Partnership for Research Opportunities to Benefit Education

University Of New Hampshire, Durham NH

Investigators

Abstract

Project Title: Partnerships for Research Opportunities to Benefit Education (PROBE) Institution: University of New Hampshire PI/CO-PI: Karen Graham (PI), Barbara Hopkins (Co-PI), Dawn Meredith (Co-PI), Barrett Rock (Co-PI), Charles Warren (Co-PI) Number of Fellows Per Year: 10 graduate students and 4 undergraduates School District Partners: Belmont, Durham/Lee/Madbury, Enfield/New Canaan, Franklin, Goffstown, Milford, Nashua, Portsmouth, Raymond, Rochester, Salem, Somersworth Target Audience: High School, grades 9-12 Setting: Urban, suburban, and rural. NSF supported disciplines involved: Biochemistry, Chemistry, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Natural Resources, Physics, and Plant Biology. The University of New Hampshire in collaboration with twelve school districts in New Hampshire form graduate/undergraduate student Fellows and lead teacher partnership teams that are creating inquiry-based instructional practices in high school mathematics and science teaching. Each team consists of a lead teacher from one of the partnership school districts and a UNH graduate or pair of undergraduate students in science, mathematics, and engineering [STEM]. UNH discipline-based faculty mentors counsel and facilitate the marshalling of resources on behalf of the Fellows and PROBE teams. The PROBE project begins with Fellows and teachers participating in established UNH-based summer inquiry programs designed for pre-college students and teachers. This summer activity culminates in a weeklong summer PROBE institute with a structure based on the National Research Council's Enquiry in the Classroom Continuum. The institute is designed to give the Fellows and lead teachers tools for the analyzing different modes of enquiry that they have experienced in the summer inquiry programs and then articulate through the targeted high school programs. During the academic year each PROBE team works with the lead teacher's partner school to implement instructional habits that nurture inquiry behaviors by teachers and students. This begins with the use of inquiry-based lessons and authentic science and mathematics problem solving experiences and develops to include student-centered research projects as a part of each student's science learning experience. The intellectual merit lies in the development of inclusive curriculum models for inquiry and authentic research in mathematics and science. This is further supported with onsite research on student learning conducted by the graduate student Fellows and teacher-leaders. The broader impact is that as a result of the PROBE project teachers and Fellows can equate instructional changes in teaching practice with student learning. Fellows gain a repertoire of strategies to use in communicating and teaching science.. Teachers and schools have sustained access to strong curriculum programs and resources and develop strong ties to the University community. This project is receiving partial support from the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.