The Collegian

Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: News

Assistant Professor of Physics Cyrill Slezak will bring a program to area grade and high school teachers this summer, hoping to educate them in new techniques of teaching science.

"One of the main things that interested me was the inquiry approach to teaching science," said Les Traxler, a fourth-grade teacher at Geir Elementary School. "There are so many good features, so I had to take it."

Physics by Inquiry, a program spearheaded by the University of Washington in which Slezak was involved at the University of Cincinnati, focuses on successful methods of teaching.

"The problem is that teachers teach the way they are taught," Slezak said. "Unfortunately this is a highly ineffective way of teaching science."

The program is offered to area teachers for free with $100 worth of supplies at the end. Hillsdale College will pay this bill. Slezak said he is disappointed that only one person signed up, even after his efforts advertising the program. Slezak said he needs at least five more teachers for the program to take place this summer.

Slezak also said the program applies toward nine Continued Education Units, which teachers within the state need to maintain their certification. According to the State Board-Continuing Education Unit Program, teachers need 18 CEUs every five years for continued certification.

Traxler said the program's length of three weeks from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day is a drawback for many teachers.

"You can take other courses and receive the same amount of credits for only a week of work," he said. "I imagine if it were a shorter time, more teachers would be attracted to it."

Slezak remains hopeful about the project's success in the area.

"My hope is once I get enough people to start up, I hope they see the success of the program and want to do it again next year," Slezak said.

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