This Rutgers-funded research project aims to research the rapid deployment of educational technologies by New Jersey school districts in March-June, 2020. Partnering with the Rutgers School of Communication and Information, we are exploring the nature, scope and extent of teachers’ online instructional technology uses, and the digital equity measures planned by districts and teachers. We will conduct a systematic and rigorous content analysis of extant planning documentation at two levels (district, teacher), which includes forms, and specific teacher instructional examples. Building on findings, we will also conduct a survey to explore teachers’ frequency and self-efficacy in utilizing these techniques and technologies, along with their perceptions of their students’ technology capabilities. We will explore the variation among teachers on these measures, by demographics such as school districts’ racial diversity and percent of disadvantaged students as defined by NJ. By exploring district plans and teachers’ digital and other instructional examples, and conducting survey research with teachers, we expect to learn more about the scope and nature of emergency educational responses, and their possible relationships with social inequality measures. We expect these results to inform our understanding of opportunities, challenges and possible inequalities in remote educational provisions under pandemic and other disaster conditions, which might inform future improvements.
New Brunswick Public Schools (NBPS) and the Center of Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education (CMSCE) at Rutgers University are working on a collaborative venture that enables high school teachers to radically rethink, redesign, revitalize their teaching methods and how they organize the school day.
In August 2017, we co-facilitated a 4-day summer workshop and have been supporting teachers with monthly Professional Learning Community meetings (PLCs). Teachers are rethinking their curriculum, redesigning their instructional practices, and revitalizing student motivation. Incoming NBPS freshmen encounter a powerful learning experience through this iSTEAM Academy. Rutgers researchers are evaluating the program’s effectiveness to:
- Engage students
- Promote design-based thinking
- Empower teachers
- The results of the findings will be widely disseminated.
The Rutgers – New Brunswick (Rutgers-NB) and a consortium of partnering schools developed a partnership that a) enabled and empowered the best science teachers in respective districts to fully implement NGSS by revising their existing curricular materials and classroom practices; and b) provided empirical evidence of the effectiveness of such collaboration. To accomplish these goals, CMSCE a) hosted a two-week summer institute in August 2016 at the Rutgers-NB campus (with one day at partnering Liberty Science Center) for the professional development (PD) of teacher-leader ambassadors focused specifically on curriculum and instruction aligned to NGSS and the educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products Rubric for Science and Mathematics (EQuIP) rubric; and b) continued the program with four PD days in partnering schools during academic year of 2016/17. The partnership led to revisions of the pre-service science teacher preparation programs in the Rutgers. The consortium of schools included 9 high schools and 9 middle schools in 10 Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and middle charter schools. An assessment of the partnering schools’ needs indicated that the design of curricula and modification of instruction aligned to NGSS was a top partner need. The PD focused on teacher practices, core ideas, and related pedagogical content knowledge related to NGSS/EQuIP. The four follow up days focused on school/classroom implementation, and the ambassadors’ capacity and support to conduct teacher professional development with their teacher colleagues.
We started Year 2 of the MSP grant in summer of 2017. The goal for the year was to prepare teacher ambassadors to engage in turnkey of NGSS PD to other teachers in their district. To serve this intent, we met with ambassadors in July 2017 to understand the NGSS PD needs of their districts and get them acquainted with NGSS PD best practices. Having gathered this information, the ambassadors were given a month’s time to work (in groups) on preparing a sample NGSS PD session. In a follow up PD in August, each ambassador shared their sample with other ambassadors and received feedback and suggestions for the same. Ambassadors have now started the process of NGSS turnkey in their districts. We aim to attend as many such sessions as possible.
Quotes from MSP teachers:
- "I have a much better understanding of NGSS and how to implement it in my classroom "
- "Exploring NGSS in informal environments: Exceeded expectations!"
- "Engaging in example activities helped to demonstrate how NGSS looks like in the classroom"
- "The activities were a great way for me to visualize what I need to do. Also there were instances when we were able to go through an activity, then choose an topic & design an activity that followed the guidelines."
With support from a grant from Rutgers University, the New Brunswick Public Schools and CMSCE collaborated on a project to enhance the capacity of teachers in grades 6-8 to engage students more deeply and more successfully in learning and using mathematics. Using facilitated Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), participating teachers from NBPS will reconsider mathematical content and mathematical pedagogy in light of current progress in cognitive science and learning theory. Research and evaluation components will measure increased teacher knowledge and examine how teachers modify classroom practice throughout the project.
