Title: Rural Alliance for Improving Science Education (RAISE) Institution: Oklahoma State University PI/Co-PIs: Thomas A. Wikle (PI), Joel W. Helmer and John E. Steinbrink (Co-PIs) Fellow/Year: 10 (graduate) School Partners: Perkins/Tryon, Morrison, and Hennessey Public Schools Target: 6 through 12th grades Setting: rural Disciplines: interdisciplinary (Earth sciences, life sciences, general sciences)
Background: Despite recent implementation of statewide science education standards, students from rural Oklahoma communities lag behind the nation in math and science ability. Compounding the problem is a shortage of math and science teachers making it necessary for teachers to offer subjects outside of their primary science teaching area.
Intellectual Merit of the Proposed Activity: The Rural Alliance for Improving Science Education (RAISE) places outstanding graduate students (fellows) in 6-12 grade classrooms to work one-on-one with public school teachers in three rural school districts. Supervised by a committee of science teachers and faculty from Oklahoma State University (OSU), RAISE builds on existing relationships among OSU faculty and K- 12 teachers established through POLARIS, a Department of Education sponsored project for improving middle and junior high science instruction. The interdisciplinary area of Geographic Information Science (GISci) serves as the focus for the development of innovative science curricula with the goals of: 1) strengthening curricular ties among ecology, biology, Earth science and environmental science, and 2) providing measurable improvement in student performance on state-mandated science tests.
Broader Impacts of the Proposed Activity: RAISE targets rural school districts with significant numbers of Native American students and high poverty rates. Fellows from the Departments of Botany, Zoology, Microbiology, Geography, Geology, and Environmental Science are completing their OSU degree with stronger communication skills, an improved understanding of science pedagogy, and a greater appreciation for the needs of both teachers and diverse learners. Lesson plans and other materials developed by fellow/teacher teams will be disseminated regionally through summer institutes and nationally through a project web site promoted via science education journals and teacher conferences. The principal benchmarks for project success are: 1) student improvement on science sections of the state-mandated Oklahoma Core Curriculum Test and, 2) the number of teachers/schools throughout the state and nation that integrate RAISE materials into 6-10th grade science instruction.
