PROJECT MAST Mississippi Academy for Science Teaching

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PROJECT MAST Mississippi Academy for Science
Teaching

• Sheila Smith
• Co-Principal Investigator
• Jackson Public Schools (JPS)
• Mehri Fadavi
• Principal Investigator
• Jackson State University (JSU)

QEM MSP Workshop Baltimore, MD June 11, 2009
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About JSU

• Located in Jackson, the capital city and the
  cultural, political, geographic and business
  center of Mississippi, the campus is a scenic
  125-acre tract only five minutes from downtown
  and less than twenty minutes from Jackson
  International Airport.
• Since 1877, Jackson State University has been
  providing young men and women opportunities that
  will empower them to succeed in an increasingly
  complex world. As the Urban University of
  Mississippi, Jackson State emphasizes public
  service programs designed to enhance quality of
  life and seek solutions to urban problems in the
  physical, social, intellectual, and economic
  environments.

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About JPS

• With nearly 31,000 students enrolled, the Jackson
  Public School District is the second largest and
  only urban school district in Mississippi. More
  than 83 of Jackson's school-age children attend
  one of our 59 schools. These students represent
  almost 1/5 of Jackson's total population. Our
  student population is larger than the populations
  of all but 7 Mississippi cities and larger than
  54 Mississippi counties. 
• The district has 59 schools 8 high schools,10
  middle schools, 38 elementary schools, 2 special
  schools, and a Career Development Center.

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EVOLUTION OF MAST

• 2004 2005 Mississippi Academy for Science
  Teaching I
• Middle SchoolPhysical, Earth, Space and Life
  Science
• MSP/Mississippi Department of Education
• 2005 2006 Mississippi Academy for Science
  Teaching II
• Middle SchoolPhysical, Earth, Space and Life
  Science and Pre-Algebra and Algebra
• MSP/Mississippi Department of Education
• 2006 2007 Mississippi Academy for Science
  Teaching III
• Middle SchoolPhysical, Earth, Space and Life
  Science and Pre-Algebra and Algebra
• MSP/Mississippi Department of Education
• 2007 2010 Mississippi Academy for Science
  Teaching 4U
• Middle SchoolPhysical, Earth, Space, and
  Environmental Science and reading (science
  literacy)
• MSP/Mississippi Department of Education

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Project MAST 4U
From conceptual understanding to exemplary
practice in science education
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MAST and MAST 4U

• Goals Objectives

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Goals

• Provide professional development for science
  teachers designed to improve skills related to
  inquiry-based teaching in grades 5-8
  
• Improve content knowledge in physical science,
  life science, and earth and space science

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Objectives

• Support improved student achievement in science
• Engage in two content-rich graduate courses
• Interact with faculty from across the United
  States
• Participate in classroom visits four times during
  the academic school year

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MAST 4U

• Implementation Design Qualities

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Timeline

• Two-week long summer sessions of intensive
  professional development in physics, space
  science, Understanding by Design (UbD), and
  science literacy at JSU
• Fall and spring programs include nine Saturdays
  of intensive professional development in
  chemistry, earth science, environmental science,
  UbD, and science literacy at JSU.

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Example

• Year 3 summer, fall spring schedule
• June 7 (Sunday afternoon), June 8-12 and June
  15-19 (800 a.m.- 500 p.m.)
• September 5 19 October 3, 17 31 November
  14 (2009) January 16 30 February 13 (2010)
• (800 a.m. - 500 p.m.)

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Other Key Features

• Inquiry-based content aligned to the MS Science
  Framework and the National Science Education
  Standards
• Access to the resources at JSU such as SMART
  (Science and Math Advance Resources for Teaching)
  Center, Astronomy Café, JSU observatories and
  observatories in Arizona, Hawaii, and Australia

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Science Partnerships

• Select Mississippi School Districts
• Cornell University
• New York
• Delta Education
• Texas
• Open Virtual Education Space
• New York
• Mississippi State University

• Berkley/Lawrence Hall of Science
• California
• PASCO
• California
• The SkyCalls Program
• Florida
• Ironwood Observatory
• Hawaii
• James Cook Universitys Center for Astronomy
• Australia

