EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERISTY STEM INITIATIVES STEM CONFERENCE MAY 2010

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EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERISTY STEM INITIATIVES
STEM CONFERENCE MAY 2010
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Key elements of our center
Advancing the support of math science education
at all levels, K-16.

• Long term commitment
• Maintaining focus
• Capacity building
• Sustainability
• Leveraging resources
• Credibility with stakeholders
• Evaluation and benchmarking of results

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PROFESSIONA DEVELOPMENT

• Critical Elements
• Engaged various stakeholders
• Used outside reviewers
• Shared program vision
• Clear expectations of what students and teachers
  should be doing in science classrooms
• A focus on student learning
• Use research-based review tools

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Five Ingredients for Successful Community
Collaboration

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• System Reform
• Data-Based, Evidence Driving
• Community-based Engagement
• Sustained Investments in What Works
• Visionary Leadership

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KEY FEATURES OF ETSUS MATH SCIENCE PARTNERSHIPS

• Partnership-driven, with significant engagement
  of STEM faculty
• Teacher quality, quantity, and diversity
• Challenging courses and curricular
• Evidence-based design and outcomes
• Institutional change and sustainability

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Partnership Collaboration
East Tennessee State University
Eastman Chemical Company
MSP Science Project.
Niswonger Foundation
Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc.
Morrell Motors
National Science Foundation
Local School Systems
Wal-Mart Foundation
NN Ball and Roller, Inc.
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Partnership Collaboration
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Do We Have Any Results?

• Analysis of early data from one of our current
  Math Science Partnership programs shows 5-12
  science students proficiency rising in
  conjunction with new educational approaches.

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Summer Workshop Pretest and Post-test Results
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Middle School Level
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71.4
28.6
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High School Post-test Biology Gateway Exam
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Impacts of Partnership Projects

• Trained over 1100 teachers of K-12 science and
  math
• Directly impacted approximately 60,000
• students
• Involved over 75 partner schools in the 16 school
  districts of UETEC
• Gains in teacher content knowledge
• Gains in student achievement
• Improved teaching strategies
• Increased student achievement
• Increased funding for science supplies
  equipment for the regions schools
• ETSU Arts Sciences faculty visiting schools
• on a regular basics

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NSF, HHMI and State funded interdisciplinary
programs

• Education, Infrastructure, and Research
• NSF-Advanced Technological Education (ATE)
• NSF-Talent Expansion in STEM (STEP)
• HHMI-Science Education Grant, Symbiosis
• ETSU and General Shale Brick Natural History
  Museum
• NSF-Graduate Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12)
• MSP Science Project
• Eastman Mathlete Project
• Niswonger Math Project
• The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
  (NSF)
• Nuclear Fuels Services Math Project

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What are we learning?

• STEM faculty engagement with K-12 is resulting in
  increase awareness of the importance of the STEM
  faculty encouraging STEM students to consider
  teaching as a career path
• K-12 teachers learning from STEM faculty STEM
  faculty learning from teachers
• Enhanced student leaning
• Our programs are making new contributions to the
  STEM education literature
• K-12 STEM education requires long-term
  solutions---there are no quick fixes

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SYMBIOSIS

• Implementation of a Model Curriculum
• Across Biology and Mathematics
• Dr. Karl H Joplin
• Department of Biological Sciences
• ETSU

Stem Conference, ETSU May 2010
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SYMBIOSIS PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

• To create the structure, for the full
  implementation of the SYMBIOSIS curriculum.
• To expand the publications of scientific articles
  and science education articles describing the
  creation, methods and materials of the outcome of
  our program.
• To continue with and expand the assessment
  program in order to address how the students are
  benefitting from the program by creating and
  administering a new pre-post test to our
  standard Introductory Biology for Majors as the
  control for the proposed full implementation of
  the new curriculum.

