nctl strengthening science 1111

5/11/2018 NCTL Strengthening Science 1111 - slidepdf.com

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 1/68FALL 2011

STRENGTHENING

SCIENCE EDUCATIONTHE POWER OF MORE TIMETO DEEPEN INQUIRY AND ENGAGEMENT


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 2/68

“Without fundamentally

restructuring the schoolcalendar—particularly at

the elementary and middle

school levels—to add morelearning time, and then

prioritizing science during

that time, most American

students will simply not

become either proficient in,

or excited about, science.”

–from Strengthening Science Education


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 3/68SCIENCE EDUCATION AND THE CALL FOR MORE TIME | 1

SCIENCE EDUCATION AND THE CALL FOR MORE TIME p03

Ca ud

MATTHEw KUSS MIDDLE SCHOOL, FALL RIvER, MASSACHUSETTS p12THURgOOD MARSHALL ACADEMy LOwER SCHOOL, NEw yORK, NEw yORK p22 EDITH I. STARKE AND pIERSON ELEMENTARy SCHOOLS, vOLUSIA COUNTy, FLORIDA p

32JANE LONg MIDDLE SCHOOL, HOUSTON, TExAS p42

KEy FINDINgS AND THE pROMISE OF MORE TIME p52

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THE pOwER OF MORE TIME TO DEEpEN INqUIRy AND ENgAgEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS



2 | STRENgTHENINg SCIENCE EDUCATION

For man oun

eole, interest andsuccess in science

ill turn out to be

a catalst for their

enaement in

school oerall.



Children are natural elorers, builders, and inentors.

The are curious about ho the orld orks and loe to

et their hands dirt attemtin to nd out. Research

tells us that science education should build on children’s

innate curiosit—eandin their scientic knolede

and enaement oer time as the eamine objects, desin

and analze inestiations, collect data, and discuss and

defend their ideas. For man oun eole, interest and

success in science ill turn out to be a catalst for their

enaement in school oerall.

There is little doubt, hoeer, that science education in

most American ublic schools is not ood enouh—either

at buildin science rocienc or enain children in

science. Outcomes on national and international science

assessments indicate student rocienc is relatiel lo

and has remained at for a decade, hile collee students

majorin in science or enineerin make u a relatiel

small roortion of all students.1 Not surrisinl, the

undererformance and lack of interest of U.S. studentsin science has alarmed educators, olicmakers, and

ciic leaders.

Concerns about the ualit of science education doetail

ith an oerall sense that American ublic schools are

not adeuatel rearin students—articularl lo-

income, immirant, and minorit students—to face

the challenes of tomorro. An increasin number of

education stakeholders are focusin on the issue of

learnin time as one ke inredient in the effort to imroe

student outcomes. The beliee that the traditional school

calendar of 180 si-hour das er ear is too short to enable

all students to meet risin eectations for academicerformance and also receie a ell-rounded education.

Education reformers are joinin a roin moement in

our countr to etend the school da—either b addin

hours each da or addin das to the school ear—ith

the understandin that more time ill brin more

oortunities for learnin.

The drie to eand learnin time holds articular

romise for imroin science education. In recent ears,

due to increased accountabilit for math and readin

achieement, the amount of time deoted to science

instruction in ublic elementar and middle schools has

dindled, makin it more difcult to delier the te

of riorous, inuir-based teachin and learnin that is

needed to set our oun eole on the ath to become

the net eneration of scientists, inentors, enineers,

and entrereneurs.

For this stud, the National Center on Time & Learnin

(NCTL) looked closel at e ublic elementar and middle

schools that hae lenthened the school da ith a

secic oal of imroin science instruction. In each of

these schools, leaders, teachers, and students are uttin

the idea of more time for science into ractice. All the

roled schools are mainstream district ublic elementar

or middle schools ith hih-oert student oulations;

most also hae lare numbers of non-natie Enlish

seakers. Toether, these schools offer a limse of hat is

ossible hen schools and districts make science a riorit

and hen the furnish students and teachers ith the

time the need to build dnamic science rorams.

Wanng gn: Laggng PfCnCy and dCLnng

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The numbers aint a dismal icture: Just 34 ercent of

fourth raders, 30 ercent of eihth raders, and 21 ercent

of telfth raders scored rocient on the National

Assessment of Educational proress (NAEp) in 2009, and

test scores hae shon little imroement durin the ast

decade. In itself, this situation is troublin; hen stratied

b race and income, the roblem aears orse. while 47ercent of white fourth raders, 45 ercent of Asian fourth

raders, and 48 ercent of non-lo-income fourth raders

scored rocient or hiher in 2009, just 11 ercent of Black

students, 14 ercent of Hisanic students, and 15 ercent

of lo-income students reached that mark.2

On recent international assessments, U.S. students

erformed just aboe the aerae benchmark in

comarison to other countries. Fourth- and eihth-

raders’ erformances on the 2007 Trends in International

Mathematics and Science Stud (TIMSS) shoed no

SCIENCE EDUCATION AND

THE CALL FOR MORE TIME




imroement from 1995. 3 On the 2009 proramme for

International Student Assessment (pISA), hich tests

students’ abilit to al hat the hae learned, U.S.

15-ear-olds scored 23rd in science out of 65 countries—

slihtl behind Sloenia, poland, and Hunar, and lain

far behind oerhouses China (Shanhai and Hon Kon

onl), Sinaore, Jaan, Taian, and South Korea.

