Education Majors Make Science Learning Fun
Rome, Ga. — Students in Shorter University’s Science Education course got to put their lessons into practice by taking part in the recent STEM Night at Pepperell Primary School. The evening event offered hands-on experiences designed to help the primary school students gain knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Shorter education majors taking part in STEM Night included Madalene Brackett, Casei Burkhalter, Kristen Cowart, Emily Crane, Emily Duggan, Sara Harper, Emily Ketchum, Allie Meers, Katie-Brooke Ross, and Shannon Weekley.
Pairs of education majors had created a number of educational stations including ones where students learned about polymers while making their own slime, played with Moon Sand while learning about the solar system, and heard the story of Freddie the Fish as he suffered from the effects of pollution. Another station used shaving cream and dyed water to illustrate how much rain clouds can hold, while the final station encouraged students to take a polar plunge by placing one hand in ice water and the other hand inside “blubber” simulated by vegetable shortening in a plastic baggie.
“Education majors spend hundreds of hours working with children in a variety of settings,” said Dr. Phil Larsen, assistant professor of early childhood education at Shorter and the instructor for the Science Education course in Shorter’s School of Education. “Our early childhood education majors were happy to share their science activities with the students at Pepperell Primary School. By the end of the evening, the teachers from Pepperell were also participating so they could use the activities in their own classrooms.”
Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christ-centered, four-year liberal arts university committed to excellence in education. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review annually include Shorter on their lists of best Southeastern Colleges. The university offers traditional bachelor’s degrees in 40 areas of study, online courses and degree programs, undergraduate programs for working adults, associate’s, and master’s programs.