ImagineIT Phase 2
For the past nine years I have taught secondary science in Chicago Public Schools with predominately African American student populations. I have worked in my current school, Al Raby High School, for the past three years. This year I will be teaching 9th grade environmental science and a 12th grade STEM elective course in partnership with FUSE, a program from the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. For my ImagineIT project I will be working with approximately 28 freshman students. Our incoming freshman class is comprised of students from 56 different elementary schools. Some of these students have graduated from STEM-aligned elementary schools, while others have never taken a formal science class before.
Students of color are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields (National Science Foundation, 2015), and the decision to pursue a career in STEM usually occurs during the high school years rather than during college (Maltese & Tai, 2011). Therefore, it is especially important to expose minority students to STEM careers early in high school. The goal of my project is to increase my 9th grade environmental science students' science identity over the course of the school year in hopes that they will consider a STEM career as a viable future. In addition to exposing students to STEM careers I also aim to increase their interest in science and their tendency to view themselves as scientists.
At the beginning and end of the year, my students will complete a science interest and identity survey and complete a Draw a Scientist activity. Students will complete these same activities at the end of the year in order observe any growth in student science identity.
Each quarter students will complete a long-term group project emphasizing the eight Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). They will collect their data and create graphs in Google Sheets, submit formal reports using Google Docs, and present their findings to the class using Google Slides. My classroom is 1:1 with Chromebooks and students can use the technology before school, during lunch, and after school as well. The projects are:
Also, throughout the school year students will also work on completing 20% projects. In order to provide adequate scaffolding, during the first semester students will complete a small-scale based on content being covered in class. During the second semester students will have the freedom to go more in-depth with their project or identify a new project to pursue.
In addition to hands-on activities, students will take turns presenting their research on African American scientists, paying specific attention to the struggles these scientists have experienced. Lin-Seigler et al (2016) have shown that learning about scientists’ struggles has encouraged a growth mindset and improved students’ science learning. I also hope to bring African American scientists into my classroom to speak with my students at least twice during the course of the school year.
Students of color are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields (National Science Foundation, 2015), and the decision to pursue a career in STEM usually occurs during the high school years rather than during college (Maltese & Tai, 2011). Therefore, it is especially important to expose minority students to STEM careers early in high school. The goal of my project is to increase my 9th grade environmental science students' science identity over the course of the school year in hopes that they will consider a STEM career as a viable future. In addition to exposing students to STEM careers I also aim to increase their interest in science and their tendency to view themselves as scientists.
At the beginning and end of the year, my students will complete a science interest and identity survey and complete a Draw a Scientist activity. Students will complete these same activities at the end of the year in order observe any growth in student science identity.
Each quarter students will complete a long-term group project emphasizing the eight Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). They will collect their data and create graphs in Google Sheets, submit formal reports using Google Docs, and present their findings to the class using Google Slides. My classroom is 1:1 with Chromebooks and students can use the technology before school, during lunch, and after school as well. The projects are:
- Training a mouse to run a maze
- Constructing aquaponics units and growing lettuce
- Creating aquatic ecosystems using two liter bottles
- Designing and building solar-powered race cars
Also, throughout the school year students will also work on completing 20% projects. In order to provide adequate scaffolding, during the first semester students will complete a small-scale based on content being covered in class. During the second semester students will have the freedom to go more in-depth with their project or identify a new project to pursue.
In addition to hands-on activities, students will take turns presenting their research on African American scientists, paying specific attention to the struggles these scientists have experienced. Lin-Seigler et al (2016) have shown that learning about scientists’ struggles has encouraged a growth mindset and improved students’ science learning. I also hope to bring African American scientists into my classroom to speak with my students at least twice during the course of the school year.
Sources
- Lin-Siegler, X., Ahn, J. N., Chen, J., Fang, F. F. A., & Luna-Lucero, M. (2016). Even Einstein Struggled: Effects of Learning About Great Scientists’ Struggles on High School Students’ Motivation to Learn Science.
- Maltese, A. V., & Tai, R. H. (2011). Pipeline persistence: Examining the association of educational experiences with earned degrees in STEM among US students. Science Education, 95(5), 877-907.
- National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2015. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2015. Special Report NSF 15-311. Arlington, VA. Available athttp://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/.