Making It Happen: CASE Faculty and Staff

Jennifer Aizenman, Director

Martina Arndt, Observatory

Edward Brush, Project GreenLab

Kevin Curry, Watershed Access Lab

Vernon Domingo, EarthView

James Hayes-Bohanan, EarthView

Jamie Kern, Observatory

2014 Advisory Committee

Martina Arndt, Professor of Physics, Faculty Coordinator, Observatory

Thomas Brady, Assistant Professor of Secondary Education and Professional

Programs

Ed Brush, Professor of Chemical Sciences, Faculty Coordinator, GreenLab

Kevin Curry, Professor of Biological Sciences, Faculty Coordinator, Watershed

Access Lab

Vernon Domingo, Professor of Geography, Faculty Co-Coordinator, Project

EarthView

Nicole Glen, Associate Professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Education

James Hayes-Bohanan, Professor of Geography, Faculty Co-Coordinator, Project

EarthView

Jamie Kern, Visiting Lecturer, Physics, Observatory Manager

Jenna Mendell, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Faculty Coordinator,

CityLab

Rebecca Metcalf, Associate Professor and Chair of Mathematics, Faculty

Coordinator, Mathematics and Computer Science Collaborative (MACS)

Polina Sabinin, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Faculty Coordinator, Games

Teachers Play

Kim McCoy, Assistant Director,

CityLab and Watershed Coordinator

Jenna Mendell, CityLab

Rebecca Metcalf, MACS

Polina Sabinin, Games Teachers Play

Maura Whittemore, Administrative

Assistant

CASE operating costs in FY2014 were $115,412, of which $22,522 was provided by CASE program revenue. A total of $2,050 in scholarships was awarded to students attending summer programming.

The Center for the Advancement of STEM Education

20

142

014

20

14

CASECASECASE

Annual Report

The Center for the Advancement of STEM Education (CASE) has had a busy year. The new center, built on long-standing, successful preK-12 STEM outreach projects, promotes and increases interest and literacy in science and mathematics among preK-12 students, pre-service and in-service teachers, and members of the regional community. CASE aims to instill positive attitudes toward STEM disciplines in students of all ages, especially groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM careers, and serve as a leader in exploring STEM education-related topics and the most effective pedagogy for their incorporation into the preK-12 classroom. In 2014, its faculty and staff had direct contact with 14,228 preK-12 students and teachers and community members. The center hosted BSU's first Open Lab Night for members of the community and hosted a professional development conference, which highlighted green technology, classroom teaching strategies, microbial ecology, climate change, astronomy and much more. As CASE programs grow, we see a future of opportunities to serve and advance the University's ability to foster the scientific and intellectual capacity of Southeastern Massachusetts and beyond. -Jennie Aizenman, Director

Advancing Our Mission

Norwood Elementary School Notre Dame Academy Old Hammondtown School Oliver Ames High School Pembroke High School Pierce Middle School Plouffe Middle School Plymouth Community Intermediate School Plymouth North High School Plymouth Public Schools Plymouth South High School Plymouth South Middle School Plymouth State University Pope John Paul II High School Qualters Middle School Quincy High School Ralph D. Butler Elementary School Raymond Middle School Roger Williams University Rogers Middle School Sacred Heart High School Salem State University Seniors’ Learning Group Shea Trust Silver Lake Middle School Silver Lake Regional High School Simmons College South Elementary School South Shore Charter Public School South Shore Vocational Technical High School Southeastern Regional School District Southeastern Regional Vocation Taunton Cub Scouts Pack 28 2014 Mass Insight Education APSI Conference-AP Teachers Stonehill College Stoughton High School

Sturgis Charter Public School Suffolk University UMASS Boston UMASS Dartmouth University of Rhode Island Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School Wareham Jr. Girl Scouts Wellesley College West Bridgewater Public Library West Middle School Westfield State University Wheaton College Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Worcester State University

Participating K-12 Schools, Colleges, Universities and Organizations

Abington High School Ashland Middle School Avery Elementary School Beckwith Middle School Bourne Middle School Braintree High School Bridgewater-Raynham High School Bristol Community College Bristol County Agricultural High School Brockton High School Burrell School Calvary Chapel Academy Cape Cod Community College Center Elementary School Charles M. Frolio School CHARMS Collaborative High School Chatham Middle School Conley Elementary School Dana Hall School Davis Middle School Dedham High School Dennett Elementary School Duxbury High School Duxbury Middle School East Middle School Easton Middle School Easton Mother/Daughter Group Eddy Elementary School F. L. Olmsted School Falmouth Academy Falmouth High School Fontbonne Academy Foxborough Public Schools Franklin Olin College of Engineering George R. Austin Intermediate School