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Curriculum Implementation
Each semesters Biology and Math material will be
taught using the SYMBIOSIS integrated material,
but as co-requisite, coupled courses
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Symbiosis I Biology and Statistics

• Module 1 Introduction to Biology as a Science
• Module II The Cell
• Module III Mendelian Genetics
• Module IV DNA Replication
• Module V Genomics
• Module VI Allometry and Isometry

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Symbiosis II Biology and Calculus

• Module VII Population Genetics (microevolution)
• Module VIII Phylogenetics (macroevolution)
• Module IX Population dynamics (Demography)
• Module X Community Ecology species interactions
• Module XI Behavioral Ecology
• Module XII

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To create the structure, for the full
implementation of the SYMBIOSIS curriculum
The eight currently identified facets of the
program are
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Symbiosis III- Organismal Biology and Math

• Module XIII Membrane transport
• Module XIV Energy Pathways
• Module XV Excitable tissues nerves and muscles
• Module XVI Reproduction
• Module XVII Development and Gene Expression
• Module XVIII Bioinformatics

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In an attempt to link and weave the modules
together there will be an underlying theme.

• The 7 Characteristics/Properties of Life
• 1) Cells and Organization
• 2) Energy Use Metabolism
• 3) Response to environmental changes . Regulation
  homeostasis
• 4) Reproduction , Growth Development
• 5) Evolution
• Other threads include
•  Variation Diversity

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Basic Initial Format

• Biology Attributes
• Quantitative Aspects Mathematics and/or
  Statistics Links
• Focal Questions and Chapter Preview
• Fundamental Concepts
• Connections (theme threads)
• Summary
• Case Studies / Data analysis

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IBMS 1530

• A Sample Chapter Conditional Probability
• http//www.etsu.edu/cas/symbiosis/documents/Prod_B
  ook_Stat__Sample_Conditional_Prob.pdf
• This text is being used Spring 2010 as text for
  Statistics 1530
• Section 13

• Introduction to Statistics in Biological Context
• Edith Seier and Karl H Joplin
• Table of Contents
• http//www.etsu.edu/cas/symbiosis/documents/Prod_B
  ook_Stat_Table_Content.pdf

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IBMS 1910

• A Sample Chapter
• Enzyme Kinetics
• http//www.etsu.edu/cas/symbiosis/documents/Prod_B
  ook_Cacl_Sample_Enzyme_Kinetics.pdf

• Introductory Calculus for
• Biology
• Michel Helfgott and Darrell Moore
• Table of Contents
• http//www.etsu.edu/cas/symbiosis/documents/Prod_B
  ook_Calculus_Table_Content.pdf
• ?

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HHMI / SYMBIOSIS related Publications

• Submitted for Publication to CBE
• The SYMBIOSIS Experience From Flies and Bees to
  Introductory Math/Biology Curriculum. Joplin,
  Depelteau, Miller, Helfgott, Seier, Jones, Kumar,
  Knisley
• SYMBIOSIS II Implementation of a Model
  Curriculum Across Biology and Mathematics at the
  Freshman Level. Depelteau, Joplin, Miller,
  Govett, Helfgott, Seier, Jones, Kumar, Knisley
• Developing Student Collaborations Across
  Disciplines, Distances, and Institutions Knisley
  , Behravesh
• Strategies for mentoring interdisciplinary
  undergraduate research Godbole, Karsai, D.
  Knisley, J. Knisley, Yampolsky

• List of Published Articles Articles Accepted
  for Publication see SYMBIOSIS website
• http//www.etsu.edu/cas/symbiosis/product/publicat
  ion.aspx

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SYMBIOSIS Websitehttp//www.etsu.edu/cas/sym
biosis/default.aspx
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Assessment Study

• Fall 2009 and Spring 2009
• Biology 1 2 classes _at_ main campus, 1 class _at_
  Kingsport
• 60 question pretest
• 10 questions _at_ mid semester
• 10 questions _at_ final
• Biology 2 2 classes _at_ main campus, 1 class _at_
  Kingsport
• 20 question pretest
• 10 questions _at_ mid semester
• 10 questions to be given _at_ final

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Assessment Statistics

• Data collection, Rausch analyses, computation of
  scale scores, and statistical tests (t-tests,
  ANOVAs, ANCOVAs, Normalized gain) will be used to
  determine students changes in content knowledge.
  
• The Rausch item analysis will be used to allow
  the calculation of a scale score for a more
  meaningful and rigorous comparison of student
  abilities as measured with this particular test.
• Other parameters include a pre- and post-course
  surveys such as the SURE III, SURE Follow Up
  Survey, CURE projects of the Grinnell Model

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New Collaborations

• A working group between ETSUs Departments of
  Biological Sciences and Digital Media has been
  established to develop figures and animations for
  biological processes for use in the modules, the
  textbooks, and for e-learning.