Lack of science rocienc b hih school raduation has

conseuences alon the education ieline: Onl a third of

bachelor’s derees earned in the United States are ithin

the science, technolo, enineerin, or math (STEM)

discilines, comared ith 51 ercent in Sinaore, 53

ercent in China, and 63 ercent in Jaan.4 Meanhile, the

number of enineerin students in India has skrocketed

oer the last to decades. This trend likel means this

risin Asian nation ill eceed the U.S. ercentae of STEM

majors soon, as ell.5 yet, the Bureau of Labor Statistics

rojects that the number of science and enineerin jobs

ill ro b 21.4 ercent beteen 2006 and 2016, nearl

double the rojected roth rate of 10.4 ercent for all

occuations durin the same time eriod.6

women and eole of color continue to be under-

reresented in ell-ain, secure STEM jobs. Reresentin

about half of the oerall U.S. oulation, omen made u

just 27 ercent of the science and enineerin orkforce

in 2007. African Americans, Latinos, and other under-

reresented minorities, ho toether constitute 24 ercent

of the U.S. oulation, reresent 10 ercent of science and

enineerin rofessionals ith a collee deree. Durin

the three decades recedin 2007, the ercentae ofAfrican Americans and Latinos in non-academic science and

enineerin jobs inched from three to e ercent, and

from to to four ercent, resectiel. 7

These trends hae been noted b eerone from president

Obama to America’s riate sector leadershi, from

national science oranizations to teachers and arents

across the countr. There is idesread orr that

America’s declinin science rocienc threatens national

economic cometitieness and our abilit to sole ressin

roblems in the ener, ublic health, and enironmental

sectors. when eole do not understand scientic issues,

the cannot make ell-informed decisions as oters,consumers, or arents. when subjected to inadeuate and

uninsirin science education, man oun eole ill

neer discoer that science can be the sark that fuels

their interest and success in school. Man disadantaed

students ill neer realize that a career in the sciences is a

ossibilit for them, and such a career means a a out of

oert and a stead ath toard a more romisin future.

dmnhng CnC m n ChL

At just the moment hen science education is reachin

a crisis, the dedication of ublic schools to teachin the

subject is declinin, for the simle reason that science has

been eded out as a riorit. Since the No Child Left Behind

(NCLB) leislation bean to hold schools accountablefor Enlish and math scores nearl a decade ao, time

on science in man American elementar schools has

sinicantl decreased. In one sure, school districts

reorted that since 2002, the hae decreased instructional

time for science from an aerae of 3.76 hours er eek to

2.53 hours. The aerae decrease for science as

75 minutes er eek, or a 33 ercent dro from the

re-NCLB leel.8

A recent analsis of 2007-2008 Schools and Stafn Sure

(SASS) data found that traditional ublic elementar

schools ithout etended da schedules send an aerae

of 2.57 hours er eek on science in the third rade.9

There is idesread orr

that America’s declinin

science rocienc

threatens national

economic cometitieness

and our abilit to soleressin roblems in the

ener, ublic health, and

enironmental sectors.

Some local data sources indicate that some districts are

fallin far short of roidin een to hours of science er

eek for their elementar-ae students. On a 2007 sure

of San Francisco Ba Area schools b the Larence Hall

of Science, 80 ercent of K-fth rade multile-subjectteachers ho are resonsible for teachin science in their

classrooms reorted sendin 60 minutes or less er eek

on science, and 16 ercent of these teachers reorted

sendin no time at all on science.10 The Boston public

Schools science director recentl told the Boston Globe:

“we hae schools here kids onl hae the oortunit

for science 30 to 60 minutes a eek, and e kno that’s

not enouh. Unless there’s accountabilit, it’s not reall

oin to haen because somethin else is alas oin

to take riorit.’’11



nanaL Lad and CnC duCa

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At the national leel, there are sins of a sinicant ne

focus on science education. In Noember 2009, president

Obama announced the Educate to Innovate camain, ith

the oals of increasin the STEM literac of all students;moin American students from the middle of the ack to

the to in the net decade; and eandin STEM education

and career oortunities for under-reresented rous,

includin omen and irls. The camain has announced

seeral hih-role stes, includin the creation of the

National Lab Netork and the white House Science Fair.

The administration also has endorsed the formation of

Chane the Euation, a non-rot oranization focused

on increasin the imact of business suort for better

STEM education.

Additionall, the science education communit is

deeloin ne standards and assessments to reect

recent research on student learnin and ndins from

studies of chanin orkforce needs. In 2011, the National

Research Council (NRC), in collaboration ith the American

Association for the Adancement of Science, Achiee, Inc.,

and the National Science Teachers Association, released

Framework for Next Generation Science Standards , hich

is more inclusie of technolo and enineerin than rior

standards, and includes a more interated ision of all four

STEM elds. Throuh a rocess bein manaed b Achiee,

Inc., an indeendent, education reform oranization that

hels states raise academic standards, the states are usin

this document as the basis for the joint deelomentof a sinle set of ne K-12 science education standards,

slated for comletion b 2013. while each state ill

decide hether or not to adot the ne standards, the

ill roide a solid foundation for the imroement of

science education. (Alread, 18 states reuire assin the

state’s science eam as a reuirement for raduation.12)

The National Assessment goernin Board (NAgB) also has

deeloed ne frameorks for the NAEp in science and

mathematics, as ell as technolo and enineerin, so

that startin in 2014, students ill be assessed in all four

STEM elds nationide.

These endeaors, alon ith related efforts to deelocurriculum materials and rofessional deeloment

rorams, round their aroach in the seminal science

education research ublished b the NRC in 2007. The NRC

reort Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching

Science in Grades K-8 alied knolede from conitie

science, deelomental scholo, education research,

the histor of science, and other elds to snthesize hat

is knon about ho children in rades K-8 enae in

science learnin.13 The NRC folloed u ith a 2008 reort

Ready, Set, Science! Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science

Classrooms , hich focused on ensurin that

Taking Science to School as accessible to science

education ractitioners.

