Peter Garik - US grants

9554198 Garik The Project on Quantum Science Across Disciplines proposes to design and implement an introduction to quantum science for high school students and undergraduates in biology, chemistry, and physics through activities integrating computer modeling tools, a data resource base, and hands-on experiments; do research on student response to materials intended to introduce quantum science at a level appropriate for interdisciplinary inquiry with hooks paths between biology, chemistry, and physics; and, investigate the extent to which a technologically rich approach to teaching interdisciplinary science can fundamentally change high school and college instructional practices. The target audiences are the high school students and undergraduates for whom it is important to develop scientific literacy as defined by the AAAS 2061 Project and the Draft National Science Education Standards (NSES) prepared by the National Research Council. An understanding of the methods and results of scientific research and the tools of technology are important for the broad spectrum of students studying science, whether for satisfaction of diploma requirements, technical professional training, or preparation for advanced study. The new materials will be aimed at high school classes, undergraduates, and adult education courses with the potential for science teacher in-service training. The goal is to provide students with the tools to navigate between the representations for quantum science adopted by each of the sciences. As the theory for the microscopic processes which affect all the sciences, quantum science can be a means for providing an integrated approach to science education. The examples of quantum science will be drawn from biology, chemistry, and physics, will reflect research scientists' mental models for the process in question, and will be coupled to laboratory experiments. Each of the subject modules will be independently usable in an introductory courses; however, their linkage will encourage interdisciplinary instruction. Earlier projects have demonstrated the change in classroom structure, communication, and the role of the teacher that results from the combination of inquiry oriented projects and rich technology. Students have the technological tools to pursue their own independent projects, while the teacher takes on the role of mentor and advisor. Electronic journals provide new opportunities for student-student and teacher-student dislodges, combining the best features of journal writing and portfolio assessment. ***

Project LITE is a two-year proof-of-concept project involving materials development, course instruction, and student learning assessment at Boston University. The project's goal is to develop a prototype set of integrated educational materials--unique take-home laboratory experiments, written guides, Web-based software, and lecture demonstrations--which aim to clarify the nature of light, optics, color, and perception.

The project's major innovation is the development (and introduction into a range of university courses) of a set of "homelabs"--experiments employing inexpensive original devices and existing commercial and industrial optical materials. These inquiry-based, quantitative laboratory experiences are being designed for use by students in their homes or dormitory rooms. The project is also developing easily implementable and inexpensive demonstrations about light for both individual and classroom use. Written materials, as well as Web-based software, are being developed in conjunction with the homelabs and demonstrations. Materials are being pilot-tested in two introductory physics and astronomy courses for non-majors at Boston University.

The basic educational goal of both the homelabs and the demonstrations is to encourage individualized hands-on (and eyes-on) learning. The use of "homelabs" also seeks to alleviate a major resource problem faced by many large, introductory, non-major university science courses owing to the limited availability of laboratory space, equipment, and teaching assistants.

Future national impact of individual homelabs could be extended by integration into junior college, university, and standards-based high school science courses in astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, and psychology, as well as into science courses for pre-service teachers. The two-year pilot project should ultimately lead to the full-scale development of a complete suite of homelabs, lecture demonstrations, and Web-based software concerning light and optics. The investigators are laying the groundwork for expanded development of materials and for the large-scale dissemination of resulting materials. They are also identifying prospective partners and test sites at other colleges and universities, as well as appropriate publishers and equipment manufacturers.

Project STAMP - Science Technology and Mathematics Partnerships - provides graduate fellows from the University of Boston, from the departments of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Engineering, for educational activities with grade 6-12 students in the urban and suburban Boston, Chelsea, Newton and Quincy school districts. External partners include the Boston Museum of Science, the New England Aquarium, Melles Griot (an optics company) and the New England Board of Higher Education. Nine graduate students and four advanced undergraduates are supported per year. The themes are investigation, experimentation and problem solving. Innovative aspects include the use of a mobile laboratory as a capstone experience. The wide variety of school districts participating illustrate the broader impacts of this project as does the extensive use of the many resources available in the Boston area. This project is partially supported with funds from the Directorate for Mathematics and the Physical Sciences

Project title: Science, Technology and Mathematics Partnerships
Institution: Boston University
PI/Co-PI: Bennett Goldberg, Donald DeRosa, Peter Garik, Constance Phillips, Michael Ruane
Partner School Districts: Boston, Chelsea, Newton, Quincy
Funding: $ 1,419,131 total for 3 years
Number of fellows/year: 9 graduate, 4 undergraduate
Setting: Urban
Target audience: 6-12
NSF supported disciplines involved: Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering

Boston University's Noyce Urban Science Scholarships (BoNUSS) program is providing 29 new scholarships to academically talented science majors. The departments within the College of Arts and Science, the School of Education and several local high-needs school districts (including Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Quincy Revere and Somerville) are partnering to provide scholarships for 24 recent graduates with science degrees to return to BU and undertake the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). In addition, 5 new undergraduate scholars are being funded to complete their licensure program in one year and teach in surrounding high-needs districts. The program follows the previously established model at BU shown to be successful with students majoring in mathematics. Pre-service teachers are exposed to a curriculum enriched with information and guest lecturers that address challenges faced by in-service teachers serving in urban settings. In addition, following their practicum year, project personnel are offering continuing support for the new teachers including access to a Master Teacher who offers monthly seminars intended to address issues of classroom management, and conducts regular online sessions to provide support, advice, mentoring and help with curricular challenges encountered by new teachers. The evaluation of the Noyce BoNUSS program also is identifying strategies that lead to the creation of an effective science preparation program to attract, prepare and retain high-quality secondary STEM teachers.

