CSIP fellows take research passions into public K-12 classrooms

By Alex Kwan

Over the past year, 11 Cornell graduate students have worked in classrooms in upstate New York teaching what children already do best -- figuring how things work. The students are part of the Cornell Science Inquiry Partnerships (CSIP), a National Science Foundation-funded program that sends graduate students to public K-12 schools to work with teachers in developing inquiry-based science projects.

Matthew Horowitz, a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, demonstrates a smoke ring vortex at the Cornell Science Inquiry Partnerships (CSIP) Science Congress, which was held in Kennedy Hall March 22. Kevin Stearns/University Photography

As a CSIP fellow, Rachel Schwartz, a graduate student in development sociology, has guided young people in the New Visions program at Geneva (N.Y.) High School. Their project -- titled "Is Your School Healthy?" -- looked at such social issues as how fast food is affecting the average student's health. "Each fellow has his or her own specialty, and that is reflected on the project topics. My classes focused on sociology, and another fellow's classes were studying crickets and cockroaches," Schwartz explained.

Schwartz and 10 other CSIP fellows hosted more than 200 K-12 students from partner schools, some from as far as East Rochester, N.Y., at the CSIP Science Congress March 22 in Kennedy Hall, where many class projects resulting from the partnerships were on display. The lead speaker at the congress was Charles Williamson, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, who demonstrated the many uses of vortices -- forces produced by wind and water -- in soccer, sailing and even in the movie "Top Gun." During the afternoon, the school students were engaged in design competitions and campus laboratory tours.

The 11 CSIP fellows have to tailor their approaches to teaching different classroom audiences. Mark Fogleman, a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, worked with the advanced placement physics class at Penn Yan (N.Y.) Academy, helping his class of four understand chaotic motion. To demonstrate the principle, the group constructed a 3-foot-tall wooden pendulum with multiple joints, which was on display at the science congress.

At the other end of the spectrum, sixth graders in St. Patrick Middle School, Seneca Falls, N.Y., were given a varied introduction to science. One project used Petri-dish cultures to see if antibacterial wipes work to reduce bacteria. Another project looked at the range of colors in exploding stars, or supernovae, by recording the colors of gases in Bunsen burners. Asked why she would look for the colors of deep space on the laboratory bench, young scientist Kelli Granger had a good answer -- "because they are too hot."

CSIP fellow Keith Neeves agreed that working with young students is a rewarding experience. "These kids have a high level of understanding. It is amazing to watch the gears turn inside their heads," said Neeves, a Ph.D. student in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He took his research in controlled drug delivery to the introductory chemistry classes at Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca and Newark Valley (N.Y.) High School. His classes investigated how food dyes add color to gelatin, as a simplified model for drug delivery. "We have a lot of freedom in choosing the student projects, but we also have to work with the teachers, who have a busy curriculum to teach," Neeves said.

The program, now in its fifth year, formerly was called the Cornell Environmental Inquiry Research Partnerships.

Alex Kwan is a student intern with the News Service.