Ready, Set, Science! asserts: “[g]ood science teachin

reuires (1) etensie teacher knolede, (2) ecellent

curricula, (3) effectie sstems of suort and assessment,

and (4) more time and attention than are currentl deotedto it.”14 The efforts of the Obama Administration and the

science education communit detailed aboe romise to

o a lon a toard helin American schools fulll the

rst three reuirements for ood science teachin. To meet

the fourth reuirement—more time—schools ma need to

eand the connes of the traditional school da and ear.

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Accordin to both NRC reorts, the teachin of science

should be modeled on ho scientists actuall conduct

scientic inuir, and this aroach ill necessitate a shift

in the traditional methods emloed in science education.

No loner should science in classrooms be about merel

the delier of information, but also about analzin,

alin, and reconurin that information. Students

must learn not just scientic content, but also aboutscientic rocess. Further, content and rocess cannot be

diorced from each other, but rather should be treated as

an interated hole, like real scientists do.

As an alternatie to the customar aroach, the authors

of these reorts resent four interlinked “learnin strands

that toether encomass the knolede and reasonin

skills that students eentuall must acuire to be

considered rocient in science.” (See bo on . 6.)




fu and f CnC Lanng

1. Know, use, and interpret scientic explanations of

the natural world: Students must learn the facts,

concets, rinciles, las, theories, and models

of science. This strand centers on science content,

concets, and the links beteen them—and alsoemhasizes students’ abilit to use and al their

knolede.

2. Generate and evaluate scientic evidence and

explanations: Students should acuire the

knolede and skills to build and rene models and

elanations, desin and analze inestiations, and

construct and defend aruments ith eidence.

3. Understand the nature and development of

scientic knowledge: Science should be understood

as a a of knoin, and students must reconize

that redictions or elanations can be reised onthe basis of ne eidence, learnin ne facts, or

deeloin a ne model.

4. Participate productively in scientic practices

and discourse: Reconizin that science is a

social enterrise, students should become skillful

articiants in a scientic communit in the

classroom, master roductie as of reresentin

ideas, use scientic tools, and interact ith eers

about science.15



In the real orld of classrooms, hoeer, these four

strands are rarel found realized in full. Instead, ressed

for time, science teachers often focus on the content facets

of Strand 1 , roidin students sinicant uantities of

information on a ide rane of toics, but ith insufcient

attention aid to ensurin students kno ho to al

their knolede. As for hain students enerate their onscientic data and then analze their meanin—the oals

of Strand 2—man elementar teachers, in articular, do

not hae the trainin, skills, or time to allo students the

oortunit to elore henomena on their on; instead,

the conne their Strand 2 actiities to eeriments ith

redetermined stes and results. Teachers’ focus on

Strand 3 is similarl inadeuate because content tends to

be resented in re-ackaed sniets, iin students

little chance to cateorize and manae those facts on their

on. Finall, Strand 4 , hich reuires that students ork in

rous and react to each others’ contributions in achiein

shared understandin, “is often comletel oerlooked b

educators, et research indicates it is a critical comonent

of science learnin, articularl for students from

oulations underreresented in science.”16

Throuhout this aer, e use these learnin strands as

a lens throuh hich to ie and sotliht hih-ualit

aroaches to science teachin in the roled schools.

Such a aradim does not suest that these schools

are oertl desinin their methods around the learnin

strands or that educators there necessaril concetualize

the ideal imained b the four strands. Instead, the schools

hae taken adantae of eanded science time to oen u

more oortunities for a broader aroach toard scienceeducation and, throuh this broader aroach, the hae

been able to ta their instincts as educators and interate

asects of the four strands in their teachin of science.

In art, the more limited aroach to the a science

education is conentionall racticed in the United States

arises from the fact that tical state (and district) learnin

standards rioritize content knolede aboe alication

of knolede. Indeed, Taking Science to School and Ready,

Set, Science! roose a fundamental reoranization of

K-8 science curricula to center around a dened set of

core scientic concets, creatin learnin roressions

that build students’ understandin and knolede ofeach concet oer time. This reoranization is reected

in the suortin document for the deeloment of

the Framework for Next Generation Science Standards.

whether or not districts and schools restructure their

curricula accordin to these recommendations, masterin

all four strands and raisin science rocienc amon

elementar and middle school students ill likel demand

(a) more instructional time to teach and learn science and

(b) more time to build teachers’ caacit to educate their

students in accordance ith the four strands.

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A Setember 2010 reort b the president’s Council of

Adisors on Science and Technolo addressin as to

imroe K-12 STEM education ointed out that raisin

STEM rocienc is onl half the battle—insirin ouneole to learn STEM and ursue STEM careers is just as

imortant.17 An oft-cited 2006 stud b Uniersit of virinia

Associate professor Robert Tai and colleaues found that

interest in science as a more imortant factor than

rocienc for redictin hich middle-school students

ould ultimatel earn science derees in collee.18

Science learnin desined and led b science centers,

museums, and communit-based oranizations—often

called “informal science education”—can be articularl

effectie in increasin students’ science knolede and

enaement. In 2009, the National Research Council

ublished Learning Science in Informal Environments:

