This Capacity-Building project at the University of Pittsburgh in Partnership with the Pittsburgh Public School District and Propel Schools is designed to accomplish the following: (1) develop a program (SUSTAINS--STEM Undergraduate Students Teaching Adolescents Innovation and Sustainability) that allows undergraduate STEM majors at the University of Pittsburgh to interact with young adolescents in formal and informal learning contexts and to engage with peers and faculty members around issues pertaining to K-12 education; (2) develop a state-approved, one-year Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program to prepare middle grades (4-8) teachers who will specialize in mathematics and/or science; (3) integrate issues related to sustainability across the undergraduate and teacher preparation programs; and (4) expand the University's capacity for faculty in the Schools of Education, Arts & Sciences, and Engineering to collaborate on program and course design. These capacity-building activities enable the University of Pittsburgh to support a robust Noyce Scholars program in the future. In addition to the K-12 schools and the University, informal science education venues (the Carnegie Science Center and Grow Pittsburgh, an organization concerned with sustainable food production in urban settings) are integral to the program blueprint. A core theory of action undergirding the design of this new teacher education program is that the next generation of educators needs to be prepared to engage young learners in studying, understanding, and contributing to the solutions for complex environmental challenges, in part by drawing connections between their personal decisions and sustainability. The envisioned SUSTAINS and MAT program would prepare new teachers who can support adolescents as they make those crucial connections.
