The Merck Fellows Program. The Merck Fellows
program was established by the Merck Institute as part of
its long-standing commitment to support and encourage
future science and mathematics teachers. Beginning in
1992, the Merck Institute funded a pre-service program
allowing undergraduates in Princeton Universitys Teacher
Preparation Program to supplement their training with
science-teaching field experiences in a local public
school.
The program has evolved and now includes a group of
pre-service students (Merck Fellows) as participants in
the Leader Teacher Institute. The students learn the
fundamentals of inquiry-centered instruction and then
partner with a Leader Teacher in his/her classroom.
Beginning in 1995, Merck Fellows were chosen from
Montclair State University, which has an existing
partnership with the Merck Institute, including offering
graduate credit to participants in the Leader Teacher
Institute. ln 1997, the program expanded to include
Beaver College in Pennsylvania. A total of 13 Merck
Fellows participated in the program in 1997-98.
Prospective Merck Fellows apply to the program after
completing several teacher preparation courses and at
least one field placement. Applications include letters
of recommendation, personal statements, resumes, and
transcripts. These are reviewed by a committee of faculty
from the applicant's college or University and the staff
of the Merck Institute. The committee recommends
candidates to the Institute's director, who makes the
final selections. Fellows receive a stipend for their
participation.
Merck Fellows can be categorized into two groups: (1)
those preparing to be elementary teachers, who generally
have limited science backgrounds but extensive experience
in child development and language arts, and (2) those
preparing to teach secondary science and/or mathematics,
who possess rich content backgrounds. In general, all of
the Fellows are knowledgeable about computers and
educational technology. Both groups enter the program
with minimal exposure to inquiry-centered instructional
methods and little experience observing inquiry-centered
classrooms.
To prepare them to engage in the Leader Teacher
Institute, Merck Fellows spend one full week prior to the
Institute assisting in the classroom of a Leader Teacher.
This week provides an opportunity to observe students
engaged in inquiry-centered science and mathematics
lessons. Following participation in the summer session of
the Leader Teacher Institute, the Merck Fellows have a
second field placement. At this time, they are able to be
more actively engaged in instruction, including planning
and teaching their own lessons. At the conclusion of this
field placement, each Fellow submits a portfolio
containing descriptions of the lessons they have
developed, assessment activities, samples of student
work, self-evaluations, a journal, and a reflective
paper.
At the present time, there is no formal assessment of
the Merck Fellows project. The following are being
considered: (1) assessing the portfolios submitted by the
Fellows; (2) tracking the impact of the Leader Teacher
Institute and field experience on the ability of the
Fellows to design and instruct using inquiry-centered
lessons; (3) tracking, long term, the career paths of the
Fellows and their ability to provide leadership in
mathematics and science reform.
Although the Merck Fellows program reaches only a
small number of students at present, it offers them
significant exposure to the inquiry approach to science
teaching to working with accomplished practitioners of
this approach.