This project will support a conference on teaching history and philosophy of science in K-12 science classes. The history and philosophy of science (HPS) are important topics that play a significant role in scholarship about science: its historical and current development; its methods and innovations in such methods; and its philosophical and theoretical bases. HPS is also included, in some form or other, in many state's science standards and in national standards and reform efforts. Despite this prevalence and relevance, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence on how HPS should be taught to achieve desired learning outcomes. This is particularly true of the relationship of HPS to science achievement, as measurable by most standardized tests, but it is also true of the relationship of HPS to other outcomes, such as inquiry skills, practices of science, or scientific reasoning ability.

The present conference will envision a research agenda about the role of HPS in K-12 education. It will include scholars from a variety of fields: HPS; STEM disciplines; science education research; psychology and cognitive sciences; and education research methods. The 2.5-day conference will combine three activities: a one-day symposium with public lectures and panel discussions by US and international scholars on HPS, science education, cognitive science, and education research; a one-day invitational workshop to set an agenda for future research and ideas for proposals for future funded projects; and a meeting of the project steering committee to synthesize points from Days 1-2 and to coordinate writing of a monograph, journal special issue, or similar compilation of reports to the field.

This Robert Noyce Scholarships and Stipends Track 1 project intends to produce 29 teachers of the physical sciences (chemistry, physics, and physical science) with deep disciplinary content knowledge and pedagogical skills specific to the content, as well as strategies for supporting middle and high school students, in high-need school districts, in being highly successful. Specifically, this project will recruit post-baccalaureate STEM graduates, including career changers, as well as undergraduate STEM majors in their senior year. Currently, less than half of the nation's chemistry and physics classes are taught by a teacher with a degree in the discipline. Working in collaboration with high-need school districts, the project's three principal goals are to: (Goal 1) implement a plan to recruit 29 individuals who possess or earn a baccalaureate degree in physics or chemistry in order to prepare them to be great middle and high school teachers of the physical sciences in high-need school districts; (Goal 2) prepare these Noyce Scholars to be successful in teaching in high-need urban school districts through a focus on working with communities of diverse cultural backgrounds, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and the employment of universal design for learning; and (Goal 3) sustain these nascent teachers through their induction years in order to increase the likelihood of their persisting in the teaching profession, particularly in high-need school districts. The Robert Noyce scholarship and stipends received through this grant will provide the tuition and induction year support to make the transition into teaching economically feasible for post-baccalaureates and STEM professionals who are changing careers to become teachers, as well as for undergraduate seniors earning a baccalaureate degree in chemistry or physics. All Noyce Scholars will earn teacher licensure, with the post-baccalaureate Noyce Scholars also completing a Master's of Arts in Teaching.

Retention of new science teachers in the profession is one of the challenges for ensuring that all students have access to an excellent science education. While one of the best indicators of whether a new teacher will be a good teacher is their content knowledge, an extremely important indicator of whether a new teacher will remain in the profession for an extended period is the quality of their pedagogical preparation. Thus, the length of the supervised practical experience is critical. The full-year program offered through this project includes pre-practicum and practicum experiences for three semesters working with students from high-need schools in various programs, observing and assisting in a high-need classroom, and then engaging in teaching in such a classroom. These supervised activities are bolstered by courses in which best methods of classroom management and science teaching are discussed along with readings from the education research literature. The teacher preparation program features the cohorts of science teacher candidates taking pedagogical educational courses together and specialized seminars on effective teaching practices in STEM. The induction program, which occurs during the first two years of teaching, includes monthly meetings and mentoring by master teachers. The project has a robust recruitment plan exploiting professional networks, social media, and marketing directly to career centers and human resources departments of high-tech companies and companies with large production facilities which employ science and engineering professionals. This project will benefit society in at least three ways: 1) direct impact on the students and schools in the Greater Boston area, and wherever else these 29 Noyce Scholars teach in the future; 2) the potential for a longitudinal study documenting attitudinal and pedagogical content knowledge gains, as well as factors influencing teacher persistence, of the Noyce Scholars in this project and the prior Boston University Noyce program upon which it builds; and 3) sharing what is learned related to strategies that are successful and those that are not in recruiting primarily career changers in the physical sciences into teaching.