volunteers recruited from the student body supports programs throughout the Los Angeles area. The Caltech Classroom Connection (CCC) sends student assistants into local K–12 classrooms on a regular basis. The volunteers accumulate teaching experience, while the youngsters get to enjoy some amazing learning opportunities, because as Amy declares, “[T]eaching is a performance art. In the classroom paradigm, the teacher has the responsibility to communicate, as well as entertain and engage.”5

The Caltech Y, a student-life organization, provides volunteer service throughout the community. As one example, volunteers from the Y visited local non-profit Trash for Teaching (see “About the Author”), where they spent the day converting clean factory-discarded materials into kits for teaching science.

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