STEM Education

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration of multiple institutions and organizations led by Pace University. The NSF project, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), had generated a large amount of data through engagement with teachers and students throughout New York City public schools. One purpose of this project is to engage with middle and high school science teachers to assist them in using project-based learning and real-world data collection in their classrooms with their students through harbor restoration initiatives. It was found that Underrepresented Minority (URM) students reported having higher levels of interest in STEM and science than did the non-URM students. While this is a success, it was found that the URM students had lower expectations for...

(CCERS) is an educational model designed to increase the quality and effectiveness of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science (STEM-C) education in urban public middle schools through restoration science; increase knowledge and instructional skill of educators who work in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods; and increase public middle school students' knowledge of and interest in STEM-C. The model consists of five interrelated pillars, to create "wrap around" educational programming for disadvantaged urban students in New York City. The CCERS is an example of a complex partnership built upon formal and informal partnerships between universities, foundations, K-12 institutions, community organizations, and cultural institutions primarily from New York City. While the project will generate scientific research, provide educational resources, and contribute to educational research knowledge, an overarching goal is to create a replicable model applicable to other locations in need of restoration science educational projects.

The CCERS partnership includes collaborators from universities, foundations, education departments, community organizations, and cultural institutions to build a new curriculum. As reported in a study conducted by the Rand Corporation (2011), partnerships among districts, community-based organizations, government agencies, local funders, and others can strengthen learning programs. The curriculum merged project-based learning and Bybee’s 5E model (Note 1) to teach core STEM-C concepts to urban middle school students through restoration science. CCERS has five interrelated and complementary programmatic pillars (see details in the next section). The CCERS curriculum encourages urban middle school students to explore and participate in project-based learning activities restoring the oyster population in and around New York Harbor. In Melaville, Berg and Blank’s Community Based Learning (2001) there is a statement that says, “Education must connect subject matter with the places where ...

The tension between academic rigor and real-world relevance is a long-standing struggle in the world of education. Never has that tension been greater than the present day, when metrics about student academic success and pressure about career preparation are each the subject of increased scrutiny. STEM education straddles this debate, demanding an equal measure of both rigor and relevance. Therein lies its unique challenge. Beyond the familiar vocabulary of job training, linked learning, and twenty-first century skills, STEM teachers must create a combined learning experience that has no precedent in education. In addition to improving student proficiency in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, they must deliver the real-world component of the STEM curriculum, often a daunting task. Here, the authors maintain that American waterways, near which the vast majority of the U.S. population lives, are ideal STEM classrooms that can fulfill the interdisciplinary and experiential goals of STEM while helping schools rediscover the larger environmental community. The authors present their experience with the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for New York Harbor Restoration in New York City Public Schools (CCERS), a program of student education and teacher training through direct participation in the planning and physical implementation of oyster restoration in New York Harbor. They argue that if STEM's promise is that society will reap the benefits of a future job force and future innovation, community professionals such as scientists, engineers, policy makers, and more have a duty to participate as volunteer adjuncts to help implement such programs in local school systems, particularly in underserved communities.

Field-based, hands-on experiential learning is a mainstay of meaningful environmental science education throughout a student's school career. Engaging K-12 students in field-based, experiential learning can help develop true passion and commitment to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) subjects, allowing students to apply their skills and content knowledge in an authentic, experiential context while enhancing many academic skills and engaging them in contextualized learning across disciplines. To develop an environmentally literate population, and to solve the increasingly complex environmental issues facing society, there is a need to increase students' access to environmental education field experiences and to connect these outdoor experiences to relevant curricula within the classroom. This is especially important in urban environments, where citizens and students may be less connected on a day-today basis with nature. Examples of programs in two regions that model this approach are the Billion Oyster Project-Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science STEM-C-Project (STEM, plus computing), in New York City, and the combined efforts of the Maryland Environmental Literacy Partnership (MELP) and the NOAA Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program, both of which focus on the Chesapeake Bay, its watershed, and Baltimore Harbor. Both regions have invested in education programs that take advantage of their harbor/waterway locations and their maritime cultures and histories. The NYC program centers around 'Oyster Restoration Stations' visited by middle-school students and citizen scientists, who use a common set of protocols and a matching digital platform interface to record data including water quality and oyster biology. The Chesapeake programs, utilize both public and private partnerships to support teachers in designing inquiry-based field investigations to support curriculum underpinning the nation's first state mandated environmental literacy requirement for high school graduation. These two regional programs provide models for implementing experiential hands-on learning in environmental science and ecology for other urban areas.

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor withNew York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) seeks to integrate harbor restoration activities with science teachers inorder to provide their students with experiential learning through environmental impact in New York City with thevision that public school students in New York City can benefit from environmental science and experiential learningwork through authentic research, data collection, and experimentation. The purpose is to engage science teachers withexperiential learning opportunities in the New York Harbor that helps them create engaging lessons for their ownstudents. It was found that teachers responded most positively to workshops that included hands-on activities,specifically the oyster restoration station trainings, classroom oyster tank setups and activities with scientists. Teachersreported that the BOP-CCERS program prepared them to support student learning of ...

