Chemistry for children: A program in precollege chemistry for elementary and middle school teachers

Most elementary and middle school teachers base their science instruction on textbooks while they have little to no academic science training and so a program was designed to help these teachers incorporate hands-on experiments into their curricula. The program involves an initial three-week session, a three day workshop about six months later, supervision of teachers applying their new knowledge and then another three-week session and more in-service observation. The program was successful in improving 19 teachers' attitudes and knowledge while giving them a foundation in hands-on experiments.