- Dr. Lauren Birney
- http://www.stemccers.com/
- Assistant Professor of STEM Education
- NSF STEM CCERS
- http://stemccers.com
- Pace University, New York Harbor Foundation, Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information...
- Joyce Kong
- Adjunct Professor
- NSF STEM CCERS
- http://stemccers.com
- Pace University
NSF STEM CCERS
NSF Awards: 1440869
Research consistently shows that children who have opportunities to actively investigate natural settings and engage in problem-based learning greatly benefit from the experiences. They gain skills, interests, knowledge, aspirations, and motivation to learn more. But how can we provide these rich opportunities in densely populated urban areas where resources and access to natural areas are limited? This project will develop and test a model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation’s largest urban school system. Middle school students will study New York harbor and the extensive watershed that empties into it, and they will conduct field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats. The project builds on the existing Billion Oyster Project, and will be implemented by a broad partnership of institutions and community resources, including Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Harbor Foundation, the New York Aquarium, and others. The project focuses on an important concept in the geological, environmental, and biological sciences that typically receives inadequate attention in schools: watersheds. This project builds on and extends the Billion Oyster Project of the New York Harbor School. The project model includes five interrelated components: A teacher education curriculum, a student learning curriculum, a digital platform for project resources, an aquarium exhibit, and an afterschool STEM mentoring program. The project targets middle-school students in low-income neighborhoods with high populations of English language learners and students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields and education pathways. The project will directly involve over forty schools, eighty teachers, and 8,640 students over a period of three years. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods research plan will be used to assess the individual and collective effectiveness of the five project components. Regression analyses will be used to identify effective program aspects and assess the individual effectiveness of participation in various combinations of the five program components. Social network mapping will be used to further asses the overall “curriculum plus community” model.
NSF STEM CCERS
NSF Awards: 1440869
Research consistently shows that children who have opportunities to actively investigate natural settings and engage in problem-based learning greatly benefit from the experiences. They gain skills, interests, knowledge, aspirations, and motivation to learn more. But how can we provide these rich opportunities in densely populated urban areas where resources and access to natural areas are limited? This project will develop and test a model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation’s largest urban school system. Middle school students will study New York harbor and the extensive watershed that empties into it, and they will conduct field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats. The project builds on the existing Billion Oyster Project, and will be implemented by a broad partnership of institutions and community resources, including Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Harbor Foundation, the New York Aquarium, and others. The project focuses on an important concept in the geological, environmental, and biological sciences that typically receives inadequate attention in schools: watersheds. This project builds on and extends the Billion Oyster Project of the New York Harbor School. The project model includes five interrelated components: A teacher education curriculum, a student learning curriculum, a digital platform for project resources, an aquarium exhibit, and an afterschool STEM mentoring program. The project targets middle-school students in low-income neighborhoods with high populations of English language learners and students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields and education pathways. The project will directly involve over forty schools, eighty teachers, and 8,640 students over a period of three years. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods research plan will be used to assess the individual and collective effectiveness of the five project components. Regression analyses will be used to identify effective program aspects and assess the individual effectiveness of participation in various combinations of the five program components. Social network mapping will be used to further asses the overall “curriculum plus community” model.
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Elc Estrera
Senior Research Analyst
What a promising program to get students involved in marine science and STEM more broadly. I’m very much interested in evaluations/impact studies of these kinds of program. Are there plans in place to assess the impact of the program on students?
Dr. Lauren Birney
Assistant Professor of STEM Education
Thanks for watching our video, Elc! It is a wonderful project with a robust research plan that includes assessing the impact on students. We hope to create long term sustainability and critical impact through the project’s focus on citizen science, environmental restoration, an innovative digital platform and engaging inquiry based curriculum!
Elc Estrera
Senior Research Analyst
That sounds great! Sustainability is key. I’m wondering — what outcomes would you hope to affect with the program? I come from an evaluations standpoint and am curious about this aspect of the project.
Dr. Lauren Birney
Assistant Professor of STEM Education
Thanks again ELC. Great questions and certainly on point for this topic. We have a detailed Logic Model that outlines short term, medium term and long term outcomes for our project goals. Given the complexity and magnitude of this project, as one would expect it is fairly detailed. Outcomes pertaining the collaborative model, Teaching and learning in STEM and inquiry based curriculum all apply to this topic. Thanks for asking!
Sarah Pidgeon
It is really exciting to hear that this project is expanding! I am a big fan. Just curious- do the students ever share data with any folks working on oyster restoration or marine science in the Chesapeake Bay area?
Dr. Lauren Birney
Assistant Professor of STEM Education
Thanks Sarah for checking out our video! Great question! The answer is yes! One of our partners is the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. We have some additional outreach being done there and also host several events here in the city that are open to the public. If you would like additional information, you can email me at lbirney@pace.edu and I would be more than happy to forward you some of that information :) ! Thanks again!
Judy O'Neil
Hi Sarah- thanks indeed for your interest in our project and links to Chesapeake Bay. As LAUREN indicated, we have strong links between NY Harbor and the Chesapeake region; in fact brood stock of oysters for restoration in NYC came originally from our oyster hatchery here at the University of Maryland Center for Enviornmental Science. We have several other education initiatives currently with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, including our Maryland Environmentsl Literacy Partnership (MELP) and newly launched (yesterday!) STEM education model Environmental Literacy Modules (ELM). Happy to chat more about Chesapeake and NY linkages!
Nicole Reitz-Larsen
Educator
I love the idea of connecting students ideas of STEM to their local environment.
What subjects do the teachers teach who are coming to your training? (core math and science teachers, specific discipline). How long is the training and how are the teachers implementing the curriculum? What kind of follow up professional development is offered?
Is the curriculum taught during a particular unit, after school, etc and in what grades?
Dr. Lauren Birney
Assistant Professor of STEM Education
Good morning Nicole and thank you for your note. The teaching fellowship is open to all middle school teachers as we did not want to eliminate teachers. The training is a two year fellowship with ongoing support being offered through BOP training sessions as well. The curriculum is integrated throughout the course of the entire school year. Thanks for checking out our video and asking such poignant questions!
Patricia Kobetts
This is an exciting program to hook/interest public school students in STEM research. The expansion further serves to document how valuable such learning is for getting students involved in continuing their interest in and study of marine biology and science.
Joyce Kong
Adjunct Professor
Thank you for your support, Pat. The response from students and teachers has been incredible. It is really a testament to the incredible dedication of all the partners involved!
Dr. Lauren Birney
Assistant Professor of STEM Education
Thank you very much to everyone that viewed our CCERS video. It was created by one of our undergraduate students, Ms. Noura Jost! We are most grateful to NSF for granting us this opportunity to provide students in NYCDOE public schools with unique opportunities to work along side their teachers, professors, scientists and STEM professionals in New York Harbor collecting and data and conducting research. The citizen scientist movement alongside the problem based learning initiative offer blooming young minds to go beyond their classrooms and restore their community while gaining the necessary skills and attributes to become productive citizens. Once again, I would like to thank NSF and all the sponsors for the video showcase for allowing us to participate in this groundbreaking event! with gratitude, Lauren Birney/PI DRL 1440869
Further posting is closed as the showcase has ended.