GK-12 fellowship provided by funding from the National Science Foundation

The IUPUI Urban Educators GK-12 Program

The IUPUI Urban Educators GK-12 Program (Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education Program), funded by the National Science Foundation, provides competitive fellowships ($30,000/year) for graduate students in the IUPUI School of Science and the IU School of Medicine.

GK-12 Fellows are graduate students who are working on either an M.S. or a Ph.D. degree. Fellows are matched with Teacher Partners from local Indianapolis middle schools and high schools and work in the classroom for 10 hours per week. The GK-12 fellows apply their university graduate research projects to classrooms and outdoor learning labs, offering teachers and students in grades 6-12 access to current and relevant science concepts. By engaging students in a research framework, the GK-12 fellows allow students a unique opportunity to ask questions, collect data and think scientifically about every day, real-world issues in health sciences and the environment.

More information about the IUPUI GK-12 Urban Educators Project: Includes links to application information and fellowship awarding procedures

Two major themes will be emphasized:

• Medicine and Human Health: to provide medical and health-related experiences intended to interest and prepare students for college success and future careers in health care.
• Discovering the Science of the Environment: a program of the IUPUI Center for Earth and Environmental Science that is funded by a community consortium led by Veolia Water Indianapolis and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

NSF developed the GK-12 program to recognize that scientists at all levels should be able to communicate the excitement and practice of scientific research to a variety of audiences. As the GK-12 Fellows bring their research into the K-12 classroom and work with their Teacher Partner, they develop communication and leadership skills that enable them to explain science to people of all ages. The graduate students also inspire a transformation in the classroom and stimulate interest in science as a career option for middle school and high school students.

Additional Program Information

• General information about the national GK-12 program: Includes links to participating universities and GK-12 projects nationwide