Bay Area Scientists in Schools at Berkeley
SCIENCES - EDUCATION
Bay Area Scientists Inspiring Students (BASIS) volunteers foster scientific curiosity by connecting with kids and teachers through hands-on classroom experiences.
BASIS is a science role model volunteer program that connects UC Berkeley graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and undergraduates with students in public elementary schools within the East Bay. There is a huge demand from teachers and students in our community to bring hands-on science and engineering lessons into the classroom! "Tremendous! More, please!" is the top comment from teachers who've had a BASIS visit.
Program Goals
The goals of BASIS are to (1) connect a diverse range of scientist volunteers to elementary school students and teachers, (2) inspire students with examples of real-world science careers and issues, (3) engage with students in hands-on, inquiry based learning experiences, and (4) create effective teaching links between scientists and public elementary schools in the East Bay.
Program Mechanics
UC Berkeley science and engineering students interested in becoming a BASIS volunteer must first sign up for a one-hour on-campus orientation (held on campus). Sign up for an orientation online (<a href="http://www.crscience.org/volunteers/signup">www.crscience.org</a>).
BASIS volunteers then form a teaching team (or join a pre-existing team) comprised of friends and colleagues in their field of study. Volunteers choose dates and times that they are available to visit classrooms and present a one-hour hands-on, inquiry-based lesson with their team. BASIS ensures that these lessons are age-appropriate and aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Teams generally present in one classroom per month over the course of a school year (~10 lessons/year) though there is a high degree of flexibility to accommodate your schedule.
BASIS teams begin by teaching one of the lessons from our database of kid-tested, teacher-approved lessons. Experienced volunteers may also take advantage of training opportunities to develop their own lesson.