A Summit for Improvement of Undergraduate Geoscience Teacher using the Micro Spiral Methodology Transgenerational, Transcultural, and Transformational Solutions

Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Abstract

Evidence shows the exponential increase in student performance by using the Micro-Spiral Method (MSM) of instruction is effective in overcoming absenteeism and loss of instructional time which has helped increase state science test scores for well over a decade (e.g., Developmental Research School in Tallahassee, Florida). MSM uses a recursive repetition model that causes a deeper understanding of concepts, knowledge, and skills with each successive encounter building on the previous encounters (Davis, 2015). With the application of MSM, FL state science scores have increased overall with notable increases among students from historically excluded communities, and even significant gains among these groups in geoscience scores (Florida Department of Education (DOE), Statewide Science Assessment 2009-2020). Targeted application of MSM to the geosciences could provide transgenerational, transcultural, and transformational solutions for geoscience educators and students. The current project seeks to establish an MSM geosciences "train the trainer program" which will help interest more students from historically excluded communities into pursuing geosciences as a possible career pathway. The proposed Summit is to gather key stakeholders in the planning of the Micro-Spiral Method Community of Practice with an additional focus on scaling the successful MSM train the trainer workshops that occurred in 2019 and 2021. Stakeholder groups will mainly be comprised of geoscientists and STEM educators. This phased program will engage geoscientists and STEM educators from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in the following activities: 1) Phase One, provision of advanced MSM train the trainer workshops for MSI participant cohorts, primarily in the southeastern U.S. Diverse cohorts of geoscientists and STEM educators will be trained by MSM experts with an emphasis on geosciences, including careers beyond the traditional geoscience academic trajectories with focused instruction on future science educators; 2) Phase Two, trained individuals from the Phase One cohorts will be deployed to their respective local districts to initiate the expansion of the MSM train-the-trainer process in each respective district with a continued emphasis on using MSM for teaching geoscience content. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.