Project Initiatives

Initiatives for Grade 6-9 teachers

• Regular collaboratives for participants using the curriculum or preparing to teach the curriculum, as well as University faculty, students, and postdoctoral research associates.
• In-class assistance for using new curricular materials:
  1. Well prepared future science teachers from around the state, postdoctoral research associates, and faculty working with teachers as Teaching Partners.
  2. Support for Teacher Mentors, to assist colleagues with content and pedagogy within the new curriculum.
• Summer programs for teachers
  1. Teacher in Residence Program, to provide teachers with opportunities to work on curriculum implementation, professional development, and evaluation.
  2. Leadership academies to build leaders among participating teachers and those in new schools to be added to the project.
  3. Summer Academies to help teachers use in-class materials, deepen knowledge of science topics, and develop community.

Initiatives for UMaine faculty

• Training and opportunities for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) faculty to work with grade 6-9 teachers on implementing and evaluating the new curriculum.
• Incentive grants (summer salary) for faculty to incorporate and evaluate student-centered learning practices in their science and mathematics courses taken by pre-service teachers; learning assistants for selected courses (see below); and support for Master of Science in Teaching students to assist with the analysis of learning outcomes data from these courses.
• Creation of a learning assistants program, a proven science and mathematics teacher recruitment strategy at other universities.
• Preparation programs for graduate teaching assistants in STEM courses, particularly those taken by future STEM teachers.
• Undergraduate summer and academic year positions, to assist with data analysis and summer project activities, participate as Teaching Partners and learning assistants.
• Symposia to prepare STEM faculty to work on research projects with middle and high school students.

Initiatives for all grant participants

• An expanded research team, including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral research associates, faculty, off-campus partners, and external evaluators to study student and teacher learning, models for institutional change and development of communities of practice through the project.
• On-line resources to support work being done by all participants on project.
• National recruitment of science and mathematics students for teacher preparation programs and for positions related to the project, with an emphasis on building diversity in the student population and in the project workforce.

Poster Presentation at the PhysTEC Conference Summarizing Current Work of the Partnership

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