Use of Research to Improve the Quality of Science Education in Urban High Schools

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The project is undertaking research in urban high schools in New York City, involving students from circumstances of economic challenge and early career science teachers, graduates from an alternative certification program designed for career changers and graduates in science and related fields. Through the use of participatory forms of research, including design experiments, the project is identifying promising practices that are adopted in successful science classes and the extent to which curricula are transformed by forms of research designed to be catalytic. A network of early career urban science teachers are collaborating through an interactive website, participating in research in their own classrooms, and attending colloquia in which science at the frontiers and developments in science education are foci. Students from the participating teachers' classes also are selected to comprise a network of urban youth who learn how to do research on the teaching and learning of science and participate in a colloquium series including topics on the frontiers of science. A network of college science teachers and science teacher educators also is being created with the goal of them learning about inquiry-oriented approaches to teaching and learning college science and undertaking research in their college science classes. The goal is to improve the quality of teaching and learning college science through research, in the contexts of participating in colloquia, interacting electronically and undertaking design experiments. The project is providing a means to coordinate science teacher education within CUNY and change the manner in which science is taught, including the infusion of inquiry. The research done in this project involves teachers (college science instructors and early career urban science teachers), students, and outsiders in multi-method research, using ethnography, design experiments and surveys. Discussions of what happened in class, especially pertaining to the roles of teachers and students, set a context for curriculum reform, making changes based on evidence identified by participants. We are endeavoring to identify and resolve contradictions and build collective responsibility for ensuring that changes are enacted as planned. A primary goal is to mentor new science educators and formal efforts are being made to create an infrastructure to support the scholarly growth of promising non-tenured faculty so that they remain involved in urban science education. What is learned from this project has the potential to change programs for the education of science teacher candidates, approaches to the professional development of science teachers, and policy relating to the structures needed to sustain new teachers in urban high schools. The project also has the potential to identify fresh approaches to improving the quality of college science teaching, especially by infusing inquiry into the teaching of science and assisting college instructors to undertake research in their own classroom.