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Faculty Guest Instructors

• Dianna Nunez
• NASA
• Wayne Synder
• CA Technical University
• Steve Roberts (K-12)
• New Hampshire
• David Theseng
• Illinois
• Lillie Akin
• Texas
• Paul Williams (K-12)
• Vermont

• Tony Phillips
• NASA
• George Lebo
• University of Florida
• Jim Overhiser
• New York
• Minadene Waldrop (K-12)
• Mississippi
• JSU Department of Physics
• JSU Department of Chemistry
• MS Science Teachers Association

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School Year Classroom VisitsFour School Visits
from MAST Faculty and Staff

• Implementation of MAST activities into daily
  instructional practices
• MAST faculty and staff visit participating
  schools to demonstrate how to incorporate
  innovative technology (IPODs) in teaching and
  learning science
• Portable planetarium travels to schools and all
  teachers and students in participating schools
  visit and enjoy this great activity
• Mentoring and support in designing and
  implementation of UbD lesson plan units

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Ipod Visits
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Planetarium Visits
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Participation Incentives

• Tuition for 6 graduate credits for use toward
  re-certification or to apply toward a masters
  degree (approximate value 1,600)
• Stipend (2000) for teachers attending summer and
  spring and fall sessions
• Travel expense reimbursement for those living
  more than 50 miles from JSU including mileage,
  hotel, and food
• Other participants will be reimbursed for
  mileage.
• Teachers will receive instructional materials
  from all MAST sessions to use in their own
  classrooms.
• Reimbursement for participation in national,
  state, and local science conferences

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Geographic (MS Counties) Participation MAST
MAST 4U Programs
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Project MAST and MAST 4U

• Success Stories
• Achievements

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MAST 1
Subject Average -Pretest Average-- Post test Change
Physics Space Science 37 40 8
Meteorology 50 76 52
Chemistry 24 56 133
Biology 58 78 34
Earth Science 38 76 100

• 67 Teachers
• 41 Schools
• 22 Districts
• 14 Counties

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MAST II
Subject Average -Pretest Average-- Post test Change
Physics 44 65 48
Space Science 44 66 50
Chemistry 40 68 70
Biology 58 64 10
Earth Science 34 61 79

• 82 Teachers
• 46 Schools
• 32 Districts
• 18 Counties

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MAST III

• 86 Teachers
• 51 Schools
• 31 Districts
• 10 Counties

Subject Average -Pretest Average-- Post test Change
Physics 32 48 50
Space Science 44 60 36
Chemistry 58 74 27
Biology 37 70 89
Pre-Algebra 50 69 38
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MAST 4U Year I

• 49 Teachers
• 29 Schools
• 14 Districts
• 12 Counties

Subject Average -Pretest Average-- Post test Change
Physics 44 62 41
Space Science 41 62 51
Chemistry 44 65 48
Environmental Science 48 68 42
Earth Science 38 48 26
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MAST 4U Year II
Subject Average -Pretest Average-- Post test Change
Physics NA NA NA
Space Science NA NA NA
Chemistry NA NA NA
Environmental Science NA NA NA
Earth Science NA NA NA

• 45 Teachers
• 29 Schools
• 14 Districts
• 12 Counties

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MAST 4U Participant

• Chasity Buckner,a teacher from Siwell Middle
  School, has been selected by the NSTA Awards and
  Recognitions Committee as a recipient for the
  2007 Maitland P. Simmons Memorial Award for New
  Teachers. The award consists of up to 1,000 to
  be used to attend the annual national conference.

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MAST 4U Participants

• Two JPS teachers have been awarded the Maitland
  P. Simmons Memorial Award for New Teachers. They
  are Pamela Osborne and Anitra Cooper from Peeples
  Middle School. The Maitland P. Simmons Memorial
  Award for New Teachers provides selected teachers
  in their first five years of teaching with 1,000
  to be used to attend the annual National
  Conference on Science Education. Award recipients
  will be mentored, tracked, and provided with
  continuing opportunities for meaningful
  involvement with NSTA and its activities.
• Anitra Cooper, Peeples Middle School
• Mississippi Middle School Teacher of the
  Year
• The Mississippi Science Teachers
  Association (MSTA) named Peeples science teacher
  Anitra Cooper the 2008 Mississippi Middle School
  Science Teacher of the Year. MSTA recognizes one
  middle school science teacher who has
  demonstrated exemplary, creative science
  teaching using hands-on science teaching
  materials, innovative teaching strategies,
  stimulating students' interest in science and the
  learning of science.