People, Places and Pursuits. Declarin that “across all

enues—eerda eeriences, desined settins, and

rorams—indiiduals of all aes learn science,” the

Committee on Learning Science in Informal Environments

offered to additional learnin strands in science. These

strands are articularl releant to informal science

learnin, and bookend the four that ere dened b their

colleaues in Taking Science to School. The committee

added a rst strand focused on eeriencin ecitement,

interest, and motiation to learn about henomena in

the natural and hsical orld, and a nal strand that

encouraes eerone to think about themseles as sciencelearners and to deelo an identit as someone ho knos

about, uses, and sometimes contributes to science.19

To more recent reorts—Surrounded by Science

(NRC’s 2010 follo-u to Learning Science in Informal

Environments) and Making Science Matter , a 2010

reort b the Center for the Adancement of Informal

Science Education (CAISE)—elore the otential of

collaborations amon science institutions, communit-

based oranizations, and schools to offer enain,

comrehensie science learnin eeriences to

oun eole.20




Analzin a set of eemlar collaborations, Making

Science Matter asserts that “formal-informal”

collaborations can be a oerful strate for makin

science learnin more accessible and comellin to oun

eole b:

• Adancin students’ concetual understandin inscience;

• Imroin students’ school achieement and

attainment;

• Strenthenin students’ ositie disositions toards

science;

• Adancin teachers’ concetual understandin in

science; and

• Suortin teachers’ interation of inuir and ne

materials in the classroom.

Accordin to the authors, formal-informal collaborations

are imortant because the emerin ision of scientic

literac “inoles a rich arra of concetual understandin,

as of thinkin, caacities to use scientic knolede

for ersonal and social uroses, and an understandin

of the meanin and releance of science to eerda life”

that no sinle sector can roide b itself. Formal-informal

collaborations can enrich and connect children’s aried

learnin eeriences across time and settins, articularl

for hih-oert schools that tend to be “under-resourced,

tet-based, and test-drien.”

The reort notes that “formal-informal collaborations take

sinicant time and ener, often unacknoleded b

sonsors of the ork, and are a continuin but aluable

rocess of eolution for indiiduals and institutions.”21

Such an aroach to science education, hich blends

the best of classroom and informal learnin in school,

has the otential to be both riorous and enain, build

cometence and condence, and inole all oun eole,

reardless of their abilit to enroll in additional learnin

oortunities beond school. Sinicantl, for man

schools, enain in these artnershis at the leel of

deth reuired to roduce the student outcomes desired is

not ossible ithin the connes of the reular da.



an f h udy:

h nd f addnaL mdL

while education leaders and olicmakers are makin

stead roress in establishin ne uidelines and

frameorks that ill romote effectie science learnin,

most school leaders still need more information about theractical as the can strenthen and eand science

education in their on schools.

Such a need is eer reater no that more schools

are eandin (or seekin to eand) learnin time.

The U.S. Deartment of Education has funded rouhl

1,150 schools to increase learnin time as art of the

School Imroement grant (SIg) roram. In states like

Massachusetts and Colorado, and districts from Houston

to pittsburh to Ne Orleans, there are initiaties and

schools that hae built in sinicantl more time for the

eress urose of enhancin teachin and learnin.

Schools hae eanded their schedules in order to

eand learnin oortunities in core academic classes

and roide sulemental academic content, broaden

educational offerins throuh enrichment rorammin,

and strenthen instructional ualit b enablin increased

teacher collaboration and rofessional deeloment.

Moreoer, there is also considerable suort from

the Obama Administration and amon Conressional

education leaders for ensurin that the reauthorization

of the Elementar and Secondar Education Act (ESEA)

includes resources and a olic frameork for increasin

learnin time in hih-oert, lo-erformin schoolsacross the countr.22

yet, desite this mountin drie to eand time and a

deeenin understandin of its man benets, educators

are onl just beinnin to access information about ho to

best leerae additional time to suort student learnin.

Because the imlementation of ne standards and

accountabilit throuh No Child Left Behind has focused

on Enlish and math, the eld of science education is in

articular need of additional research, eseciall as more

states moe to enact hih standards and accountabilit

in science. This stud seres as a rst attemt to ll a

comellin need for more models of effectie eanded-time science rorammin.

udy mhdLgy

For this reort, NCTL chose to stud e schools that

hae eanded their schedules ith a oal of imroin

science instruction. we use case studies of these schools to

elore the folloin uestions:

• Ho did additional time enable school leaders

and teachers to chane their aroach to science

instruction? what ne oortunities hae the found?

• what results are the seein?

• Has student enaement in science and knolede

about science careers increased alon ith standardized

test scores?

• what unforeseen challenes are the schools

encounterin, and ho are teachers and leaders

dealin ith them?

• what recommendations do these school leaders

and teachers hae for other educators currentl

considerin eandin their schedules to deote

more time to science?

The eanded-time schools included in this stud look

er different from one another. There is a mi of urban

and rural schools, and the rane in size from 204 to 773

students. Three are elementar schools (rades K-5), and

to are middle schools (rades 6-8). Desite the rane of

sizes, locations, and aroaches to increasin learnintime, all e eanded-time schools hae majorit hih-

oert student oulations, and seeral hae sinicant

rous of students hose rst lanuae is not Enlish.

More imortantl, students in all but one of the roled

schools hae demonstrated ains in rocienc on science

assessments, a ke criterion e used for inclusion in the

stud. (The eanded-time roram at the fth school had

been in oeration less than one ear, and thus, did not

et hae state outcomes data; formatie assessment data

ere aailable.) The schools eamined are:




• MatthewKussMiddleSchoolin Fall Rier,

Massachusetts, articiatin in the state-suorted

Massachusetts Eanded Learnin Time Initiatie

• ThurgoodMarshallAcademyLowerSchool , a Ne

york Cit elementar school imlementin a 2.5-hour

etended da aailable for all students, in artnershiith the Abssinian Deeloment Cororation. The

After-School Cororation—in collaboration ith

Ne york Cit public Schools and the Deartment of

Communit and youth Deeloment—suorts the

TMALS-Abssinian artnershi as a art of its EandEd

schools initiatie

• EdithStarkeElementaryandPiersonElementary in

volusia Count, Florida—art of a district-led, and Title-I

funded, effort to lenthen the school da b one hour in

tareted Title I schools

• JaneLongMiddleSchoolin Houston, Teas, hich

eanded its school da for sith raders onl, usin

a mi of school funds, eternal rants, and resources

raised b the school’s non-rot artner, Citizen Schools

To roduce this reort, its lead author and the senior

researcher of NCTL enaed in etensie backround

research, isited each of the schools, interieed students,

teachers, administrators, district ersonnel, staff, and

leadershi of eternal artner oranizations, and also

conducted follo-u interies. The research teamobsered science classes and electies usin a modied

ersion of the “2005-2006 Local Sstemic Chane Classroom

Obseration protocol” deeloed b Horizon Research, Inc.

