Jay Dubner Columbia University

1. Teacher Research Programs: An Effective Form of Professional Development to Increase Student Achievement & Benefit the Economy 2008 AGU Fall Meeting December 16, 2008 Jay Dubner Columbia University

2. Practice What You Teach Columbia University’s Summer Research Program for Science Teachers was established in 1990 by Dr. Samuel Silverstein to contribute to the improvement of science achievement of students by providing New York metropolitan area middle and high school teachers with experiences in the practice of science. Teachers become members of research teams for 2 consecutive summers.

3. 1990-2008 241 middle and high school science teachers 88% public schools 55% women 46% minorities 3 7

4. Program Background -Program participation open to New York metropolitan area public, private & parochial science teachers -Program receives 5 to 7 applications for each available Fellowship -12 new participants are accepted each summer, joined by 12 returning participants from previous summer (peer coaches)

5. Program Summary • Two Summer Commitment • 8 Weeks immersion in each of two consecutive summers • 4 days per week in research lab • 1 day per week in pedagogical meeting • Weekly summer seminar series serves several purposes: • Broaden Science Knowledge: Columbia’s faculty or a speaker from outside the University gives a talk on a topic of scientific interest. • Develop a Professional Learning Community: Meetings provide protected time for teachers’ energy to be directed towards solving persistent and common problems encountered by students. Teachers lead hands-on demonstrations, engage in discussions of common classroom problems, and exchange ideas on solutions that work. • Peer Coaching: Second-year participants provide guidance and encouragement to first-year participants • Program Performance: Meetings enable the members of the Advisory Committee to become acquainted with the teachers personally, and to learn about their professional needs and concerns. SRP culminates with a three-day End-of-Summer Symposium at which time the program’s Advisory Committee is able to assess each teacher's grasp of the principles on which his/her work is based.

6. Program ‘Perks’ • Stipend - $6,000 each summer • Classroom Enhancement Funds - $1,000 following each of the two summers • Research Group Funds – $1,000 in each of the two summers • Travel to Professional Conference – Science education and/or scientific society conferences in each of the school years following participation in the program • International Program – Following completion of program, 2 teachers are selected to participate in an exchange of science teachers with Singapore’s Ministry of Education and 2 teachers are selected to participate in a 3rd summer (winter?) of research in Australia

7. School Year Classroom Support Teachers are afforded the opportunity to have the graduate student with whom they worked alongside in the lab, visit their classrooms one day a month.

8. Evaluation A unique aspect of Columbia University’s Summer Research Program is its emphasis on evaluation. Evaluation has informed and guided the Program’s evolution from its inception, and enabled it to respond to the changing needs of teachers

9. Student Outcomes Studies • Columbia’s Summer Research Program • (1993-present) • Collected data from the NYC public high schools, the program’s largest cohort, with the assistance of the school science department chairs and the NYC Dept. of Ed.’s Division of Assessment & Accountability • 2. NSF Multi-site Study (1998-2002) • 8 science teacher research programs • Arkansas, California, Georgia, Idaho, New York, Oregon, Texas, & Washington State

10. Instruments AdministeredNSF Multi-site Study1999-2000 • Pre-program survey* • Post-program survey* • Mentor survey* • Student Attitudinal Survey* • Student Cognitive Tests • Biology & Chemistry *Surveys available at www.SweptStudy.org (Revised versions of program and mentor surveys available at www.RETNetwork.org)

11. Data for 32 Study teachers and 32 Control teachers

12. Self-reported Changes in Attitudes and Classroom Practices

13. Student Assessments of Classroom Practices

14. Changes in Student Achievement in Science

15. 2008 Multi-Program Surveys (5 programs participated)

16. www.RETNetwork.org

17. Summer Research Program1993 – 2008 • Pre-program survey • Post-program survey • Mentor survey • Spring implementation survey • Student participation in Science Clubs and Intel-type competitions • Scores on NYS standardized science exams (Regents)

18. 2008 Teacher Survey Data • 100% reported developing new or revised content to lessons and/or labs* • *341 standards-based lesson plans are on the program’s website: www.ScienceTeacherProgram.org • 91% reported increasing hands-on activities in their classrooms and/or new laboratory exercises in response to their experiences at Columbia • 78% reported including lessons on science careers and related job requirements with their students • 74% reported introducing new technologies in their classroom instruction (e.g.; chromatography, pipetting, PowerPoint) • 61% reported reading scientific journals more frequently • 52% reported increased requirements for formal written reports and/or oral presentation requirements • 48% reported assuming new leadership roles/responsibilities in their school/district/region

19. Columbia’s Summer Research Program collects quantitative student data from NYC public high schools - Study Group -- Students in science classes of program teachers - Control Group -- Students in science classes of non-participating teachers from the same schools

20. Intel Science Talent Competition

22. (20 datasets)

23. NYC Economic Impact • Regents Diploma – Must pass 5 Regents exams1(includes 1 Science Exam) • NYC spends $12,930 per public school student2 • Student takes 5 courses/year = $2,586 per course • 20 more students passing Regents over 2 years • 20 students X $2,586 = $51,720 each teacher/year 1 New York State Education Department, New York State Total Public Report Card, 2005 2 The New York Sun, New York Outpacing Other States in School Spending, April 4, 2006

24. National Economic Impacts • High School dropouts earn $392,000 less in lifetime earnings than a high school graduate thereby paying less taxes1. At a tax rate of 20%, loss of $78,400 in local and federal revenues. • High School graduates are less likely to commit crimes. Increasing HS completion of males by just 1% would reduce criminal justice system costs by $1.4 billion per year • High School graduates receive higher salaries thereby not needing food stamps, housing assistance, etc. Estimated annual savings are $8 billion per year 1 Fogg, N., Harrington, P., & Khatiwada, I., The Longterm Labor Market Consequences of Dropping out of High School in Pennsylvania, Center for Market Labor Studies, Northeastern University, October 2007

25. Publishing Our Findings • “Scientific Work Experience Programs for Teachers: A multi-site evaluation of impact on teachers and on student achievement” • Status: Very final draft form. Expected to be submitted in the next few weeks for peer review: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis • “High School Science Teacher Participation in Columbia University’s Summer Research Program Improves Student Interest and Achievement in Science” • Status: Readying for final draft. To be submitted for publication in the next 2 months. Publication to be determined.

26. Current Funding Sources • Ambrose Monell Foundation • Bay and Paul Foundations • Hebrew Technical Institute • Mellam Family Foundation • National Institutes of Health – SEPA Program • National Science Foundation • New York Times Company Foundation

27. Columbia University’sSummer Research Program for Science Teachers www.ScienceTeacherProgram.org