This article provides an overview of the work pioneered by the consortium of collaborators in the Billion Oyster Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Project (BOP-CCERS). The BOP-CCERS are working to support computational thinking in the New York City public school classrooms by creating curriculum which combines:1. The Field Station Research (Oyster Restoration Stations) and data collection2. The Billion Oyster Project Digital Platform and data input and storage 3. The New York State Science Intermediate Level Learning Standards. 4. The Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science StandardsThe integration of computational thinking in the STEM middle school classroom is showcased through the intertwining of these dimensions into a trans-disciplinary learning experience that is rich in both content and practice. Students will be able to explain real-world phenomena found in their own community and design possible solutions through the key compone...

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor withNew York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS)(NSF DRL 1440869/PI Lauren Birney) program is a National ScienceFoundation (NSF) supported initiative through collaboration by multiple institutions and organizations led by PaceUniversity. Partners on this initiatitve include Columbia Lamont Doherty, the New York Aquairum, the New YorkHarbor Foundation, the New York Academy of Sciences, the River Project, Good Shepher Services, SmartstartEvaluation and Research, the University Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Fearless Solutions. Inthis study, teachers from one cohort were paired with teachers from a succeeding cohort in order to facilitate amentoring process between the two cohorts. This allows for teacher ambassardors to have a support structurethroughout the program, seek integral feedback, modify teaching techniques, integrate project research and establishlong term pa...

An environment-based education movement-at all levels of education-will help students realize that school isn't supposed to be a polite form of incarceration, but a portal to the wider world." 1 Constructivism and the Billion Oyster Project Educators continue to seek the elusive silver bullet when trying to determine what will work for their students. Regardless of the setting-urban or rural, elite or poverty stricken, mainstream, self-contained or CTT, traditional or progressive, the main goal of the educator is to grab the students' attention with content that is relevant, vital and situated in the students' realm of interest. Each of the educational philosophers has their unique spin on what drives learning but many point to the real-world position of the germane connection known as constructivism. Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori and Bruner all toted the idea that children learn, or construct their knowledge, by internalizing experiences in their lives and making meaning from these experiences. The child's previous body of knowledge helps to shape the new information into palpable meaning that can be cognitively digested.

Research consistently shows that children who have opportunities to actively investigate natural settings and engage in problem-based learning greatly benefit from the experiences? This project developed a model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation's largest urban school system. Middle school students will study New York Harbor and the extensive watershed that empties into it, as they conducted field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats.

This paper explores the issue of social justice through the lens of equitable access to Advanced Placement courses in the City of New York High Schools, with focus on Advanced Placement Environmental Science. A critical component of the Advanced Placement Environmental Science course is the incorporation of environmental fieldwork. The National Research Council (2014) suggest that field stations are important for STEM education and provide opportunities to engage students in the natural environment and get them excited about science. Through the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science, an NSF funded opportunity, students in the Advanced Placement Environmental Science course are integrating their field station work in Oyster Restoration in the New York City Harbor. These interactions with the environment offer unique experiences which engage marginalized students in both rigorous coursework and affords equity in science learning. In turn, it affords all students the opportunity for upward mobility and increased career opportunities in the area of STEM.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential impacts of microteaching on experienced teachersparticipating in the Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS) Teaching Fellowship at Pace Universityas part of a National Science Foundation-funded research project on the education model known as the Curriculum andCommunity Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS). The program builds a learning community of teachers in thefellowship program as they participated in monthly workshops in cohorts and continuously interact with each otherduring the two years of the program. Each teacher in Cohort 1 of the CCERS Fellowship was required to provide a brieflesson that they have used in the classrooms from the CCERS curriculum. Generally, the Teaching Fellows’micro-lessons contained appropriate objectives presented to the class aligned well to the objectives of the CCERSinitiative, which focused on harbor restoration learning within a STEM context. By conducting field stud...

The aim of this study is to showcase the use of incorporating problem-solving in a multifaceted, long-term investigation. New York Harbor and its estuaries are undergoing a major revitalization due to the efforts of the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Environmental Restoration Project. Comprised of a network of local educational and business partnerships, students who have been historically underrepresented in the S.T.E.M. field are given the opportunity to delve into environmental restoration in their local communities and strategize, analyze and evaluate environmental challenges to achieve success in problem-solving. The restoration of a sustainable environment is reliant upon innovative responses to the challenges posed. Problem-solving allows the students to use advanced thinking ability and it can also be the driving force of change. The project has resulted in a deeper understanding of local environmental restoration efforts and a stronger commitment to actionable plan...

Research consistently shows that children who have opportunities to actively investigate natural settings and engage in problem-based learning greatly benefit from the experiences. They gain skills, interests, knowledge, aspirations, and motivation to learn more. But how can we provide these rich opportunities in densely populated urban areas where resources and access to natural areas are limited? This project will develop and test a model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation's largest urban school system. Middle school students will study New York harbor and the extensive watershed that empties into it, and they will conduct field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats. The project builds on the existing Billion Oyster Project, and will be implemented by a broad partnership of institutions and community resources, including Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, the Columbia University Lamont-Doher...