The New Jersey Partnership for Excellence in Middle School Mathematics (NJ PEMSM), a National Science Foundation-funded project, has partnered with 13 school districts to work with mid-career middle grades math teachers to enhance their knowledge of the mathematics they teach daily. Partner districts include: Berkeley Heights, Carteret, Edison, Elizabeth, Franklin, Linden, Long Branch, Matawan-Aberdeen, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Orange, Plainfield, Sayreville, Toms River, and Union Township. Among its goals, NJPEMSM focuses on preparing a cadre of mid-career middle school mathematics teachers who:
- understand the mathematics of middle school more deeply.
- engage their students more effectively in studying and learning mathematics.
- take on leadership activities such as facilitator of in-house content-based professional development for their colleagues.
The NJ SSI project catalyzed teacher professional development and research towards state-wide, systemic, and curricular changes to improve mathematics and science achievement. Aided by an investment of over $30 million dollars in National Science Foundation (NSF) and state matching funds, the Rutgers CMSCE led a broad state partnership among many NJ schools, districts, colleges/universities, science centers, museums, business and industries to affect systemic change. The NJ SSI project accomplished its primary goals of improving participation, performance, and achievement in mathematics and science for all students in New Jersey. It did so by helping districts examine what they teach (standards and frameworks), how they teach (instructional methods), and how they assess learning in standards-based professional development. One outcome of the project was the development of a Statewide Strategic Plan for systemic reform in standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment in mathematics and science K-12+. The initiative Impacted over 40,000 teachers and administrators in over 2,000 schools, or 85% of all schools in NJ.
The MetroMath project was collaborative effort among three universities: Rutgers CMSCE (lead), CUNY, and University of Pennsylvania. Funded by NSF for $10M over 5 years, schools and districts in NYC, Philadelphia, Newark, and Plainfield, NJ participated. The primary goals were the attainment of knowledge that, put into practice, allowed students in urban schools to learn conceptually challenging mathematics. In partnerships with numerous New Jersey school districts, the CMSCE led workshops for new mathematics and science teachers; STEM curriculum development in collaboration with industry; and research of key factors affecting student and teacher interaction in urban contexts.
The CMSCE was contracted by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation to provide professional development to teachers of all STEM subjects in their induction year serving high-needs districts.
The CMSCE provided teacher professional development (PD) on the alignment of middle and high school curricula and instruction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for New Brunswick Public Schools, and evaluated the impact of the PD on teacher participants’ development. The PD model included a 4-day summer academy emphasizing project-based learning (PBL) in the designing of NGSS-aligned curricula and instruction, as well as monthly follow-up Professional Learning Community meetings (PLCs) throughout the year providing numerous opportunities for teachers to develop and implement lesson plans, share results of lesson writing and implementation (successes and challenges), provide mutual feedback, and refine curricula and assessments. Teachers were interviewed and the units they were developed were analyzed for NGSS alignment. Even though their understanding of NGSS-alignment as demonstrated in their curriculum writing varied, most teachers obtained a basic understanding and conceptualization of NGSS and PBL. Interviewed teachers believed that the PD model was helpful to their development as science teachers, and all reported that there were no aspects of the PD that were not helpful. (study published in Frontiers in Psychology; Shernoff, Sinha, Bressler, & Schultz, 2017).
The CMSCE provided teacher professional development (PD) on the alignment of middle and high school curricula and instruction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for New Brunswick Public Schools, and evaluated the impact of the PD on teacher participants’ development. The PD model included a 4-day summer academy emphasizing project-based learning (PBL) in the designing of NGSS-aligned curricula and instruction, as well as monthly follow-up Professional Learning Community meetings (PLCs) throughout the year providing numerous opportunities for teachers to develop and implement lesson plans, share results of lesson writing and implementation (successes and challenges), provide mutual feedback, and refine curricula and assessments. Teachers were interviewed and the units they were developed were analyzed for NGSS alignment. Even though their understanding of NGSS-alignment as demonstrated in their curriculum writing varied, most teachers obtained a basic understanding and conceptualization of NGSS and PBL. Interviewed teachers believed that the PD model was helpful to their development as science teachers, and all reported that there were no aspects of the PD that were not helpful. (study published in Frontiers in Psychology; Shernoff, Sinha, Bressler, & Schultz, 2017).