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Other Grants submitted

• In Collaboration with IQB
• In Collaboration with Digital Media

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To maintain a strong relationship between the
Departments of Biological Science and
Mathematics Statistics by

• conducting regular SYMBIOSIS meetings
• holding bimonthly IQB meetings/seminars
• writing collaboratively
• ongoing learning of each others fields
• To keep the SYMBIOSIS website current and updated

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Some Other ETSU STEM Initiatives

• Anant Godbole, Department of Mathematics and
  Statistics

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Beyond the Math-Biology Partnerships

• Graduate STEM Fellows in the Classroom (NSF-GK12,
  3M, 5 years)
• Two-Year/Four-Year Partnerships to strengthen
  Math-Science curricula for prospective K-6
  teachers (NSF-ATE, 1.25M, 5 years)
• Scholarships for prospective High School math and
  science teachers (NSF-Noyce, 900K, 5 years)
• Research Experiences for Teachers (NSF-REU,
  70,000, 2 years)

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The NSF-GK12 Program Science First!

• This is a collaboration of ETSU (MathStat,
  Chemistry, Biology, Geology) and Johnson Citys
  North Side Elementary School, a signature school
  of Science, Technology and Mathematics
• Project PI is Gordon Anderson, Dean of the
  College of Arts and Sciences
• Co-PIs are Aimee Govett (Curriculum and
  Instruction) Anant Godbole and North Sides
  Sharon Pickering and Valerie Orfield
• Evaluators are Scott Eddins and Deb Hemler

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Science First!

• Central to the project are nine graduate students
  (Fellows) receiving MS degrees in Mathematics,
  Biology or Chemistry
• The Fellows work with teachers to bring the
  excitement of scientific discovery to the science
  classroom
• Teachers and Fellows earn a generous stipend and
  have a travel allowance.
• Even kindergarteners are exposed to what real
  scientists do as they conduct research.
• Honing Fellows communication skills is an
  important project expectation/outcome.

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What sets us apart

• Most of the 130 GK-12 projects nationwide are
  based in high schools
• Most of the nations GK-12 projects target
  several schools in one or more school districts
• Most of the GK-12 Fellows are final year PhD
  students
• We enjoy close to 100 participation
• Teachers receive 15 hours of graduate
  content-based coursework

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Details

• Communicating science and mathematics research
  As the Fellows embark on a very early start to
  their MS research, they are continually seeking
  to bring this research to the elementary
  classroom through teaching, creation of lesson
  plans, and auxiliary activities such as Math
  Club. Through these activities, they improve the
  content knowledge of the teachers they work with.
  Six hours are spent by the Fellows in the school
  each week. Some Fellows are working with the Gray
  Fossil Site staff to create an outdoor classroom
  at NSE that features a fossil dig for the
  students, from which they learn elementary
  paleontology.
• Creation of innovative course materials Fellows
  are currently in the throes of creating Online
  Resource Centers (ORCs) for use by the teachers
  as resource materials for their teaching. The
  ORCs are organized by grade level and learning
  objectives/strands of the current State Science
  standards (work on Math ORCs has not yet begun,
  which is just as well given the new state and
  Core Curriculum Standards). There will thus be
  around 150 ORCs when the work is complete. Each
  will contain new lessons, existing web resources,
  and activities for classroom use.

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2. Research Experiences for Teachers

• The North Side co-PIs Pickering and Orfield have,
  in the past, participated in an RET Program.
• Their original research is being written up for
  submission
• RET participants earn 2 months summer salary and
  travel/supplies monies
• In the latest RET funding cycle, the partnership
  with North Side was cemented
• This summer, Neysa Alexander and Robert Hyder
  will participate and work on research on
  OMNIMOSAICS

