The UM team of educators works directly with the elementary school teachers to build on their strengths and in exploring these new learning techniques. The team includes graduate assistants who are fluent in a combined total of eight different languages. By keeping track of the weather, for example, students can discover meteorology for themselves by taking measurements and applying weather information to their everyday lives. Students have taken their knowledge of humidity, weather fronts, and air pressure to heart, according to the UM researchers. These students have also improved their writing skills as a result of their work with science inquiry.
Students involved in the project are at various levels of proficiency in English.
The elementary school teachers have found that their students become much more attentive and engaged when they teach part of their lessons in Spanish or Haitian Creole. Ultimately the goal of the project is to help these students achieve literacy in English and to be effective in communicating in science and mathematics. Many of the elementary school teachers who are cooperating with the UM study are also of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. These teachers provide valuable insights about their students' science learning. As a result, students become more engaged in learning science as well as performing better academically overall.