Global Learning Charter Public School Gordon College Greenlight For Girls H.H. Richardson School Halifax Elementary School Hanover High School Hanson Middle School Harwich Middle School Henry T. Wing School Hingham High School Hingham Middle School Hockomock Camera Club Hull Memorial Middle School Indian Head School J.B.Congdon School John J. Ahern Middle School King Phillips Regional High School Kingston Elementary School Kingston Intermediate School Local K-7 Girl Scouts Local Daisy/Cadette Scouts MACS Executive Board Mansfield High School Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Martin Elementary School Massasoit Community College Middleborough Boy Scouts Troop 96 Millis Middle School Mitchell Elementary School Mutanafisun Academy NESAPS Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart Normandin Middle School North Middle School North Quincy High School Norton Middle School Norwell High School

Participating K-12 Schools, Colleges, Universities and Organizations

CASE aims to promote and increase interest and literacy in science

and mathematics among preK-12 students,

pre-service and in-service teachers, and members of the

regional communities.

10,737 PreK-12 students

2,654 Community members

1,523 Teachers

310 Families

183 Undergraduate students

125 Schools

39 Faculty members

1 Mission

BSU CityLab is a biotechnology outreach program for middle and high school teachers and their students. The program provides hands-on, inquiry-based laboratory activities using current equipment and technology. Three undergraduate students conducted Directed Studies (BIOL499) in CASE. These students gained teaching and laboratory experience through their participation in CityLab and Watershed Access Lab outreach visits and events. In addition, BIOL499 students developed modules and activities for use in various CityLab and Watershed Access Lab events.

BSU CityLab had 2,277 middle and high school students participate in 98 visits to our facility. Students conducted hands-on lab modules, including Lab Larceny, Crucial Concentration, and Mystery of the Crooked Cell.

BSU CityLab South Shore Regional Science Fair The South Shore Regional Science Fair provides students an opportunity to satisfy their natural curiosity about the world and explore "real world" science and engineering problems. Participants receive feedback from judges about how to improve their projects prior to participation in the statewide Science Fair.

One hundred and forty-one high school students from 21 schools participated in the 2014 event. Additionally, sixty judges provided feedback to participants at this event.

Professional Development

In addition to Professional Development offered through CASE programs, in 2014, we developed a customized professional development program for high school teachers at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School. Sixteen teachers participated in sessions focused on biotechnology, human origins, bio-retention systems (i.e. green parking lots) and contemporary water issues - such as water-related disasters, water foot-printing and water conservation.

“This year, Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical

School collaborated with CASE...The tools that were shared

with us are adapted to reaching and hooking our students to

experience the love of science. It is incredible the outreach

and creation of young scientists that your CASE Program is

doing and I love being a part of it.”

- Pamela, Educator

As part of the Cambridge Science Festival, CASE piloted an Open Lab Night event. Open Lab Night provides members of the community the opportunity to experience the excitement and relevance of science to everyday life, allows undergraduate students to assume a leadership role in communicating scientific concepts to the general public, and increases the community’s awareness of the excellent science and mathematics education and resources available at BSU.

Open Lab Night

Approximately 250 community members attended the April 2014 event where they were engaged in hands-on activities led by faculty, staff, and undergraduate students. 100% of undergraduate students indicated in a post-participation survey that they would participate in future Open Lab Night events.

2014 CASE Conference

The 2014 CASE Conference was attended by 136 in-service teachers, 22 pre-service teachers and 6 BSU undergraduates in other majors.

The CASE conference is an annual event that provides K-12 teachers with STEM education resources. Teachers leave the conference with sample projects, activities and lessons that they can include in their teaching. Julia Huber, Associate Scientist and Associate Director of the Josephine Bay Paul Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory provided the keynote lecture entitled, Pushing the Limits: Microbial Life at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents. Allison Scheff, Executive Director of STEM and the Governor's STEM Advisory Council at the Massachusetts Department of Education provided the plenary talk entitled, STEM Plan 2.0 and the Classroom: Statewide Movement Powered through Local Action.

Games Teachers Play is an outreach program in mathematics and mathematics education. While playing games, people of all ages can develop and exhibit more complex levels of reasoning than in any other situations. GTP provides current and future teachers of mathematics an opportunity to share and learn about the world of engaging educational games. Teachers will have an opportunity to learn about how to bring games into the classrooms and the roles games can play in K-12 mathematics.

Games Teachers Play

Math Kangaroo is an international competition in mathematics that encourages students to master their mathematical knowledge and gain confidence in their ability to comprehend mathematics. The program helps students understand how mathematics applies to everyday life.

128 preK-12 students, 17 BSU students, and 17 BSU faculty members attended Math Kangaroo this year.

Twenty-six preK-12 teachers participated in Games Teachers Play workshops.

EarthView is a twenty-foot hand-painted globe that serves as a portable classroom energizing geography programs throughout the region.

EarthView

K-12 students continue to be the main audience for EarthView. The majority of participants in 2014 -- nearly 6,000 -- were students participating in the full program, within the context of their school curricula. These were usually geography or social studies classes at the middle school level, or the social-studies component of classes at the fourth-grade level.