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The rationale behind RETs

• There are very few absolutes in education, but
  theres one thing of which I am absolutely
  certain The best high school teachers are those
  who have a research-like experience in
  mathematics. .working for an extended period of
  time on a hard problem that has no apparent
  approach or solution has profound effects on how
  one perceives the nature of the enterprise.
  Teachers who have done this type of research are
  much less likely to think of mathematics as an
  established body of facts than are teachers who
  have simply taken a set of courses. They are
  more likely to stay engaged in teaching after
  they start teaching.. And they are much more
  likely to organize their classes around large
  investigations rather than low-level exercises..
  An ideal teacher preparation program combines
  the kind of orchestrated assimilation of the main
  results in mathematics.with the much messier
  unstructured explorations that come from working
  with a mentor and grappling with a research
  project. (Al Cuoco, Director of the Center for
  Mathematics Education at the Education
  Development Center)

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3. The Robert Noyce Project

• In 2009, the National Science Foundation awarded
  the Department of Mathematics and Statistics
  nearly 900,000 in support of the Robert Noyce
  Scholarship. Virtually all of this money will be
  used exclusively for scholarships. Each
  scholarship fully funds potential science and
  mathematics teachers for their final two years at
  East Tennessee State University. In particular,
  the scholarship provides tuition (including
  summer classes), books, room, and board. The
  caveat to accepting the scholarship is that the
  students teach two years in a high-need school
  district for two years for every year of funding.
  As there are a number of high-need school
  districts in our surrounding counties, this is a
  tremendous boon to not only our students and our
  department, but to the community as well.

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Noyce, contd.

• The investigative team for the Robert Noyce
  Scholarship is Jeff Knisley, Robert Beeler, Aimee
  Govett, and Daryl Stephens.
• Each year, we will recruit approximately eight
  rising juniors for our six week summer
  internship. The internship will focus on best
  practices for tutoring, problems solving
  sessions, and mentoring students (governors
  school, at-risk elementary and high school
  students). Six of these juniors will form our
  first cohort of mathematics teachers. 24 new
  teachers will be graduated

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NSF-ATE

• The NSF-ATE (Advanced Technological Education)
  Project Tennessee Board of Regents Teacher
  Preparation Program is a consortium of two
  universities and seven community colleges. The PI
  is Jim Kelley from Pellissippi State Technical
  Community College (PSTCC) co-PIs are Judy Hector
  from Walters State CC, Maggie Phelps from
  Tennessee Tech (replaced by Holly Anthony after
  Phelps retired) and Anant Godbole. ETSU faculty
  associated with the project have been Godbole,
  Poole, Norwood, Stephens, Beeler, Seier, Hosler
  (all Math/Stat) Govett, Barnes, Nivens (CI), Ho
  (Chemistry), and Miller, Wild (Biology).
• There are five project components

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NSF-ATE

• Two or three workshops are held each year at
  Pellissippi State to share best practices, study
  NAEP materials, host keynote talks, study
  emerging standards in math and science, and
  foster a sense of community among all 70 faculty
  participants from nine schools.
• At ETSU, we followed the example of the dedicated
  math and science classroom at PSTCC to create the
  Habitat, which was funded by a special 54,000
  TAF Grant. Here we have taught MATH 1410, 1420,
  and 1530, and the Introductory Biology and
  Chemistry classes to K-6 preservice teachers in a
  nurturing environment that facilitates team
  teaching, projects, and the use of technology.
  The grant has allowed us to purchase materials,
  supplies, manipulatives, and create displays,
  while TAF funds have transformed the Habitat into
  a smart classroom with 20 wireless networked
  laptops.

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NSF-ATE

• AST and articulation The goals of the project
  were serendipitously aligned with State goals
  when the TBR mandated the Associates of Science
  in Teaching degree (AST) at all community
  colleges. This degree required all two year
  colleges to institute a curriculum that had three
  mathematics classes (which we have required at
  ETSU for 15 years) and four science classes for
  K-6 majors. This facilitated new articulation
  agreements and strengthened existing ones we
  have now graduated 2 cohorts of the 22 agreement
  with Walters State Community College, and many
  students from Northeast State Technical Community
  College.
• Standards based instruction and
  knowledge/implementation of best practices has
  now transformed all our offerings at ETSU.
• Special courses have been developed, in
  Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics (particularly
  MATH 1530) that permit us to teach innovative
  sections of general education classes in the
  Habitat to a audience of primarily K-6 majors.