Pride in Our Place ProjectBased Learning at a Public Urban Academy for Math, Science and Technology

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Pride in Our PlaceProject-Based Learning at a
Public Urban Academy for Math, Science and
Technology

• Regina E. Toolin, Ph.D.
• Fordham University
• Graduate School of Education
• New York, NY 10023
• Toolin_at_fordham.edu

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• What is the process by which projects are
  conceptualized, developed and implemented at this
  school?
• How do math and science teacher collaborate to
  design and implement a 6th grade project-based
  unit on urban ecology?

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LITERATURE REVIEW

• Project-based Inquiry (PBI) has been researched
  by Polman (2000), Krajcik et al. (2002),
  Blumenfeld et al., (1991) and Krajcik, (2001).
• The goal of PBI To investigate real-world,
  standards-based problems that are of interest,
  relevance, value, and worth to both students and
  teachers.
• Projects are defined by questions or problems
  that are collaboratively investigated by students
  and teachers utilizing technology and resulting
  in a series of artifacts or products that address
  the question over time (Krajcik et al., 2002).

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LITERATURE REVIEWHow does PBI influence teachers
and teaching?

• Teachers are generally enthusiastic, motivated,
  and successful in their quest to implement
  project-based learning in their science
  classrooms (Rosenfield and Ben-Hur, 2001).
• The process by which teachers collaborated to
  develop a project-based curriculum resulted in
  positive change in teachers understanding and
  practice of science and science teaching
  (Blumfield, 1994).
• Toolin (2004) found that school culture and
  mission as well as teacher experience and prior
  knowledge of inquiry and project-based methods
  played a significant role in the successful
  implementation of project-based teaching and
  learning in secondary science classrooms.
• The quest to implement projects is not without
  its challenges as teachers design assessments,
  create new courses, or revise existing ones in
  support of project-based inquiry (DAmico, 1999).

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LITERATURE REVIEWHow does PBI influence
students?

• Student motivation and learning significantly
  increased in project-based science classrooms.
  Student collaboration and the use of technology
  increased as teachers enacted several aspects of
  project-based science in their teaching practice
  (Marx, 1994).
• Project-based science promoted positive change in
  students ideas about science classes, attitudes
  about science, and motivation for studying
  science (Stratford and Finkel, 1996).
• Project-based teaching heightened student
  motivation and commitment to learning while
  developing ocean software design projects
  (Yarnall and Kafai, 1996).

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BACKGROUND AND DEMOGRAPHICSTHE SCHOOL

• Small, public, urban academy in the Bronx for
  grades 6-12 that first opened during the 2004-05
  school year.
• School-within-a-school housed in a larger high
  school that is currently being phased out as
  smaller academies take residence in the building.
  
• Emphasis on math, science and technology
  education that is project-based.
• Upon opening its doors last fall, three 6th grade
  classes and three 9th grade classes had an
  enrollment of 45 students in each grade. Class
  size has doubled this year. Projected total
  enrollment of approximately 400 students.
• Partnerships with Teaching Matters Inc.,
  Salvadori Center for Design, Clearpool
  Environmental Center and a Sister Urban Academy.

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BACKGROUND AND DEMOGRAPHICSTHE STUDENTS

• The students are primarily African American and
  Latino and come from lower income families.
• Over 90 qualify for the free or reduced
  breakfast and lunch programs
• Score on average between a 1 and 2 (1 being the
  lowest score on a 4 point rubric scale) on the
  mandated New York State assessments for math and
  ELA.
• Special Education Students w/ Push-in teaching
  support.
• All 5th and 8th year students city-wide apply
  to the middle school and high school of their
  choice under the Citys School Choice Program.
  
• (Note Given that the Urban Academy for
  Math, Science and Technology is a new school,
  enrollment is relatively low compared to the
  25-30 student class size average in most City
  classrooms. It is anticipated that class size
  will grow once the school gains a wider
  reputation in the region. For this particular
  study, only the 6th grade math and science
  classes were examined as they where engaged in
  project based inquiry over the course of the
  spring semester.)

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BACKGROUND AND DEMOGRAPHICSTHE TEACHERS

• Two sixth grade teachers, one math (Linda) and
  one science (Anita)
• This is Anitas first year teaching 6th grade
  science. Her certification is in K-6 with a
  middle school extension in science. She is
  enrolled in a Masters program in science
  education at CUNY.
• Linda is a third year math teacher, who has
  recently completed her Masters in mathematics
  education as part of the NYC Teaching Fellows
  Program.
• The entire 6th grade team consisting of 4
  teachers (one for each major subject area)
  collaborated on matters of scheduling,
  curriculum, parent-teacher meetings, and the
  overall management and discipline of the 6th
  grade.
• Throughout the year Anita and Linda occasionally
  collaborated on matters of curriculum and
  teaching but primarily taught their respective
  science and math classes independent of one
  another.

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BACKGROUND OF THE CURRICULUM

• 6TH Grade Impact Math Curriculum (EDC) was
  adopted Citywide 2 years ago.
• NCTM Standards-based, highly structured
  curriculum that emphasizes number sense,
  operations, geometry, measurement, statistics and
  algebra.
• Teachers comment that the curriculum is
  overwhelming for students in scope and sequence
  and requires many modifications and adaptations
  for their low performing students (Average 1-2 on
  math state assessments).
• The 6th grade science curriculum focuses on life
  science and is less structured than the math in
  terms of an adopted curriculum.
• No science text or formal curriculum.
• Topics Cell, Body Systems, Genetics, Evolution
  and Ecology
• The decision to design an urban ecology project
  was primarily based on the fact that this was the
  final unit to be taught in the sixth grade
  science curriculum.

