In Paul Lake's physics class at Buchanan High School, students have to do more than pass tests and do lab work. A sizeable component of their coursework is teaching science to younger students at nearby Garfield Elementary. Students receive project credit for science fair projects, participating in the Science Olympiad and Odyssey of the Mind, and presenting reports to the class about Scientific American articles and scientific books, as well as creating science lessons for younger students. But a lot of them might not think about teaching elementary school. I'm hoping that this might get kids who are interested in science interested in education.
Lake assigns two to three students to an elementary class.
Students are guided in their lesson plans by California State Standards of elementary science instruction, and part of the assignment is devising a lesson meeting those standards. After giving the lesson to the elementary students, Lake's students give reports on their teaching to their own class, including pictures or video of their day with the elementary class. For many of Lake's students, instructing younger children has been a new, and sometimes not entirely welcome, experience. For some of them, this is the only time they'll get to teach young children. They'll remember it.