This paper examines the current understanding of the green economy movement and the critical role that education plays in attracting a viable workforce for this relatively new crusade. By connecting youth with the importance of environmental concerns in their community, tangible opportunities for sustainable change are created. By giving human agency to some of the most marginalized populations in New York City, the opportunity to experience environmental challenges in the community in which they live exposes these students to a plethora of enriching and rewarding employment opportunities. By combining the stewardship of their environment with formal and informal education, the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science in New York City is presenting multiple pathways for employment and educational opportunities in the green economy.

Much has been written in the last few decades about 21 st Century skills that are needed for successful entry into today's workforce. Educators and corporate leaders agree that these skills are achieved through a deeper learning of content and an ability to creatively respond to real-world situations. Nowhere is this more evident that in the content area known as S.T.E.M., the acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is through the lens of STEM that many of the social, economic and environmental challenges with which we are faced will be solved. Given that the above statement rings true, it is the duty if educational leaders to provide students with the tools that will prepare them for both career opportunities and as members of the citizen science community. To spark this level of student interest, the curriculum being presented has to be timely, topical and immersive. Students must feel that they are an integral part of the learning process and that they have control in the outcome. In other words, they must feel that they have ownership and that they can collaborate in the learning process. Mueller, Tippins & Bryan (2012) describe citizen science as participatory democracy in a community setting, where teachers and students represent the community as a whole by engaging in scientific endeavors in their communities. Further, Angela Calabrese Barton (2012) emphasizes the community immersion model and the fact that the students have a "deep and critical connection to their community". An exceptional example of these components of citizen science including the connection to the community is the Billion Oyster Project that is currently being conducted in New York City. The foundation of this restoration project is the introduction of oysters into New York Harbor. This project is currently being funded by the National Science Foundation DRL 1440869.

This qualitative study chronicles one of the fundamental pillars of the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS). The professional development is focused on curricula that are grounded in the community-based environmental restoration of the waterways of New York Harbor. Centered on the restoration of the native oyster population, hundreds of New York City public school teachers take part in this experience with the intent of increasing their own place-based pedagogical content knowledge and skills. Most of the participants teach in school with populations that are underrepresented in post-secondary STEM majors and STEM related careers. Professional learning activities for teachers and community scientists were offered throughout the 2021 calendar year. Professional Learning Activity Surveys were administered and teachers responded to questions about how they participated in CCERS events, the ways in which CCERS participation has impacted their teaching practice, whether they use CCERS activities for student research, and ways CCERS participation impacts student STEM career interest. An intended outcome is to instill a STEM identity in students identifying as URM and to bring STEM career awareness to these students. More than 72% of the teachers in the professional development sessions agreed that the professional learning activities were effective in providing new STEM content knowledge and best practices for teaching. The majority also reported that the sessions enabled them to increase their students' engagement with STEM and interest in STEM careers.

Student research in STEM education is an important learning component for both undergraduate and graduate students. It is not sufficient for students to learn passively in lecture-based classrooms without engaging and immersing themselves in the educational process through real-world research learning. Experiential learning for STEM students can involve conducting research, alongside and through the guidance of their professors, early in a student’s undergraduate or graduate program. The authors consider such experiences to be the hallmark of a high-quality STEM education and something every student, undergraduate and graduate, should have during the course of their programs. The purpose of this case study is to document the faculty authors’ experiences in student-faculty research and provide guidance and recommendations for best practices based upon the authors’ experience, data, and literature findings. Moreover, the study presents the experience of the faculty authors’ internatio...

Information technology has become ubiquitous in the 21st Century. Acquiring the skills and confidence to navigate the computational arena is all but obligatory for educational and professional success. Underrepresentation of women in the wide variety of fields associated with information technology is an authentic concern for both the individual and society as a whole. Various studies have emphasized the importance of stronger representative of marginalized groups to bolster creative thinking and a variety of perspectives. The CCERS STEM + C Program is a long-term hands-on environmental restoration project that has been embedded in the New York City Department of Education public schools. Students work to restore the native oyster population to New York Harbor through both field work and working with large sets of data on the open-access platform. One of the several areas studied throughout this program is the motivation and self-efficacy of the students, especially students who are...

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration led by Pace University. One of Pace University's NSF projects is STEM+C (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics plus Computing) designed to work with teachers and students in New York City public schools. This article presents results of a study conducted on the STEM Summer Institute at Pace University in Summer 2022. The purpose was to engage both teachers and students in harbor restoration and experiential learning in New York City including learning about vital ecology projects related to New York's harbor such as oyster restoration, which is critical to cleaning pollutants in the New York Harbor. Findings revealed that students indicated improved oyster knowledge and restoration skills, scientific skills, collecting and analyzing data, and knowledge about STEM careers. Participating teachers indicated a positive impact on their knowledge of content and harbor restoration, pedagogical knowledge used to engage students in hands-on scientific learning, and methods of engaging and motivating their own students. Moreover, teachers indicated a positive outcome for exposing their students to STEM career options.