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THE PROJECT

• Pride in Our Place 6th Grade Theme
• Ecology Driving Question How does the city
  environment affect growth and development of our
  plants?
• Students designed experiments to investigate
  urban air, soil, litter, water and light factors
  on the growth and development of plants.
• Utilized Bottle Biology as a model
• Student research developed proposals that needed
  approval to proceed
• Incorporated Excel, PowerPoint, Science Journals
  in the data collection and data analysis process

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STUDY DESIGN

• The study consisted of an initial observation
  period of 4 months (1 day a week) followed by a
  more intensive 4 month phase that focused
  specifically on the development and
  implementation of project-based inquiry (2 days a
  week).
• Phase I Observed math and science classes and
  met with teachers staff and administrators for
  the purpose of becoming more familiar with school
  policies and practices, more informed of
  day-to-day curriculum and teaching practices as
  well as to develop a rapport with teachers,
  students, staff and administrators.
• At times, this meant taking an active role in
  unit, project and lesson planning, co-teaching
  with the math and science teachers, regularly
  meeting with administrators and attending school
  functions and field trips.

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STUDY DESIGN

• Phase II Curriculum/project planning utilizing
  the backward design model (Wiggins and McTighe,
  2001) and project planning (Krajcik et al.,
  2003).
• Backward design was a relatively new method of
  curriculum development for the teachers, projects
  were not.
• The school mission and philosophy was grounded in
  the notion that students learn by active
  engagement in hands-on projects.
• The school had a partnership with the Salvadori
  Center for Design whereby consultants visited the
  school one day a week to work on architecture
  projects with the students.
• Teachers essentially gave up their math and
  science classes to the Salvadori consultants to
  work on projects that were unrelated to what the
  students were studying in their regular math and
  science classes.
• What was new to the teachers was the concept of
  integrating long-term projects into the regular
  math and science curriculum.

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DATA COLLECTION

• Achievement data, observation notes, anecdotal
  notes, interviews, and artifacts such as
  curriculum maps, unit plans, lesson plans, and
  assessments.
• Students were observed during instructional time
  and non-structured time during the school day.
• Copies of student work in the form of regular
  assignments, projects, tests and investigative
  journals were copied and utilized for analysis.
• Regular meetings and interviews with teachers and
  school administrators to ascertain their vision,
  goals and support for a project-based middle
  school math and science curriculum.

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LESSON PLAN SAMPLE

• 5.16.05
• Part 1
• Brain Starter?
• What types of quantitative data will you measure?
  
• What tool will you use?
• What unit will you use in measurement?
• Mini-Lesson? (Deon)
• How do we create a table to show both qualitative
  and quantitative data?
• How do we use Excel to organize each form of
  data?
• Investigative Group Work?
• Create table in Excel
• Focus? Do students understand the differences
  between qualitative/quantitative data,
  variable/control, measurements needed for their
  study?
• Complete Research Proposal
• Part 2
• Brain Starter?
• Gather materials needed for research.
• Computer, folder, paragraph planning worksheet
• Investigative Group Work?
• Continue web research writing important facts
  gathered from each website

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ANALYSIS

• In this study, repeated reading and analysis of
  observation notes, anecdotal notes, interviews
  and other study artifacts discussed previously
  resulted in a analytical coding scheme related to
  research goals (Strauss, 1987).
• Themes were identified and external codes were
  assigned that related to the original research
  questions and objectives. Alternately, internal
  codes were assigned to new concepts or themes
  that emerged during the course of the study or
  introduced by the participants during classroom
  observations or informal discussions.
• A subsequent step in this analysis process was to
  build connections among codes. These links or
  bridges were constructed by the use of memos that
  were utilized to refine and expand on the codes
  and domains of the analyses.
• These codes and memos form the basis from which
  the analysis is constructed and generalizations
  and/or model were built

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ANALYTICAL THEMES

• Many themes emerged related to the research goal
  of studying the curriculum and project-based
  teaching and learning process. Some of these
  themes included
• prior knowledge and experience of project-based
  inquiry
• dissatisfaction as an impetus for change
• project-based inquiry as a motivation to explore,
  learn and research with students and experts
• influence of school vision, mission and
  philosophy
• administrative support for project-based inquiry
• thinking outside the curriculum and teaching box
• the influences of adult life-long learning cycle
• need for structured, ongoing professional
  development (content and pedagogical coaching)

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IMPLICATIONS

• The goal of this study was to investigate the
  process by which project-based learning is
  conceptualized and implemented into the 6th grade
  math and science curriculum at the Urban Academy
  for the Math, Science and Technology.
• This study contributes to the growing body of
  research pertaining to the influence that
  project-based curriculum development and
  instruction has on teacher professional
  development and student learning and achievement
  in science.
• The benefits to the teachers include increased
  experience and skill in planning and teaching a
  project-based approach and deeper understanding
  of pedagogical and content knowledge.
• Over time students benefit by engaging in
  content-rich, motivating experiences that will
  optimize their learning and increase their
  overall interest and achievement in math and
  science.
• The benefits to administrators include increased
  understanding and awareness of project-based
  approaches to teaching and learning, a more
  competent and knowledgeable faculty and higher
  achieving students.