J-Term Takes To The Road

“The standout from my experience this year is the overall satisfaction of seeing others succeed,” said DCHS junior Megan Gherke as she reflected on her Science Enrichment J-Term course.

Over the course of four days, the Science Enrichment team, consisting of nine DCHS students, worked one-on-one with 7th- and 8th-grade science students at Epworth Christian School teaching them the necessary components of experimental design. The DCHS students focused the teaching on the concepts of variables and constants; the most difficult things for students to identify when designing an experiment.

“First we had to gain their trust in order to teach,” continued Megan. “Once they saw our character and how we lived out our testimony, they really opened up to us and it was so easy to teach them. The greatest joy was just seeing them learn and realizing that we had a hand in helping them.”

Epworth Christian School students are in the midst of preparing for their science fair projects. With the assistance of DCHS students Jenn Baker, Lauryl Berger, Megan Gherke, Maddie Gilbert, Kaitlyn Henry, Tom Hudson, Kyle Kokjohn, Mitch Oppel, and Mignon Winterling, the younger students learned how to design experiments, graph experimental data and produce quality lab reports. They also learned and used probe technology to include temperature, voltage, sound sensor, and motion detector probes.

While at Epworth Christian School, DCHS students Megan Gherke and Kyle Kokjohn explain how to operate the Science Workshop Collection software. The student interns, using a laptop interfaced with a temperature probe that can take temperature measurements with a precision of 1/1000th of a degree at a very high speed, also helped the ECS students analyze their exothermic reaction experiments.

“The Epworth students had a lot of fun with the probes,” said DCHS junior Jenn Baker. “But more importantly, we conducted a pre-test on the first day and a post-test the last day. There was dramatic improvement, and it was interesting to see their growth. So, even though they were having fun, they were learning.”

Jenn continued by saying what the Epworth students learned in just four days with the DCHS students will make the transition to high school easier for them.

“I really enjoyed teaching; the kids said I was a good teacher,” said Jenn. “I’ve been thinking about a career in teaching or scientific/medical lab research so this experience meshed the two together nicely.”

DCHS student Tom Hudson explains the fundamentals of experimental design by using an everyday example to help Eagle’s Nest Christian Academy students understand the role of variables and constants.

The DCHS students conducted all the hands-on learning experiences as well as monitored the student’s classwork and provided feedback on their homework assignments. Following their time at Epworth Christian, the DCHS Science Enrichment team traveled to Eagle’s Nest Christian Academy to repeat their lesson plans with ENCA middle school students.

Delmarva Christian High School’s winter term, known as J-Term, provides students the opportunity to explore their passions in order to help determine God’s will for their lives. This year J-Term experiences include mission trips, archeological investigations, home construction projects, healthcare explorations, filmmaking, music appreciation, college tours, business internships, and Senior Testimony Project preparations in addition to the science enrichment internships.

In Mrs. Stolle’s 8th-grade science class, DCHS junior Maddie Gilbert explains how to graph experimental data correctly to ENCA students.

Church friends, ECS student Jenna Passwaters and DCHS junior Kaitlyn Henry, pause between data collection in Mr. Morris’ 8th-grade science class at Epworth Christian School.