Time Sensitive:  An opportunity for PhD and Post Doc students to learn and improve communication and teaching skills this semester through outreach to local schools.  

GK-12 is an exciting program organized through the Graduate School that gives Ph.D. and Post doctoral students a mentored, in-depth opportunity to share their research with students and teachers in a local middle school.  This provides PhD students and Post-Docs with enhanced skills and experience in outreach, teaching and communication of their research.  Past participants have found that it makes them more competitive for jobs and significantly improves their ability to communicate their research.  International students have found that it also helps them better understand the US education system and US students.

After an initial training session, PhD students and Post Docs in the GK-12 program will learn from and assist teachers in a local middle school for approximately one day a week for 10 weeks, and by the end of the semester they will develop and teach a lesson that brings their interests and research into a middle school classroom.  This is an extension of a very successful externally-funded program that ran for several years, and has now been successfully transitioned to a graduate school program.  While this program does not provide funding directly to the student or post doc, some modest funding is available for expenses associated with materials for in-class activities.  Students may elect to register for 2 credit hours for their involvement, or can simply participate as a volunteer.  The program is open to all PhD and Post Doc students at Purdue (any and all disciplines).  Master's students may be accepted in to the program if space allows. 

Additional details and instructions for applying are provided in the attached brochure.  Potential participants should contact the program coordinator (Faith Weeks; fweeks@purdue.edu) if they have any questions, and applications to join the program are due by September 4th