STEM Teachers Collaboration

1
STEM Teachers Collaboration

• ARCC STEM Faculty and Intermediate School Teachers

2
Background

• Lack of College Readiness
• MCA scores
• eg. Cambridge-Isanti 5th grade showed 37
  proficiency on MCA Science Test
• Research on rural communities
• The per capita income for rural Isanti County is
  29,000-30,999 (2006)
• Inequity of funding and programs
• 922 million funding gap since NCLB start (2002)
• Focus on urban issues
• Our role with rural communities

(U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Hu, 2003
Lichter et. al, 2004, NEA, 2008)
3
Why start at elementary?

• Students misconceptions formed before formal
  science education
• Resist change to misconceptions
• Misconceptions perpetuate throughout education to
  college
• Lack of development of higher-order thinking
  skills

(Appelton 2007, Michaels,2008)
4
Elementary teachers are expected to do the
impossible when undertrained in and uncomfortable
with science
5
Need for P-16 collaboration

• Recommendations from National Research council
  working groups
• Career-long professional development for
  elementary teachers
• 2- and 4-year colleges/universities must
• Provide appropriate introductory science courses
  for pre-service teachers
• Collaborate and form partnerships
• Provide mentorship/follow-up to teachers
• Primary responsibility to provide professional
  development for in-service teachers
• Cambridge Campus Role

6
Inquiry-based professional development

• Inquiry is the foundation for the development of
  understandings and abilities of the other content
  standards
• Inquiry is evidence-based
• Teachers who receive substantial professional
  developmentan average of 49 hourscan boost
  their students achievement by about 21

(National Science Education Standards, 1996,
Yoon et. al, 2007National Science Teachers
Association, 2004)
7
Thus, a Science Teachers Collaboration!

• Poorly prepared college students
• Lack of proficiency shown on MCA science test
• Inadequate training for elementary teachers in
  science
• Inadequate training in scientific inquiry
• Teacher frustration, burn-out and lack of time

8
Collaboration Goals

• Develop critical thinkers
• Develop science literacy
• Encourage life-long learning
• Increase enrollment in STEM programs
• Improve student performance on MCA
• Improve teacher quality P-16
• Provide meaningful, frequent professional
  development
• Provide opportunities to collaborate with P-16
  colleagues

9
Collaboration project

• A pilot study Promoting Science Inquiry and
  Critical Thinking in the Formative Years Through
  Teacher Collaboration
• Workshops
• One-on-one work with teachers
• Classroom visits
• Website
• SciTips
• Summer course

10
Workshop format

• Modeling inquiry lessons
• Integrate STEM
• Science and Math State Standards
• Lesson improvement
• Integration of learning theory
• Integration of the history and nature of science
  into lessons

11
Is it working?

• 88 of participants rating all workshop
  components as helpful to very helpful
• Positive testimonials from participants
• Continued support by college and K-12
  administration
• Improved inquiry-based teaching

12
Sustainability

• Effective professional development
• Frequent
• Meaningful
• Planned with teachers
• Include substitute teachers
• Align with curriculum requirements and standards
• Integrate STEM

13
Plans for the future

• Professional learning communities
• Hands-on inquiry workshops
• Classroom visits
• Collect and interpret meaningful data to make
  improvements
• STEM integration

14
Plans for the future

• Professional development partnerships
• Expand to include all of Cambridge campus feeder
  schools
• Expand to include K-16
• Partner with other organizations, colleges, and
  businesses
• Science Museum of MN
• MN State University Moorhead
• Participate in state-level working groups in
  Science standards (K-16)

15
Stop blabbing and start doing!!!!!