The folloin four chaters take a close look at each of

these schools and roide man rst-hand accounts of

the science education oals and da-to-da rorammin

elements at each school. Not surrisinl, man chanes—

both lare and small—hae taken lace at these schools

since the data ere collected. The case studies are ritten

ith information collected at the time of the site isit. In

cases here sinicant chanes hae taken lace since

srin 2011, udated information is aended at theconclusion of the stud.

while the schools each use time er differentl, the

folloin ke successful ractices emered across all

e schools:

1) Increasin students’ science enaement and

rocienc b:

• interatin more hands-on learnin actiities and

facilitatin more scientic discourse ithin the

classroom;

• imlementin secic strateies to counter

deciencies in readin leels, backround contet, and

ocabular; and

• enrichin the core science content and creatin

connections to science careers and role models

throuh formal and informal collaborations ith

outside artners.

2) Strenthenin teachers’ caacit to imlement an

enhanced science roram b:

• roidin rofessional deeloment focused on

imroin content knolede and edaoical skill;

• usin student assessment data to drie instructional

imroement; and

• ensurin that core science curricula are uniform

across classrooms and maed to district and state

standards and assessments.

In the nal chater of this reort, e elore these cross-

cuttin themes and ractices, as ell as describe seeral

ke success factors and the on-oin challenes the

schools face, as the ork to sustain and strenthen the

ains the hae made in science education.



11SCIENCE EDUCATION AND THE CALL FOR MORE TIME |

CASE STUDIES




“In suortin Eanded LearninTime, Kuss arents took a lea of

faith. No there is a consensus that

ELT is hain a dee, ositie imact

on the school and our students.”

NancyMullen,Principal,MatthewKussMiddleSchoolFallRiver,Massachusetts

MATTHEw KUSS

MIDDLE SCHOOLFALL RIvER, MASSACHUSETTS

Poster-sie pictres o stets coer te ric wlls o

te cle, spcios rst-oor llw o mttew kss

mile cool i fll ier, msscsetts. youn faces

ash infectious smiles as the accet trohies, erform in a

la, or aim a erce kick at a soccer ball. One student looksdon, readin in studied concentration, hile another jots

notations in an oen notebook as her artner eers into a

microscoe. The ictures communicate jo, ride, friendshi,

ork, and accomlishment—embodin the culture of the

Kuss communit.

This communit has come a lon a since 2004, hen, still

in its former, rundon buildin, Kuss as the rst school

in the state branded “chronicall undererformin” b the

Massachusetts Deartment of Elementar and Secondar

Education. Strulin ith hih truanc, under-enrollment,

and unsustainable leels of staff turnoer, the school’s

condition as smtomatic of Fall Rier’s decades-lon

economic decline. An industrial oerhouse in the earl

art of the 20th centur as the center of

tetile manufacturin in the U.S., Fall Rier has

struled to reain its former roserit sincethe manufacturin comanies relocated to

the South and eentuall oerseas. More than

80 ercent of the 650 students at Kuss are lo-

income, comared to 34 ercent across

the state.

WhyExpandedLearningTimeand

WhyScience?

Nanc Mullen as aointed rincial of Kuss

in the summer of 2005. Almost immediatel

after arriin, Mullen led her staff in alin to

join the rst cohort of Eanded Learnin Time

(ELT) schools under the ne Massachusetts initiatie. Thelanned the school redesin oer the course of the 2005-06

school ear.

In Setember 2006, Kuss oened ith an eiht-hour school

da for all students and teachers (about 100 minutes

more er da than the re-ELT schedule). Since then,

ELT has roed to be a oerful catalst to accelerate

student academic achieement and create a ell-rounded

education and enrichment roram that increased student

enaement and attendance. In 2009, hen Kuss moed to



its ne buildin erched on a hillto oerlookin Mount

Hoe Ba, its academic transformation as alread ell

undera. Kuss has made stead achieement ains,

reachin Adeuate yearl proress (Ayp) tarets for the

ast to academic ears. The school no has a aitin list

and is home to the district’s gifted and Talented roram.

From the beinnin of the ELT Initiatie, Mullen sa the

otential to imroe science instruction. Lo rocienc

leels eidenced the need, and the Kuss had ne ener

around science instruction created b its desination in

2005 as a NASA Elorer School. The NASA roram, hich

included teacher rofessional deeloment, student

inolement in simulcasts and “e-missions,” and cross-

rorammin ithin the NASA school netork, attracted a

cohort of talented science teachers to the Kuss.

Said Mullen, “Massachusetts doesn’t count science for Ayp

in middle school, but e consider the eihth-rade science

test scores to be just as imortant as Enlish lanuae

arts and math scores.” The Kuss aroach to imroin

science rocienc is to-fold: eandin and imroin

core academic science time and creatin a set of hands-

on science electies to increase students’ enaement

and knolede. In addition, lannin and rofessional

deeloment time suorts teachers in usin the science

time effectiel.

m m f CnC aChng and Lanng

CoreScienceClass

In resonse to the state’s interention in 2004, Kuss

redesined its schedule to include a 90-minute dail

block of math, science, and Enlish lanuae arts for all

students beinnin in the 2005-06 school ear. with 300additional hours of learnin time beinnin in fall 2006,

Kuss imlemented an innoatie modular schedule so that

each of the 650 students no has an indiidualized schedule

that includes a customized balance of academics and

enrichment.

