About Scientists Teachers FAQ Privacy Policy

Registration

We have enough scientists to provide more than 2,500 interviews to high school students. Registration for high school classes will be on a modified "first come, first served" basis to ensure geographic diversity. Students should interview the scientists in small groups; therefore, every class will receive contact information for five scientists.

What is the role of the teacher?

Teachers will receive a list of scientists, their email addresses, and any additional information the scientists have provided (gender, ethnicity, undergraduate or graduate student, retired, dates unavailable for interviews). We will also send them the list of interview questions and a feedback form.

Teachers should break their classes into small groups and assign each group one scientist to interview. Each group should select 3-5 questions from the prepared list to ask their scientist. It is very important that students stick to the questions on the list since scientists have prepared their answers in advance. After the interviews, the groups should present the results to the class so that the class can gain an understanding of the variety of opportunities available within science.

Because this is a pilot program, feedback is essential in assessing the effectiveness of the program and improving it for future years. Please send us an email letting us know how the program went for you. You can answer the feedback questions or send us a testimonial of your experience. Only classes that send us feedback about that program will be eligible to utilize this program in the future.

Implementation Ideas

Adopt a Scientist does not come with a specific lesson plan, but here are some ideas to get you started…

Background Research - Many of the scientists and/or their places of employment have websites that can be found with a simple web-search. For university or business emails, you can use the domain of the email addresses as a starting point for research. Students can include this information in their presentations.

Defining “Scientist” - Have the class write about or discuss what they think a scientist is and does before the interview. Then, repeat the exercise after the interviews and discuss how answers changed.

Predictive Answers - After the students have picked the questions they are going to ask their scientist but before they conduct the interview, have them predict how their scientist will respond. Compare the predictions with the actual responses.

Comparing Answers - Have the whole class decide on the 3-5 interview questions they find most interesting, then ask all the scientists these same questions. How are the answers similar and different from scientist to scientist?

Still have questions?

Check out our FAQ! You can also contact us by emailing education@aip.org