Fairmont State University receives grant from West Virginia Department of Education

Fairmont State University has received a grant from the West Virginia Department of Education, totalling $31,000, that will be put to use in the form of a workshop, the Elementary Earth and Space Science Literacy Workshop, that will educate elementary school teachers in the area on how to infuse science into their reading and writing lessons.

According to an article on Fairmont State University’s website, Dr. Deb Hemler, the chair of the Department of Natural Sciences at Fairmont State University, was quoted as saying of the reasoning behind creating such a workshop, “Elementary teachers are required to allocate daily blocks of time for ELA and math instruction, leaving little time for subjects like science and social studies. This workshop will provide teachers with grade-level trade books and science activities to allow them to read and write about science so that ELA is not taught at the expense of science but is approached more holistically.”

This is the second year the workshop will be offered by Fairmont State University. It is an opportunity for elementary educators to take part in professional development and learn how to offer their students more science education while also fitting in with the rigorous reading and math instruction they are required to provide. On the agenda for the workshop this year is breakout group instruction and whole group discussions, with educators receiving teaching materials, books, and activities to take back to their classrooms.

This year’s workshop has been modified based on feedback from last year’s workshop on the same subject. Dr. Hemler took that feedback and utilized it to improve the offerings so participating teachers will get the most out of the opportunity.

“First year participants told us in evaluations that they needed more time to plan high-quality integrated units. We have modified the schedule for this year to improve the quality of their products. Having last year’s 34 teachers and this year’s 36 implement their units results in 70 weeks of science instruction that might not have taken place without the grant. Teachers satisfy their ELA and math time requirements in the context of science. Sounds like everyone wins to me!” said Dr. Hemler.

Participating educators will receive a stipend for the duration of the workshop.

For more information about Fairmont State University, visit the school’s website.