DISCOVER SCIENCE; SCIENCE, MATH MADE FUN THANKS TO KSAM PROJECT

Second-grade students at Orchard Drive elementary school in Jackson were transformed from boys and girls to berries and rabbits and bobcats last week.

Children, who were categorized as plants, plant-eating animals and meat-eating animals, grabbed a string as each was eaten or ate another. At the end of the activity, the children were interconnected in a "food web."

In a third grade classroom at the same Jackson elementary school, students were assessing the properties of magnets. They discovered that nails stick to magnets. Wood doesn't. Metal paper clips stick. Cotton doesn't.

These science activities are part of the KSAM K-6 Science and Mathematics Improvement Program, which originated at Southeast Missouri State University in hopes of exciting young students about science and math.

KSAM was developed by Southeast Missouri State University professors Dr. Ernest Kern and Dr. Ed Stoever.

"The bottom line is that we want kids to learn about science and math," Kern said. "If we can make it fun and exciting not old, boring lectures and facts they will find science and math much more enjoyable. And, if they enjoy what they're doing, research shows the actual learning also increases.

"I became concerned about the status of education after the `Nation at Risk' report in the early 1980s," Kern said. "Our students were not learning science and math, and they were being turned off about science and math before they got to the junior-high level."

Kern gathered a group of elementary-level educators and asked them what they would like to have to better teach science and math. Armed with this information, he submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation. He received a $480,000 grant from the foundation in 1985 and KSAM was born.

Since its inception, approximately 10,000 teachers have participated in the program. In turn, these teachers have brought a new approach to science and math to approximately 200,000 students.

The program provides science and math training for teachers of students in grades kindergarten through six.

"Most elementary teachers haven't had a lot of work in math and science, so we gave them more content so they would feel comfortable and confident. We offer earth science, life science, physical science and mathematics."

In 1989, Kern published the KSAM activity guides, four books filled with hands-on activities. About 12,000 activity guides have been distributed so far to schools and teachers, including Orchard Drive second-grade teacher Brenda Suedekum and third-grade teacher Howard Lewis.

Suedekum said: "KSAM kind of refreshes you and gives you new ideas. We get excited about science and math and want to take that back to the classroom.

"It takes simple, inexpensive materials that you have at home," Suedekum said. "You don't need a science lab."

Lewis said: "Teachers feel more comfortable with things they are familiar with. For a chemistry experiment, you can use sugar, salt, vinegar, baking soda. These are chemicals you can pronounce."

"Students are highly motivated to learn because it's fun," Suedekum said. "What child wouldn't like to have a handful of M&Ms and learn math at the same time." The colored candies are used in an activity to teach graphs.

Students do enjoy the activities.

"I like science because it's fun," said second-grade student Brittany Chilton. "We learn about lots of things."

Second-grade student John Bolen described his favorite activity. "It was when we made the egg float in water. We put salt in the water and stirred it and then the egg would float." He explained that salt made the water heavier allowing the egg to float.

Junior Hinkebein, another second-grader, said he liked a simple experiment involving heat and a spoon. "When we held the spoon in our hands, it felt warmer."

Third-grader Andrea Penla said she liked math races best. "You go to the board and do math problems. You get points and move ahead."

Josh Birk enjoyed an experiment about germination and the effects of light on plants.

"We stuck seeds in soil and some had light and some didn't," he said. "Both started to grow, but the one with no light started to die."

Suedekum said many of the activities are written to allow children to discover concepts for themselves.

"A lot of times we don't even state the objectives of the lesson," Suedekum said. "They discover the content by experiencing it."

"It's accidental learning," Lewis said. "They are experiencing it themselves."

Dr. Ed Stoever works with Kern in operating the KSAM project. Stoever operates the statewide portion of the project.

He said KSAM operates in six centers throughout the state thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Science Center in 1987.

In addition to Southeast, centers are located in Springfield, Warrensburg, Columbia, Kirksville and Maryville.

The project has expanded to a national level. KSAM is being implemented in Illinois, Iowa and New Jersey.

In December 1990, Southwestern Bell gave KSAM a $97,000 grant to expand the program in Missouri.

The grant is being used to revise the activity guides. The money will also provide a sample set of KSAM activity guide books for every public elementary school in Missouri.

Kern is on leave from the university this semester as he rewrites the KSAM activity books to match Missouri's core-competencies and key-skills standards.

Kern will be on sabbatical this fall to publish the statistical study of teachers, who have participated in the program.

"The results show a phenomenal impact on teaching methods and attitudes about science," Kern said. "Teacher participants have made changes in the way they teach science and math, and that's what we wanted to do."