Program Outline: The diversity of backgrounds and mindsets of both teachers and students provides at one and the same time a challenge and an opportunity with regard to efforts to enhance general scientific literacy. This Institute will provide selected teachers with an opportunity to analyze an aspect or segment of their curriculum in terms of the problems and the advantages posed by classroom diversity. Science and education will both be considered as fundamentally "constructivist" activities, enhanced by exploration of a diversity of perspectives and forms of inquiry. Explicit attention will be given to variations of learning styles and abilities, to the distinctive problems students (and others) have with "science", and to the value of integrating closely-related scientific and inquiry-based perspectives into the curriculum generally. Within this framework, participants will consider a specific part of their own curriculum, revising it to reflect themes and ideas from the institute. Attention will also be given to incorporating information technology based classroom activities in ways that are both sensitive to the problems and make use of the advantages of diversity in the classroom.

The Institute directors are Alison Cook-Sather, Director of the Education Program at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, and Assistant Professor of Education, Kimberly Cassidy, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Bryn Mawr College, and Jody Cohen, Lecturer in Education at Bryn Mawr College, who will be assisted by Paul Grobstein of the Department of Biology at Bryn Mawr College. In addition to directing a program for undergraduates interested in pre-college education, Dr. Cook-Sather has experience as a high school teacher and a research program focused on student/teacher dialogues as a mechanism for improving educational practice. Dr. Cassidy has prior experience as a pre-college teacher, and has a research program in the area of cognitive development in children. Dr. Cohen has previous experience as a middle and high school teacher, and her research focuses on issues in urban education. Dr. Grobstein, a neurobiologist, is actively involved in the development of information technology based teaching materials. Drs. Cook-Sather, Cassidy, and Grobstein have offered a similar institute in the past (http://serendipstudio.org/local/dd/dd98).

Institute Schedules and Location: This Institute will take place at Bryn Mawr College from 24 July through 4 August. Sessions will be held from 9 am. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Lunch will be provided.

Eligibility: High school and middle school teachers, including department heads and supervisors (if they teach), are eligible. Preference will be given to teams of teachers from high schools and middle schools serving overlapping student populations; primary school teachers might be admitted as part of such teams (please indicate team memberships on the applications forms). Enrollment will be limited to eighteen.

Incentives: All participants will receive a $500 stipend. An additional $300 per participant to purchase educational supplies and materials will be available to those who, at the end of the summer, submit cogent curriculum proposals and agree to provide a written report on their experiences.

Principal's Commitment: Institute participation requires signature of principal.

For more information: Alison Cook-Sather, Bi-College Education Program, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010, 610 526-5396, acooksat@haverford.edu.