Track 2 GK-12: Collaborative to Advance Teaching, Technology and Science in (CATTS)

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Title: Track 2 GK-12: Collaborative to Advance Teaching, Technology and Science in (CATTS) Institution: The University of Arizona; PI/co-PIs: S. Seraphin, M. Hall-Wallace, J. Knight, S. Pompea, J. Watkins Max. Number of Fellows/year: 9 graduate on grant; 9 undergraduate on funds from partners; 15 through Certificate in College Teaching Program Teachers/year: 10, yrs 1-3; 4, yrs 4-5 School District Partners: Tucson Unified, Amphitheater, Sunnyside, and Flowing Wells Target Audience: all grades K-12 Setting: Urban school districts having 56% - 100% minority enrollment NSF supported disciplines involved: all STEM disciplines Intellectual Merit: This project develops new methods and models of graduate education with an emphasis on teaching and outreach and will provide data concerning how teacher-scientist partnerships develop, evolve, and impact teaching and learning. The project creates: (1) opportunities for teachers to work with fellows outside the classroom on team building and professional development; (2) a culture at the university that supports and promotes education and outreach training; and (3) program sustainability by weaving CATTS into the institutional fabric of the university and partner school districts. Activities and policies implemented to develop strong partnerships between the GK-12 Fellows and teachers, the cornerstone of the initial GK-12 program, are based on an analysis of the following sources from the current project: journal writings, surveys, interviews and classroom observations of Fellows and teachers. This Track 2 project includes a new partner, a program recently inaugurated at the university, the Certificate in College Teaching, and adds a new dimension to the current evaluation efforts, examination of the impact of CATTS on the attitudes and activities of university faculty, with an emphasis on the Research Advisors of the Fellows. The new certificate program provides university students with the opportunity to develop their college level teaching, mentoring and outreach skills and will provide institutional support for maintenance of CATTS. The research focus on faculty reflects lessons learned from the first four years experience; a key to the process of establishing the value of outreach in a research-oriented university is to involve, as much as possible, the wide spectrum of STEM faculty who work with the Fellows. Broader Impacts: The project broadens participation of underrepresented groups, both in the schools served and the Fellows recruited. Partner schools serve an ethnically (from 56-100% minority) and economically (from 56-80% receiving free or reduced lunches) diverse group of students, including a Native American charter school. Over 20% of the Fellows classify themselves as belonging to racial or ethnic minorities; while only 1-4% of the STEM students at the university are so classified. Outcomes from Track 1: There have been benefits for Fellows, teachers and university personnel. All-former Fellows indicate they plan to continue their collaborations with schools in their professional careers, and many are already doing so. Of those who have graduated, two have taken academic jobs in science departments that include responsibilities for teacher preparation and both cite their experience in CATTS as critical for gaining the job. More than 80% of the 90 teachers participating in CATTS report increases in their use of inquiry and the amount of science they teach in their classroom. Informal and formal follow-up indicates they are doing so. The new curriculum and teaching techniques adapted educational materials created through as many as twelve different NSF projects at the University of Arizona. The project provided the infrastructure needed to involve a select group of faculty in outreach for the first time (approximately 30% of the faculty sponsors) and changed the attitudes of a number of research-