Transforming science education through research-driven innovation
Climate Education Pathways
BSCS Seeks Teacher Collaborators for Research Project Funded by the National Science Foundation
PROJECT GOAL IS TO ENHANCE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE
Teacher-collaborators will field test an 8-week digital high school science unit about climate and biology developed for the NGSS as part of the Climate Education Pathways project. Teachers will be supported in localizing the unit for their students and community. Teacher-collaborators and their students will take part in a research study designed to measure the effects of the unit on teacher practice and student learning.
In addition, participation will include online professional development (PD) to support teachers on teaching climate change and biology concepts to students with an emphasis on adapting the unit to include local climate phenomena, attending to student thinking, and maintaining coherent science content storylines. Teachers will also learn how to support student environmental science agency. The professional development will make extensive use of analyzing teaching through video. In the professional development, teachers will have time to plan how they want to adapt the unit for their community context and local climate phenomena.
The Climate Education Pathways project is collaboration between BSCS Science Learning, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We are developing the unit and professional development with the best approaches to student and teacher learning in mind. These approaches emphasize using scientific evidence to construct understanding.
Participation in this project will require a commitment from participating teachers spanning two academic years with the following timeline and tasks:
| January, 2023 – May, 2023 |
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| Teachers will teach a unit on climate and biological science (using teachers’ existing resources) and will film themselves teaching a lesson from this unit. |
| Teachers will administer a pretest and posttest to their students. |
| Teachers will administer short surveys to students about their unit. |
| Teachers will complete knowledge and practice surveys. |
| June – November, 2023 |
| Teachers will participate in online professional development for 50-60 hours across 15-16 weeks. PD will include instruction on adapting the unit to include local climate phenomena. |
| January, 2024 – May, 2024 |
| Teachers will teach their localized version of the Climate Education Pathways unit and film themselves teaching a similar topic they filmed the previous year (using the new BSCS materials). |
| Teachers will administer a pretest and posttest to their students. |
| Teachers will administer student surveys about the unit. |
| Teachers will complete knowledge and practice surveys. |
| Share localized unit plan with the project team. |
BSCS will select 60 teacher-collaborators from across the country to participate in PD, teach the unit, and turn in the associated research. Teachers who work with students from racial or ethnic groups typically underrepresented in the sciences will be given first priority. BSCS will provide teachers up to a $700 stipend after receipt of the tests, surveys, and video from year 1, up to $1,000 after participation in the PD, and up to $1,000 after receipt of the tests, surveys, and video from year 2.
Submit your application by February 17, 2022 to be considered for participation.*
*BSCS has a long history of conducting research in classrooms, including filming classrooms for research purposes. We have a formal process in place for working with districts to meet their research requirements, including obtaining parent/guardian consent from students in the affected classes. If you are selected to participate in this project, we will complete all district research application materials at that time. You will not be formally admitted until your district approves your participation. We will not collect any data from you or from your students until we have met all district research requirements and have full approval by the district for your participation in the project.