Said science teacher and 18-ear Kuss eteran Cind

wrobel, “Hain the etra time is aluable. we reinforce

ke concets, and e hae the oortunit to resent them

in different as to meet the dierse needs of students.”

Continued wrobel, “Our students lack role models, and

enerall lack oortunit and eosure to ne eeriences

and different laces. ELT ies us the oortunit to roide

the uidance and nurturin our students need.”

Oer the ast si ears, the science facult has alined

the curricula to the state science standards, hich Math/

Science Deartment Chair Ken ward onl half-jokinl

referred to as “the bible.” The facult team is no orkin

ith the other Fall Rier middle schools and the elementar

schools on erticall alinin the K-12 curricula, deeloin

uniform interim assessments across the district, and

comletin an analsis of an as beteen the curricula

and the standards.

ward, ho has been teachin at Kuss for more than 30

ears, described the imact of additional time on science

instruction: “The eanded time has alloed us to interate

more rior into teachin and learnin. we can o more in-

deth and ask more comle uestions of the students. we

hae the time to reuire not just the anser but the h

behind the anser—e teach students ho to resent their

eidence, and e hel them to make better connections

amon scientic concets. we can take the time no to

make sure eerthin is resonatin.”

In 2008, Kuss educators identied imroed ritin

skills as an academic riorit across rades and subjects.Students demonstrated a distinct eakness in achiein

rocienc in “oen resonse” uestions (multi-ararah

essas on state standardized tests). No, eer class in

the school, includin science, interates ritin into the

curriculum and dislas eemlar student oen resonses

ith arsed elanations of ho the author ould hae

receied a four: the hihest oen resonse score on state

eams. Science teacher Sarah Chain ae details: “Kids are

ritin and editin their ork as a rou, ith their eers.

The are constantl oin throuh the rocess of ritin,

editin, and reision as art of the science class. we deote

additional time to this riorit.”

mttew kss mile cool tet rops

2010-2011

Qualify for free/reduced lunch 82%

First Language Not English 23%

Special Education 18%

MCAS: Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

The science MCAS is rst administered in fth grade. The eighth-grade

science test, which covers science material taught in sixth through eighth

grades, does not impact a school’s AYP or an individual student’s grade

promotion. Passing one tenth-grade science MCAS (Biology, Chemistry,

Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering) is required for high school

graduation in Massachusetts.

MATTHEw KUSS MIDDLE SCHOOL | 13




h maaChu xPandd Lanng m (L)

nav

Massachusetts is the onl state that has imlemented a

ublicl-funded, stateide Eanded Learnin Time (ELT)

Initiatie. Folloin a lannin ear, an oriinal cohort

of ten schools (includin Matthe Kuss Middle School inFall Rier) oened as ELT schools in fall 2006. The roram

has eanded to 19 ublic schools serin a total of 10,500

students in nine districts. The schools receie $1,300 er

student from the state Deartment of Elementar and

Secondar Education (DESE) to eand instructional

time b a minimum of 300 hours er ear. Encouraed b

DESE to comletel redesin their school da from the

round u, these schools are reuired to add time for core

academics, enrichment courses, and teacher lannin

alon ith rofessional deeloment.

The Massachusetts ELT Initiatie is based on these

uidin rinciles:

• iictl more hors o Leri or er tet

—Each articiatin school adds 300 hours oer the

course of the school ear. This time can be added in the

form of loner school das or additional das in the

school ear, but eer student must articiate.

• Coplete cool eesi—Each articiatin school

aims to comletel redesin its educational roram

tied to student needs, student oals, and a clear, school-

ide academic focus.

• blce use o aitiol ie—Additional time must

be distributed in three ke areas: (1) core academics, (2)

enrichment oortunities, and (3) teacher lannin and

rofessional deeloment.

• Copetitio or tte fi—Alin districts and

a subset of their schools must: (1) hae comleted a

riorous lannin rocess, (2) deeloed a hih-ualit

ELT roosal, and (3) be able to roe that the hae thecaacit for successful imlementation.

• fleiilit otio—particiatin schools

and districts hae the eibilit to create their on

redesin aroach, includin oals, stafn lans,

labor areements, comensation, and schedules.

This eibilit is intended to sur innoation and has

resulted in a ide rane of aroaches to the comle

challenes of addin time.

• clsie Pli Process Prior to pleettio—

Schools are encouraed to include dierse stakeholders,

eseciall teachers and arents, in a comrehensie

lannin and redesin rocess oer the course of a

full ear so the can deelo hiher ualit roosals

and hae reater success hen imlementin the

eanded-time schedule.

• terl Prtersips to ce cool eesi—

preference is afforded to schools that include

artnershis in arious asects of the educational

roram, because eternal artners can contribute

eertise and resources that schools ma not hae

hen orkin alone. partners can include uniersities,

communit-based oranizations, health centers,businesses, artists, and man others.

• accotilit or eslts—Each ELT school has

deeloed a three-ear erformance areement ith

the state, settin achieement oals across a number of

areas. In addition, the U.S. Deartment of Education is

fundin a si-ear ealuation of the Initiatie.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 17/68MATTHEw KUSS MIDDLE SCHOOL | 15

nav uL

After four ears, Massachusetts ELT schools are

demonstratin the imact more time can hae.

