This past week, students from Greater Cleveland participated in a pilot program at Hiram College to help prepare them for the demands of high school and begin considering the idea of college.
Run by College Now, an organization that provides students with guidance and access to funds to prepare for college, the four-day program focused on three ideas: academics, high school survival and college preparation. Thirty-five rising ninth grade students from Wilbur Wright Elementary School in Cleveland, Heritage Middle School in East Cleveland and Shaker Heights Schools, attended.
In addition to completing career assessments to help them outline interests and goals, Hiram faculty and staff led activities and gave presentations about different areas of study, including biology and environmental studies, nursing, physics and culinary arts.
On Tuesday, June 14, Matt Sorrick, director of the Center for Science Education, led the students in a data collection activity at the James H. Barrow Field Station. See below for a description of their experience. A full set of photos is available on Flickr.
After a presentation on forest development and growth, the students head into the woods to use what they’ve just learned. |
On the trail, a Hiram student worker from the Field Station shows the group a tiny toad, which has likely just emerged from the water. |
 Students measure the width of the trees and the distance from a common point, to get a sample of the trees’ size. |
 Students record their findings, according to a model explained to them by Matt Sorrick, director of the Center for Science Education. |
After the students noticed a distinct smell in the woods, Sorrick explained that wild onions grow in the forest. |
 Students take turns holding a grown-up toad, which they found living in the forest. |
