Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program Activity Report
UBC LTS Partnership Program
Friday, December 13, 2002
Number of Volunteers Registered: 97
Currently Partnered:
94
Currently Unpartnered: 31
Number of Teachers Registered: 106
Currently Partnered:
86
Currently Unpartnered: 202
Number of Partnerships: 843
Number of Activities: 124
Number of Students Reached:
430 individuals students
604 student contacts have been made
Percentage of Activities Conducted in Primary Schools (Grades K-8): 83%
Percentage of Activities Conducted in Secondary Schools (Grades 9-12): 17%
Average Number of Hours Spent by Volunteers on Preparation: 2.75 hrs/visit
(total of 33 hours spent)
Average Number of Hours Spent by Volunteers on Activity Delivery: 2.25 hrs/visit
(total of 25 hours spent)
Short Descriptions of Notable Activities:

Gerry Kasten’s yogurt making activity was very well received by the students in his
grade 2-3 class at University Hill Elementary School, who had the opportunity to
learn about bacteria and nutrition.

Kirsten MacKenzie built rainforest terrariums with her grade 2-3 class at Queen
Elizabeth Annex, who had the opportunity to learn about rain forest eco-systems.
1
Unpartnered volunteers have indicated that they are not available to start volunteering until Term 2.
They will be partnered with teachers from the waiting list in January 2003.
2 These teachers are on the waiting list and will be partnered as new volunteers are recruited.
3 Some volunteers have chosen to work together as pairs; also, some volunteers have taken on more
than one teacher partner.
4 Only visits which have been reported to the coordinators have been counted in these numbers.
Any Volunteers Deserving Special Mention:

Annick Gauthier & Anne Todgham have already completed a series of three visits on
bacteria with their grade 6-7 class at General Brock Elementary School.

Thomas Lee spent two days talking with his his grade 11 and 12 classes at
Windermere Secondary School about Careers in Chemistry.
Any Notable Publicity (TV Appearances, Newsletters, etc.) (Please attach copy):

an article, written by Beth Simpson and Nicole Klenk, ran in The Graduate (the UBC
Graduate Students’ Society magazine) (a copy has already been sent to the
National Office)

a “Grad Nooner” talk (part of the Graduate Students’ Society’s weekly series of talks
given to grad students over lunch) was given by Beth Simpson on November 8 th (a
summary of the “abstract” for the talk is attached)

a Graduate Students’ Society councilor, who is a LTS Partnership Program
volunteer, gave a short introduction to the LTS Partnership Program at a GSS
meeting and handed out LTS Partnership Program brochures to the councilors to
bring back to their departments.

the UBC Trek Volunteer Program (a program that facilitates members of the UBC
community volunteering in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, an extremely
underprivileged area) now features a link to the UBC LTS Partnership Program
website (see http://www.learningexchange.ubc.ca/trek_program/volunt_opps/inner_city.html )

the UBC LTS Partnership Program e-newsletter, vol. 6, issue 1, was emailed to
volunteers in December (and was emailed to the National Partnership Program
Coordinator at that time)

holiday greeting cards were sent by the coordinators to all of the volunteers and
teachers (special thanks to U of M, from whom we got this fantastic idea at the first
annual LTS Partnership Program Coordinators’ Regional Conference (West
Coast)!!)
Training Sessions
October 7th, 2002 – The first Volunteer Training Session for 2002-2003, in which 56
volunteers participated, was held in the Penthouse at the Graduate Student Centre.
The training session developed by the LTS national office, including a presentation on
LTS’s history and mandate, as well as tips on teaching Science, was used. In addition,
there was discussion of the UBC Partnership Program in particular, including the roles
of the volunteers and the coordinators. Returning volunteers were given the opportunity
to share their experiences with the new volunteers. As well, small group activities
getting the volunteers to brainstorm innovative ways to teach different concepts to kids
were run, with prizes been awarded to the best ideas. Pizza, pop and vegan cupcakes
were enjoyed by all. Volunteers left the training session with a number of resources,
including the Volunteer Training Manual, their teacher partner’s contact information and
a map of Vancouver indicating the location of the school where they will be
volunteering. Before volunteers received their package, they were required to sign a
Volunteer Agreement which outlined their roles and responsibilities as a UBC LTS
Partnership Program volunteer, as well as what they can expect from the coordinators.
The evening was a great success!
November 19th, 2002 - Since not all volunteers were able to attend the first Volunteer
Training Session, a second session, covering the same material as the first, was held in
the Family & Nutritional Sciences building and was attended by 13 volunteers.
Additionally training session(s) are being planned for the second term for those
volunteers who could not attend either of the first two training sessions and for new
volunteers who have joined the Partnership Program after the second training session
was held.
Grad Nooner Blurb
(appeared on the GSS website and in an article in The Graduate magazine)
Subject: Scientists Wanted
Let's Talk Science (LTS) is a national registered charitable organization striving to
improve Science literacy through innovative educational programs, research, and
advocacy. (Our "Science" includes the life and physical sciences, technology,
engineering and mathematics.) The LTS Partnership Program creates partnerships
between elementary/secondary school teachers and graduate students in Science. The
aim is to enrich Science education and provide young people with a better
understanding of the goals and methods of scientific research. In the process,
scientists get to share their enthusiasm for Science with the next generation of potential
scientists and everyone has a lot of fun! Join us at the Grad Nooner to find out how you
can get involved!
For more information, check out our website at http://gss.ubc.ca/LTS or email us at
lts@gss.ubc.ca