An ealuation shoed in 2010 that, comared to

other hih-oert schools and to a set of matched

comarison schools, ELT schools are more likel tobe hih-roth schools. (Hih-roth schools are those

here hih-oert students are learnin far faster

than eected.) There is a fair deree of ariation in

both imlementation and outcomes amon the 19

schools, but there are some standout erformers,

eseciall for those that hae been in the roram

the lonest.23 Fourth-ear schools sinicantl outerform

their matched comarison schools in fth-rade science,

the tested subject here ELT schools roide sinicantl

more time than the matched schools.

Fourth-ear schoolssinicantl outerform

their matched comarison

schools in fth-rade science,

the tested subject here

ELT schools roide

sinicantl more time thanthe matched schools.

As for outcomes not related to test results, a statisticall

sinicant hiher roortion of teachers in ELT schools

reorted that the are satised ith the amount of time

aailable for instruction in Enlish lanuae arts, math,

and eseciall science and social studies than those in

the matched comarison. Students in ELT schools also

reorted that the ere able to choose actiities not

reiousl aailable.

abu maaChu 2020

(State Afliate of National Center on Time & Learning)

Since 2006, Massachusetts 2020 has roided technical

assistance to suort the lannin, imlementation, and

continuous imroement of the Eanded Learnin Time

Initiatie at articiatin schools across the state. Thisassistance includes:

• Deeloin and leadin bi-monthl conenins here

ELT school and district leadershi teams receie in-

deth, tareted assistance on toics related to effectie

ELT imlementation;

• proidin monthl school-leel coachin and assistance

to a subset of ELT schools, in artnershi ith Focus on

Results, a national oranization that roides in-deth

technical assistance to schools aimed at imroin

student outcomes;

• Coordinatin eriodic school isits for ELT schools to see

effectie eanded-time ractices in action;

• Facilitatin netorkin and cross-school sharin

oortunities for current ELT schools and those

interested in learnin more about eanded time

models;

• Adocatin at the state and national leels for fundin

and to build suort for ELT;

• proidin research and analtical suort, articularlaround identifin effectie ractices and emerin

models; and

• Facilitatin and suortin ELT schools in creatin

artnershis ith eternal oranizations to enhance

teachin and learnin in multile as, includin

roidin enrichment rorammin, teacher

rofessional deeloment, or in-deth academic

content. In 2008, Massachusetts 2020 created the ELT

School-Communit grant proram to roide additional

suort to eemlar school-communit artnershis.




mttew J. kss mile cool 2010-2011

Number of Students: 650

Grades: 6 – 8

Students Participating in

the Expanded Day: 100%

Former Schedule: 7:40 AM – 2:30 PM

Expanded Day Schedule: 7:13 AM – 3:35 PM

Time on Science per Week Core Science:

(pre 2005 redesign): 260 minutes

Expanded Day Time on Core Science:

Science per Week: 450 minutes

Elective Science per week: 90 minutes

mttew kss tet deorpics | 2010-2011

[72%]

[1%]

[16%]

[2%]

[7%][3%]



17MATTHEw KUSS MIDDLE SCHOOL |

Throuh a artnershi ith the Urban Ecolo Institute

(UEI), Kuss facult members also hae used the eanded

science time to interate eld studies into the core

curricula for eer student. In 2009, Massachusetts 2020

brokered this connection beteen Kuss and UEI, a Boston-

based nonrot dedicated to increasin outh interest in

science and enironmental steardshi throuh hands-on, inuir-based urban ecoloical studies. At the time

the Kuss artnershi bean, UEI had deeloed curricula

and trainin focused on inter ecolo and the harbor

and atershed ecosstems for hih school teachers, and

UEI also as artnerin ith 21st Centur Communit

Learnin Centers and other after-school rorams, but had

not orked directl in middle school classrooms. Lindse

Cotter-Haes, UEI’s Director of Education prorams,

elained, “The er rst ear e started orkin ith

Kuss, the oe our eld studies riht into the core

academic science roram.”

Last ear, UEI as aarded a rant from the Dominion

Foundation to deelo eld studies units for Kuss

focused on the nearb Taunton Rier. UEI is roidin

rofessional deeloment to Kuss science facult on

runnin an outdoor classroom; conductin eld studies

ith rous of students; and teachin the students to

use euiment includin hand-held gpS units and diital

cameras. The studies focus on the health of the Taunton

Rier and its immediate enironment and coer toics

such as ater and soil ualit and the imact of inasie

secies. As art of the chemistr unit, students analze the

H, salinit, coliform, hoshates, and nitrates in ater

from the Taunton Rier and the ocean at hih and lotide. The units are linked to the state standards at rade

leel. One teacher reorted: “Students in m class asked,

ithout romtin, about ho the Braton Street oer

lant affects the rier. The ere concerned about the

temerature of the rier encourain roth of coliform

bacteria, as the didn’t ant the rier to stink. There ere

also numerous comments of ‘I feel like a real scientist’ and

a eneral imroement in behaior and lab skills as the

steed u to the task of usin ‘real science stuff’ and

urin out difcult directions.”

Because Kuss is incororatin these units into the

core science curriculum, eer student in the schoolarticiated in eld studies this ear, for a eriod of

beteen one and four eeks. Cotter-Haes of UEI reeled

in seein the entire Kuss science facult embrace eld

studies. One teacher reorted, “Our eihth-rade class

has been usin the [UEI] curriculum throuhout the ear,

incororatin actiities such as nitroen cclin and food

ebs. These actiities hel to sulement our eistin

curriculum and address reiousl missin standards.

Students reall enjoed the nitroen ccle unit. The could

see ho nitroen moed throuh lants and atmoshere

and animals, sometimes ettin stuck in one articular

loo. This roided them ith a more accurate icture

than the tet, hich makes it seem as if molecules ccle

eerhere at all times.”

