Work in progress — SUNRISE: Schools, university ‘N’ (and) resources in the sciences and engineering-a NSF/GMU GK-12 fellows project

This WIP report is a continuation of the 1st and 2nd year work presented at the previous FIE conferences in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The WIP documents 4th year development, implementation efforts, and results of SUNRISE, a unique graduate Fellowship program at George Mason University (GMU) that targets graduate students working in the grade 4–6 school environment. SUNRISE is a new GK-12 project aimed at partnering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduate students (Fellows) with school teachers from three different school divisions in Northern Virginia. The innovative practice aspect of the project is the construction of a framework that provides training, exchange of information, and integration of scientific research from diverse disciplines with teaching to make science exciting for students. A feature of SUNRISE that makes this project different from other GK-12 projects in the nation is that the project is housed in the School of Information Technology and Engineering which is unique in the nation. One of the contributions of the project is that it is focused on infusing Information Technology (IT) rich STEM concepts into K-12 education, which is also another unique feature. This WIP presents a summary of the project´s impact on its key participants.