The University of Arkansas at Little Rock continues to collaborate with local school districts to improve science education.

The UALRTeach team — comprised of Co-directors Drs. Gail Hughes and Tony Hall; master teachers, Kelly Chaney and Sandra Leiterman; and Dr. Anne Lindsay — received a $140,000 Mathematics and Science Partnership grant, renewable for three years.

Through a program called UALR K-4 Science Integration MSP, UALR educators are helping to train 30 kindergarten through fourth-grade teachers in science.

The university is partnering with Little Rock School District elementary schools Bale, Booker Arts Magnet, and Pulaski Heights as well as Pulaski Academy and Little Rock Christian Academy.

Through the program, UALRTeach hosted four meetings this school year, Hughes said, and will provide two weeks of intensive training in June. The focus is on engaging students in science through literacy and providing inquiry-based instruction in early grades.

Team leaders plan to help students by improving teachers’ knowledge of and interest in science content as well as their understanding of the Arkansas science standards for kindergarten through fourth grade.

Photos: Teachers participate in a Feb. 27 UALRTeach training, working through a lesson they can implement with their students. The lesson plan, designed by Kelly Chaney, a UALRTeach master teacher, makes use of the book “Sheep in a Jeep” by Nancy E. Shaw and Margot Apple. Contributed photos.