GORDON AND BETTY MOORE FOUNDATION GIVES $1.6 MILLION
TO IMPACT BAY AREA ELEMENTARY SCIENCE EDUCATION

Funds go to consortium of science centers to support school districts

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is taking a creative approach to the Bay Area crisis in elementary school science education, the subject of alarming headlines this past year. The Foundation is supporting a resourceful program, headquartered at the Exploratorium, that leverages the resources of the Exploratorium and the Lawrence Hall of Science, to support elementary teachers as they introduce a newly-adopted state science curriculum.

This grant to the Exploratorium, in collaboration with the Lawrence Hall of Science, supports the development of an innovative teacher professional development program (”BaySci Professional Development Program”) to strengthen the implementation of inquiry-based elementary science instruction in the Bay Area. The grant specifically funds a two-year pilot program to provide on-going and targeted professional development support to teachers through a collaborative partnership with select Bay Area districts, demonstrating its effectiveness through improved teacher confidence and preparedness to teach science, improved quality and quantity of classroom science instruction, and increased student interest, engagement and positive attitudes for science.

The $1.6 million grant is a response to the recent study conducted by the Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, identifying the worrisome state of elementary science education in the SF Bay Area. During the study, for example, Bay Area elementary teachers said they feel less prepared to teach science than any other subject. It’s not surprising then that the study revealed that Bay Area elementary students also receive half the science instruction of the national average.

In the Bay Area, a region rich in science resources, a 2007 survey of local elementary teachers revealed that over 40% of teachers did not feel adequately prepared to teach science compared to 19% for social studies and 4% for math and language arts. While professional development is widely perceived as the critical leverage point for improving teacher quality and preparedness, today there is less than one-third the support for science teacher professional development than existed in 1998. In the 2007 survey, an alarming 36% of Bay Area survey respondents reported receiving no professional development in science and 68% report less than 6 hours over the past three years.

Within this context, science rich educational institutions (SREIs), including informal science institutions (ISIs) such as science and technology museums, provide significant science learning resources to their communities and play a unique role in supporting teachers, schools, and districts.

“The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has chosen to make this award in order to leverage the Exploratorium’s and Lawrence Hall’s 40 year history in developing innovative science education curriculum and teacher professional development programs to effect change,” said George Bo-Linn, M.D., Chief Program Officer, San Francisco Bay Area Program, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “We believe it will take a team effort between experienced science education institutions and school districts to create a situation of long lasting improvement.”

This grant will support summer teacher professional development workshops at the Exploratorium and the Lawrence Hall of Science over the next two years for over 150 teachers from selected BaySci districts. There will be academic year follow-up activities for the teachers at the districts and science festivals for students and parents at the various school sites.

“This significant investment by the foundation meets the critical current need for improving science education in our public elementary schools,” said Dennis Bartels, Executive Director of the Exploratorium. “It allows both our institutions to apply our significant educational resources to support Bay Area schools through a long term partnership with school districts.”

The grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will provide additional resources for the work of the BaySci project started by the S. D. Bechtel Foundation in 2007 and supported in part by the Noyce Foundation in 2008. The BaySci Project is an ongoing collaboration of the Exploratorium, the Lawrence Hall of Science, the three foundations and Bay Area school districts to develop and implement an extensive elementary science education program in these districts schools.

About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, established in 2000, seeks to advance environmental conservation and cutting-edge scientific research around the world and improve the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About the Exploratorium
The Exploratorium, founded in 1969 as a museum of science, art and human perception, is a public educational institution for peoples of all ages dedicated to changing how the world learns. It is a world leader in science education innovation for the general public and for schools and teachers regionally and nationally through its work in exhibit development, media production and educator professional development activities.

About the Lawrence Hall of Science
The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) is the public science center of the University of California, Berkeley and an innovative national leader in the field of science and mathematics education. Established in 1968 at the University of California at Berkeley in honor of Ernest O. Lawrence, UC’s first Nobel laureate, LHS’s mission is the development of innovative materials and programs for students, teachers, families, and the public at large.