Adela de la Torre, Ph.D. - US grants

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Very little literature exists on how to teach English Learners science at the secondary (grades 7-12) level. The purpose of Addiction Research and Investigation for Science Educators (ARISE) is to develop the ability of teachers to effectively teach science to English Learners and native speakers of English who have low academic language skills. The proposed project uses an "interest approach" -- in this case, the theme of drug abuse and addiction to capture the interest of teachers and their students -- to teach science. The scientific content is aligned with California and National science academic standards for grades 7-12. Research on the topic of drug abuse and addiction is used as the entryway to teaching and learning science concepts. An illustrative research project is woven into the lesson plan to form what the National Academy of Science calls an "integrated instructional unit," a research-based lesson that teaches a critical fundamental science concept (NAS, 2005). The proposed project brings science teachers of grades 7-12 into contact with university research faculty to examine and integrate the best evidence-based approaches to teaching science with proven strategies for effectively teaching English Learners, who account for 25% of students in the targeted region and 20% nationwide. 93% in the region are Hispanic, and 8% are South Asian. Each year the project will pair 30 university researchers with 30 science teachers from the San Joaquin Valley for a one-week on-campus summer institute to deepen science content knowledge and pedagogical skills in teachers. Throughout the following academic year, teachers will work with faculty mentors and curriculum specialists to develop laboratory-based lessons in neuroscience, structured to effectively reach English Learners. Teachers will develop and teach an integrated instructional unit based on the theme of drug abuse and/or addiction, using materials and methods approved by NIH for K-12 classroom use. Outcomes include a project specific website, featuring: 120 laboratory-based neuroscience lessons aligned with National and California science standards; 120 research team posters and presentations; and resource links. Student materials will be translated into Spanish, Hmong, Khmer, Vietnamese, and Punjabi, and appended with bi-lingual vocabulary guides. ARISE targets a significant population of students who are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences and consequently in public health fields: less than 11% of undergraduate degrees in the biological sciences are awarded to Latinas/Latinos, and less than 2% of doctoral degrees are conferred. ARISE seeks to advance the scientific literacy of these students to improve their understanding of the "nature of addiction as a biologically based brain disorder" (NIDA, 2006). An equally compelling, long-term objective is to improve the potential for this group of students, many of whom are English Learners, to succeed in advanced science coursework and pursue undergraduate programs in the biomedical sciences. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Science Education Drug Abuse Partnership Award (SEDAPA) provides four-year grants for research scientists to share their scientific knowledge and expertise through formal partnerships with the K-12 education community. The objective of these partnerships is to increase public understanding of the biology of drug abuse and addiction. Partnerships involve formal education professional development with science teachers, formal curricular enrichment with students, and informal education projects via public venues (such as Exploratorium, museum and other public arenas). The SEDAPA award is similar in structure and aims to the broader Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA), which addresses principles of biological and physical sciences across a variety of themes (e.g., cancer, infectious disease, environmental science, etc.). The SEPA mechanism funds dozens of projects across the country. The SEDAPA program is much smaller, funding 13- 15 projects at any one time. SEPA has developed a highly important national meeting over the past decade to share evidence-based best practices in designing, managing and evaluating these K-12 science partnerships. The annual SEPA conference draws approximately 200 attendees and includes talks, poster sessions, panel discussions and networking meetings addressing evaluation, resource sharing, rigorous experimental design, publication development, dissemination, integration of technologies, addressing issues of research involving human subjects and animals, project management, and developing productive K-12-higher education partnerships. The objective of this application is to enable the 13 SEDAPA project directors to collaborate with SEPA conference planners to plan and participate in the first SEPA / SEDAPA Collaborative Conference in Bethesda, Maryland in May, 2012. SEDAPA project representatives will participate on the planning committee, develop SEDAPA-focused and joint SEDAPA-SEPA panel sessions and presentation topics, sponsor at least one plenary speaker, organize SEDAPA poster sessions, and identify and secure panelists. The agenda will include SEDAPA-focused topics for each break-out session. At least one plenary talk and several break-out sessions will be developed to focus on working with culturally diverse and bi-lingual students. The SEPA web site will be expanded to incorporate SEDAPA conference themes. Two scholarships will be made available to graduate students working on SEDAPA projects as graduate research assistants. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Science Education Drug Abuse Partnership Award (SEDAPA) program meets recommendations advanced by the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research's Report on K-12 Education. These recommendations include pairing investigators with educators to build a public understanding of the significance and processes involved in biomedical research in the neurosciences, as well as deepening specific content area knowledge among K-12 educators and building their capacity to transfer knowledge in the science classroom. The proposed grant enables SEDAPA project directors to collaborate and participate in the only annual meeting that brings more than 200 project directors together to share evidence-based best practices in forming and implementing productive partnerships to improve science learning.

The UC Davis ADVANCE program utilizes a four-pronged approach to increasing the participation and advancement of women in the STEM fields. This approach includes: establishment of a Center for Advancing Multi-Cultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS), implementation of programs to reduce the impact of unconscious bias, empowerment of STEM women faculty, and a rigorous social science research and evaluation program that is designed to both inform and assess the innovative approach being utilized to create and sustain an inclusive STEM environment. Underlying this multi-faceted approach is a keen focus on the recruitment, retention and advancement of Latina STEM faculty and the development of a STEM workforce that more closely resembles the region. To that end, it is expected that this project will provide much-needed nuance to the understanding of how race, ethnicity and cultural differences interact with personal, familial, institutional, mentorship, and network influences to impact the attractiveness of the academic career path and the professional trajectories of Latina STEM faculty. Given the vast network of UC campuses and innovative dissemination methods, the ADVANCE program at UC Davis will seminally impact the region and other universities nationwide. As such, UC Davis will drive institutional change toward gender equity in numerous institutions of higher education, while promoting the career success of underrepresented STEM faculty and enhancing the potential of academic science through the inclusion of previously underrepresented perspectives.