The Maine ScienceCorps connects science teachers and students at rural high schools with the biosciences research community of the University of Southern Maine (USM) and the Education Division of the Foundation for Blood Research (FBR). This Track 2 project seeks to institutionalize and scale up this still evolving synergistic partnership to foster a sustainable interdisciplinary learning community that infuses active learning and collaborative research and inquiry experiences into both pre-college and university bioscience education. During the final year of Track 1 funding, ten USM Immunology and Molecular Biology graduate student fellows (8 NSF-, 2 USM-funded) are partnered with teachers in twelve schools across Maine to bring advanced standards-aligned bioscience laboratory activities to about one thousand students during the year. Significant benefits and outcomes with broader impacts have included: (1) Access in rural schools to molecular biology and immunology lab activities not previously possible; (2) connection of diverse students in rural schools with scientific role models; (3) effective development of graduate student.s teaching and communication skills while increasing their awareness of their potential for contributions to pre-college science education; and (4) introduction of new opportunities for motivated teachers and students to collaborate in authentic research inquiry and in presentation of results at scientific conferences. Outcomes with intellectual merit (not completely exclusive of those listed above) have also included: (1) Increased active scientific learning in all schools but particularly in those that participated in a new pilot research project collaboration introduced in year three of Track 1 funding; and (2) design and implementation of a potentially long-term regional interdisciplinary research project expanding the scope and experience of collaborative scientific inquiry for all participants.
INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The constructivist pedagogy and philosophy guiding this project and its emphasis on active laboratory and inquiry-based learning at all levels is supported by considerable education research on effective strategies for reaching diverse students. The approach provides a framework for collaborative professional development for all participants.
BROADER IMPACTS: The Maine ScienceCorps partnership addresses specific educational needs of isolated severely under-funded rural schools for access to laboratory-based inquiry activities and connection with the broader scientific world. Contributions to bioscience education reform at all levels and to success in sustained collaboration with two other GK-12 projects at another campus of the University of Maine System are expected. Establishment of a new Institute for Collaborative Research Experiences and Active Learning in Science will provide interdisciplinary infrastructure for sustaining the project while developing new resources and rewards for faculty engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
