GK-12 Program

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the GK-12 Program builds partnerships between scientists and the K-12 community by focusing on interdisciplinary environmental and watershed sciences. Each year, the program pairs eight graduate Fellows and at least sixteen teachers in the Austin, Flour Bluff, Port Aransas, and Rock Port school districts.

Highlights of the GK-12 program include:

• Fellow-led field and classroom learning experiences for K-12 students
• A graduate-level summer field course in geosciences and marine science for teachers
• Joint summer teacher and fellow training in partnership with a nationally recognized pre-service training program
• Collaborative development and implementation of teacher in-service training days at under-performing schools
• Dissemination of activities and lesson plans developed by teacher-Fellow teams via comprehensive websites, workshops, and publications; and
• Teacher Workshops focusing on the Edwards Aquifer, Evolution and Intelligent Design, and Marine Science.

NSF funding for the GK-12 Program expired at the end of the 2010-2011 academic year.  The Environmental Science Institute is currently invetsigating ways in which to continue the program.  For more information, please contact GK-12 Programs at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .