One of the best ways to help K-12 students learn science is by having them engage in the scientific inquiry and engineering design processes used by STEM professionals. These approaches, which are are spelled out in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), help students develop problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills by engaging them in science-related aspects of their local communities. Unfortunately, support for the development of high-quality, place-based, and NGSS-aligned learning experiences that actively engage students has not been forthcoming in all school districts. This gap is particularly true for rural schools and communities.
Further, continuing education for teachers, which is essential to assure successful implementation of high-quality science lessons that are grounded in students' local community experiences, is lacking as well. This partnership development project addressed these gaps in science teaching and learning by deepening existing partnerships among local non-profit community education organizations, K-12 public schools, and local university partners. In consultation with new education technology industry partners, the project team worked collaboratively to develop a model through which high-quality NGSS-aligned science learning curriculum that actively engage students in lessons relevant to their local environment could be developed. This partnership development work can also lead to a future research proposal that examines how teachers engage with the developed lessons in high-quality professional development.
Over the yearlong project, the project partners engaged in monthly meetings within a Leadership Cadre composed of teachers, curriculum coordinators, administrators, university faculty members, and community partners. After establishing meeting protocols and sharing their current work in the educational arena, participants explored their diverse perspectives on the need for culturally-appropriate and place-based STEM learning experiences for students. Major themes that arose from these meetings, including identifying barriers, challenges, and constraints that must be addressed in the development of place-based learning experiences for students in classrooms during the school day. After conducting "listening tours” and gathering deeper perspectives related to student learning, the assessment of learning, learning data collection, and data interpretation and use in the educational setting, a framework or model was developed to advance curriculum development.
The outcomes of the research focused on the components used to develop the partnership model with community partners, K-12 teachers and administrators, and university professors. Finally, the Teacher-to-Teacher (T2T) model and its new iteration, the Teacher-Plus-Community Partners T+CP Model was developed for future development of place-based science learning experiences. Evaluation measures to document the quality of the project will include analyses of agendas, meeting minutes, mid-year and end-year surveys, interviews, and focus groups, as appropriate.