Funded by the National Endowment of the Arts and working closely with the Rutgers Makerspace and Mason Gross School of Arts, we provided professional development to the teachers of Toms River Regional Schools (TRRS) on a “maker mindset” approach to development STEAM instruction and curriculum. The project supported the creation of STEAM Academies in three TRRS high schools. PD focused on project-based learning with artists, drawing from the integrated, multi-disciplinary approach of STEAM and the experiential learning tools of makerspaces. Up to 60 core teachers were trained within the district, at Rutgers, and in virtual and live field experiences - to engage and inspire students and peers in a lifelong learning pathway in the arts or STEAM, create lessons that promote problem-solving and expression through creative and arts-based strategies, align activities with state and national STEAM standards, develop replicable modular maker kits for wide replication, and become empowered master teachers. STEAM academy courses were to be offered to over six-thousand students moving forward.
CMSCE partnered with the school districts of Franklin Township, North Brunswick Township, and New Brunswick to improve the academic achievement of the students of participating teachers in grades 3-5.
CMSCE has leveraged its expertise in pedagogical practices in STEM to work with leading experts from around Rutgers in climate change to create resources for K-12 educators. Rutgers University, New Jersey Audubon, Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership, and Raritan Headwaters were awarded two consecutive of the NJDOE Climate Change Grants - Expanding Access to Climate Change and NJ Student Learning Through Climate Change Learning Collaborative. The overarching goals the grant program are to:
Establish a statewide network to support local school districts in implementing climate change education through the creation of a Central NJ Climate Change Learning Collaborative (CCLC) at Rutgers-New Brunswick, with the support of nonprofit partners NJ Audubon, Raritan Headwaters, and Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership to engage in place-based environmental education in each region.
The CCLC at Rutgers University serves the following New Jersey counties: Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Somerset.
The 2-year Making for Success program is a pilot makerspace program for adults with autism running from 2023-2025. The program was funded by a GSAPP Autism Research grant, with seed funding originating from the RU-NB Chancellor’s Office, in order to stimulate interdisciplinary collaborations for national-level autism research and grant writing. The project was a partnership among the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services (RCAAS), the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education (CMSCE), and Rutgers the Makerspace, with the directors of the CMSCE (Dr. David Shernoff) and the RCAAS (Dr. Christopher Manente) serving as PIs of the grant. A primary rationale for the project was the limited employment opportunities and community resources available to adults with autism; and the driving research goal was determining the viability and effectiveness of such a program. Five adults with autism voluntarily participated in the program, which ran every Monday and Wednesday at the Makerspace on Livingston Campus from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in the 2023-2024 academic year, with a new cohort of participants joining for the 2024 - 2025 academic year. The program focused on 3 areas of skill development: mat cutting / picture framing, laser etching/cutting, and 3D printing. Most participants had virtually no prior experience in these areas. Pre and post measures of a wide range of constructs and competencies were collected, and supplemented with weekly measures of participants’ engagement and quality of experience, as well as several different data logs recording level of each participants’ observed independence on tasks, parent/surrogate surveys and interviews, videotaped observations of task completion and social forums for future analysis, and a concluding focus group discussion with participants and parents. Makerspace Director, Stephen Carter, led instruction supported by two makerspace student staff. GSAPP doctoral students and RCAAS staff coordinated the project and provided data collection. The participants successfully made products in all three areas of instruction (e.g., framed personal photographs they had matted and framed, laser-etched Halloween decorations, and a variety of 3-D printed objects). Each session, the participants took their projects home with great pride, and shared stories of giving them to family members and loved ones. Although much of the data remains to be analyzed, the information obtained from interviews with parents and the final focus group discussion were consistently and strongly encouraging. Participants expressed great enjoyment and appreciation of learning new skills in all three areas. A theme of parent interviews was the increased levels of confidence, self-efficacy, and socialization that they observed, not only while at the makerspace, but in other contexts and areas of life during the program. In the final focus group discussion in Year 1, participants and parents were extremely effusive in their appreciation for the program quality and the environment of mutual respect allowing the participants to “be themselves.” They were also extremely appreciative of the opportunity given the dearth of similar ones available, describing it far better than other programs they participated in. Parents highlighted that staff showed an amazing level of professionalism, patience, knowledge and empathy. All parents and participants indicated a strong interest in continuing use of the makerspace, and were provided with future makerspace access, a zip drive, and a $50 gift card for materials at the makerspace store. As one of the final projects, the participants designed a laser-etched plaque expressing their appreciation of the program and the skills they acquired in it. in Year 2, the project turned its attention to analyzing the data based on ABA-informed protocols showing that all participants eventually reached independence with some support and prompting. Several conference papers were accepted from the project (e.g., AERA). The project is now preparing additional reports for the research community and professional associations, as well as for GSAPP and Rutgers administrators to consider the potential for the program’s continuation beyond the initial grant funding.
