Programs - Cal Poly’s Learn By Doing Lab (LBDL)
Are you a Cal Poly student interested in teaching in the LBDL?
For more information on enrolling in the LBDL click here! (or scroll down)
Do you know of a classroom that would like to participate in the LBDL?
For more information on visiting Cal Poly click here! (or scroll down)
Since the launch of the Learn By Doing Lab in Spring 2008, nearly two-thousand and five hundred elementary and middle school students have participated in the LBDL!
The LBDL is:
- An on-campus laboratory where 4th-8th grade students from local schools can experience a real world, standards-based, inquiry-driven science curriculum taught by Cal Poly undergraduates planning careers in teaching.
- Designed to improve the pipeline of teachers who are qualified to teach science and mathematics at all grade levels.
- Designed to have an impact on the recruitment and education of pre-college students into scientific fields and possibly into science teaching.
- Modeled after the Hands on Science Laboratory successfully implemented at CSU Chico.
- Improve K-12th grade science teacher recruitment and education
- Promote inquiry-based instruction
- Cultivate innovative curriculum and pedagogy
- Expand teacher professional development opportunities
- Enhance P-16 science community building
- Address needs of P-12 science education community
- Excite children about science and going to college!
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Information for Visiting Schools
Who: Local 4-8th grade classroom teachers and students interested in experiencing a real world, standards-based, inquiry-driven science curriculum taught by Cal Poly undergraduate students planning careers in teaching.
What: An exciting, hands-on learning laboratory on the Cal Poly campus for local 4-8th grade students, and their teachers.
When: Winter Quarter 2010 (January – March) and Spring Quarter 2010 (April – June). See our 2010 CALENDAR for available dates. Teachers are invited to register for their LBDL visit beginning October 1st.
Where: Building 38, Room 131 and additional labs on the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo campus. Click here for a map of the Cal Poly campus. Visiting classrooms will be escorted to the LBDL by Cal Poly staff from the Kennedy Library drop-off point.
Why: By having local 4th – 8th grade students visit the Cal Poly campus and engage in meaningful science activities, we anticipate 1) having an impact on the recruitment and education of pre-college students into science teaching, 2) having a significant impact on the learning and college going expectations of visiting students, and 3) enhancing the professional development of teachers who visit the LBDL.
Interested in bringing a classroom to participate in the LBDL?
Two Easy Steps to get you started!
1) Check out the CALENDAR for available dates. Once you have found a date that best fits your class, then
2) Print out the REGISTRATION FORM (pdf*), fill it out and fax it back to us at (805) 756-2751, Attn: Mendy Dearborn.
*Requires Adobe Reader (free download, click here).
If you have any questions about the LBDL program, contact:
Dr. Seth Bush, LBDL Program Director
Seth Bush, Ph. D.
(805) 756-2746
sbush@calpoly.edu
Building 25, Room 127
OR
Mendy Dearborn, MSTI Coordinator
Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CESaME)
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
(805) 756-2859
mdearbor@calpoly.edu
Information for Students Interested in Teaching
Who: Cal Poly undergraduates who are majoring in science (biology, biochemistry, chemistry, earth science, microbiology, physics), mathematics and/or engineering and interested in becoming a middle or high school science or mathematics teacher.
What: The course, SCM 302, is designed to offer Cal Poly students an opportunity to use inquiry based, standards-based pedagogical approaches to actively engage 4th - 8th grade students from local schools on the Cal Poly campus in the LBDL. SCM 302 is intended for undergraduates exploring science teaching as a career and is an upper division elective in undergraduate coursework.
When: Winter Quarter 2010 and Spring Quarter 2010 (please check SCM 302 in the Cal Poly catalog for a description, and PASS for class meeting times/dates).
Where: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Why: SCM 302 gives students who are contemplating careers in middle school and/or secondary education a rich early science teaching experience and provides a robust opportunity to establish deeper partnerships among campus units and local agencies focused on improving the pipeline of teachers who are qualified to teach science and mathematics at all grade levels.
SCM 302 Learning Objectives
- Gain hands-on experience teaching science to 4-8th grade students
- Gain an experience-based understanding of what it means to teach science
- Be able to critically reflect on science teaching
- Understand key features of inquiry based pedagogical approaches, including design, preparation, implementation, reflection and assessment
- Be able to model inquiry based pedagogy
- Improved science content understanding
How do I sign up to become a teacher in the LBDL?
1. Speak with Dr. Seth Bush, Assistant Professor in Chemistry, SCM 302 instructor and LBDL Program Director
Phone: (805)756-2746
Email: sbush@calpoly.edu
Office: Building 25, Room 127
2. Sign up for SCM 302 in the Winter 2010 or Spring 2010
**You will need a permission number that you can obtain from Dr. Seth Bush**