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MAST ParticipantsMSTA Science Conference
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Expected Outcomes

• Improve the learning and teaching of science in
  the middle grades by engaging teachers in
  meaningful experiences designed to increase
  content knowledge and promote interest in science
• Improve teacher quality by providing a
  self-sustaining and reflective system of
  professional development to improve instructional
  practices

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MAST

• National Science Foundation
• 2008-2013
• High School
• Physical Science, Chemistry, and Physics Teachers

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Letters of Commitment MS School Districts
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MAST High School

• Needs Assessment
• Goals Objectives
• Implementation Design Qualities
• Expected Outcomes

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Needs Assessment

• Improve content-based instruction in secondary
  physical science classrooms
• New high school graduation and IHL requirements
• Low number of high qualified secondary physical
  science teachers
• Incorporation of innovative instructional
  technology

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Endangered Species
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Goals

• Improve the learning and teaching of science in
  high school physical science classrooms by
  engaging teachers in meaningful experiences
  designed to increase content knowledge and
  promote interest and achievement in science
• Improve teacher quality by providing a
  self-sustaining system of education and
  professional development designed to improve
  student learning

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MAST Objectives

• Pre-service initiative to establish undergraduate
  physics and physical science programs leading to
  teacher licensure
• Increase the number of highly qualified science
  teachers among minorities and women
• Decrease the science teacher shortage
• In-service professional development for science
  teachers designed to improve skills related to
  inquiry-based teaching and designed to improve
  content knowledge in physical science,chemistry,
  physics, and earth and space science

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Implementation Design Qualities
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Partnership-Driven

• 41 Mississippi School Districts
• Jackson State University
• Mississippi Department of Education
• 12 Other Partners

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Timeline

• Two-week long summer sessions of intensive
  professional development in physics, physical
  science, chemistry, and earth and space science
  at JSU
• June 7 (Sunday afternoon), June 8-12 and June
  15-19 (800 a.m. - 500 p.m.)
• Fall and spring program includes 10 Saturdays of
  intensive professional development in chemistry,
  physics, physical science, and earth science at
  JSU
• September 5 19 October 3, 17 31
  November 14 (2009)
• January 16 30, February 13 March 6
  (2010)

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AGENDA

• Group I
• 815 1000 Stein
• 1000 1015 Break
• 1015 1200 Stein
• 1200 100 Lunch
• 100 245 Nucci
• 245 300 Break
• 300 445 Nucci
• 445 500 Evaluation

• Group II
• 815 1000 Nucci
• 1000 1015 Break
• 1015 1200 Nucci
• 1200 100 Lunch
• 100 245 Stein
• 245 300 Break
• 300 445 Stein
• 445 500 Evaluation

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Other Key Features

• Teachers engaged in 20 days of content workshops
  (6 hours of graduate credit
• Support pre-service teachers to become secondary
  certified science teachers (physics, chemistry,
  physical science, or space science)
• Provide online professional development resources

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Other Key Features

• Establishment of pre-service physical science
  education program at JSU
• MAST curricula aligned with state and national
  standards
• Three visits to participants classrooms during
  academic year
• Research-based professional development on
  inquiry-based learning and innovative technology
  programs

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Other Key Features

• Memberships and opportunities to participate in
  state and national science conferences
• Instructional materials and resources for their
  classrooms
• Participate in space science activities using
  observatories located at JSU, Hawaii, and
  Australia

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Expected Outcomes

• Increase student achievement and desire to become
  active participants in science by improving
  teachers content knowledge in physical science,
  physics, chemistry, and space science
• Provide teachers with research-based teaching
  strategies
• Increase the number of highly qualified physical
  science, physics, chemistry, and space science
  teachers in Mississippi

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Questions