EarthView visited 24 schools where 5799 students and 208 teachers participated in geography activities in the globe.

EarthView hosted four events for GeoNight and other enrichment programs in which 600 students, 50 teachers and 1100 families participated.

EarthView also hosted seven smaller events which were attended by 421 students, 65 community members and 8 faculty members from other universities.

Whale of a Mystery is a week-long summer course for middle school students. The hands-on class focuses on the natural history of Cetaceans and provides students with the opportunity to conduct laboratory research using state of the art technology, including protein extraction and quantification and gel electrophoresis.

Whale of a Mystery

Forty-eight students participated in two summer sessions held in Summer 2013. The Whale of a Mystery program served as model for development of the Summer Science Academy, which launched in the Summer of 2014.

“Exciting program and lots of fun! I learned a lot of things

and met some really nice people.”

-Evan, Student

“It was wonderful to know my son was learning new things

and having fun over the summer. I would highly

recommend this program.”

-Joanne, Parent

The Observatory at Bridgewater State University hosts public and private viewing events, runs K-12 workshops, and provides resources for student research, astronomy courses, and service-learning.

Observatory

A total of 880 people attended private viewing events throughout the year. Participants included 75 K-12 teachers and more than 400 K-12 students from 5 participating schools.

The Observatory had 1,170 visitors from the community during its public viewing events.

EarthView was also used in school-based programs and in programs at other educational organizations. These EarthView events were open to participating students, their parents, grandparents, and siblings and served to supplement environmental and international education programs, and generally to raise the awareness of geography in communities throughout Massachusetts and beyond. Additionally, EarthView was used in more general public events, such as professional conferences, legislative visits, and even shopping malls. In these cases, EarthView created opportunities to talk with an incredible variety of people about geography as both a STEM discipline and a key part of global education.

Teachers who accompanied students to EarthView visits are another significant audience. The EarthView program supplements and energizes their classes and provides ancillary professional development. Nearly 100 additional teachers participated in credit-bearing professional development or were awarded professional development points for their participation. EarthView helps to enhance teacher understanding of geography for their own teaching and helps to develop a statewide cadre of teachers who can use EarthView themselves.

EarthView was present in seven larger venues including the New England - St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society, the State House, the STEM Resource Fair, the annual AP Geography Readers Meeting and Earth Day at Hanover Mall. Additionally, EarthView made its international debut in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, where the program partnered with a local environmental-educational organization to bring geography education to regional children. These events were attended by 200 K-12 students, 100 undergraduate students, 400 teachers, 200 families, and 1000 other community members.

Ninety-one teachers participated in professional development workshops offered through EarthView.

The Mathematics and Computer Science Collaborative (MACS) provides opportunities for teachers to see the “big picture” of improved mathematics teaching and learning through experiences that broaden and deepen their own understanding of mathematic concepts and effective pedagogy.

Project GreenLab aims to educate the BSU and regional communities about green chemistry and the impacts of chemicals on human and environmental health. This year, Project GreenLab launched "GreenLab Discussion," a workshop series for the community. A total of 79 students, faculty and local community members attended 5 evening sessions. Additionally, GreenLab led a seminar and discussion with 18 students in the Youth Environmental Social Society at the Bridgewater-Raynham High School. Project GreenLab also hosted the Undergraduate Symposium on Sustainability and the Environment, which provides an annual forum for discussion of issues related to environmental research and education particular to the New England region, and has created an environment that fosters collaborations in research and education among the participants. The Symposium provided students from colleges and universities in the Northeastern US the opportunity to present research posters in all environmental disciplines. The 2014 event showcased 60 undergraduate student poster presentations and was attended by 128 attendees from New England colleges and universities. Project GreenLab also hosted a workshop focused on green chemistry education that was attended by 12 faculty from BSU and other four-year institutions, 2 faculty from community colleges, 1 high school educator, and 2 members of Beyond Benign, an organization dedicated to providing scientists, educators and citizens with tools to teach and learn about green chemistry.

MACS

Project GreenLab

In 2014, MACS hosted 450 educators in its programs.

A total of 242 undergraduate students, university faculty, K-12

students and teachers, and members of the community participated

in Project GreenLab events in 2014.

The Watershed Access Lab provides science education outreach programs and preK-12 teacher professional development focused on land use, water quality assessment, global water issues, conservation and environmental education.

Watershed Access Lab

Fifty-seven teachers participated in professional development workshops in Project WET where they learned hands-on, science-based activities for students K-12. In addition, seven teachers and over 200 students participated in watershed investigations using our technology and instrumentation within their communities. Five student groups presented their project results to more than 120 participants at the 17th annual Watershed Seminar. The Watershed Access Lab hosted 25 class visits, where a total of 518 students conducted hands-on investigations to assess the effectiveness of green technologies on the environment.