Cotter-Haes noted that teachers sa man eamlesof students ith rior behaior and enaement issues

ecellin in the eld studies units. UEI has contracted ith

Lesle Uniersit in Cambride, Massachusetts to formall

ealuate its initiatie, and is elorin the otential of

eandin its artnershi to other Fall Rier schools.

ScienceElectives

In addition to e 90-minute core academic science

eriods, all Kuss students take a 90-minute block of

electie science er eek. Science electies are desined

ith to main oals: 1) taretin as in the standard

curricula or concets that students are hain difcult

rasin and 2) aakenin students’ assion for science

b hain teachers desin and teach electies focused on

their on science interests. Science electies—alon ith

enrichments in erformin arts, sorts, martial arts, and

other areas—are desined seuentiall to build student

master oer time. Teachers are ien lannin time to

desin their electies, hich are maed to the state

science standards.

kss ciece lecties 2010-2011

Design Lab

Duct -Tape EngineeringWeather Watchers

Field Studies (in partnership with the

Urban Ecology Institute)

Project Go-Green!

Astronomy I, II, and III (in partnership with The

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

Forensics

Marine Ecology

Science of the TitanicMosaic of Science




Chain teaches the Field Studies electie, hich deles

deeer into the UEI curricula. “ The oortunit to teach

science electies as a bi reason I came here. I ant

to teach the science I am assionate about—hands-on

ecolo.” The electies focus on actie, roject-based

learnin. Science teacher Jamie guile ointed out,

“In science, knolede comes from mistakes, fromarticiation, and from teamork. Electies allo this and

the kids are into it.” All the electies are desined around

the science standards, and coer concets and rinciles

that are tauht in the core science classes.

Said guile, “In seenth-rade science, e coer uniersal

desin and the students build a bride in one of the

hands-on actiities. The Desin Lab electie ies them

the orientation, the foundational knolede for this.” The

teachers also noted the condence and ride dislaed

b those students ho hae built rior knolede of a

scientic concet throuh an electie. “It’s reat hen

the hae condence in their on knolede of science,”

said guile.

Students in Michelle Buress’s project gO green! class make

reccled aer and stud enironmental steardshi.

Buress said, “One of the benets of electies is that

students et to choose them. Sometimes the choose

somethin because a friend did, and the don’t realize ho

much the ill be interested and learn and be enaed.”

In addition to the collaboration ith UEI, Kuss has built

collaborations ith project Oceanolo and the Harard

Smithsonian Center for Astrohsics around scienceelecties.

Project ceolo: Last ear Buress and guile

articiated in Buildin Ne Enland Connections, a to-

da rofessional deeloment institute offered b project

Oceanolo in groton, Connecticut, focused on usin the

atersheds and coastal enironments of Ne Enland as a

contet for learnin science. The institute, funded throuh

the National Oceanic and Atmosheric Administration’s

Ba-watershed Education and Trainin proram, roided

Buress ith content and lesson lans for her Marine

Ecolo electie. guile and Buress subseuentl led the

sith rade on an oerniht tri to project Oceanolohere the articiated in a research roject of coastal

and atershed enironments hich included takin an

oceanorahic research cruise, orkin in a laborator,

and comletin eld studies. Bristol Communit Collee

underrote the cost of the sith-rade tri.

ciece mCa eiew: In the second half of the academic

ear, eihth raders take a 20-eek course hich reies

content on the Science & Technolo MCAS (the state

standardized assessment, hich tests master of the state’s

science standards for rades si throuh eiht). The Kuss

science facult members jointl teach the course, ith the

teacher of each rade leel focusin on the science contenttauht durin that rade. “It hels to hae different teachers

lead the course—eseciall teachers the eihth-raders

hae not had in a hile. It jos their memor for sith-rade

science hen the sith-rade teacher is the one reiein

it. And it makes sense—those are the teachers currentl

teachin that content,” said guile.

m uPP f ung CnC m ffCvLy

Kuss science teachers meet eekl in their rade-leel

rou, and monthl as an entire facult. The share

strateies for oranizin the classroom, facilitatin

student conersation, and desinin actiities, and the

obsere their colleaues at ork. Chain noted, “we

reall ant to be in each other’s classrooms more. we

ant to eeriment ith different teachin aroaches

and obsere ho it orks, to create as to continuousl

imroe.”

Said deartment chair ward, “The additional time has

enabled teachers to meet more freuentl and more

effectiel. Teachers are lookin at data, sharenin their

skills on data analsis, and sharin data ith each other.”As an ELT school, Kuss receies free trainin, throuh

Massachusetts 2020 and Focus on Results, in ho to use

data to drie instructional imroement. princial Nanc

Mullen noted, “One bi ah-ha moment for us as hen

Focus on Results and Massachusetts 2020 ured us to

disla the data rominentl, share it ith kids, set mutual

oals, and hae the kids and families sin MCAS contracts.

This created shared accountabilit—e are all resonsible

for the success of our kids.”

Kuss science teachers also articiate in science-focused

rofessional deeloment led b Chain, ho is a trainer

for the FOSS (Full Otion Science Sstem) curriculumused in the core science classes, and throuh science

artner oranizations.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 21/68MATTHEw KUSS MIDDLE SCHOOL | 19

LCv PLgh: anmy n-dPh

Throuh its membershi in the NASA Elorer Schools

netork, Kuss Middle School as introduced to the

Harard-Smithsonian Center for Astrohsics (CfA) and

its Science Education Deartment (SED). Kuss students

ere then inited to join a roject SED as leadin forthe National Science Foundation (NSF), called Innoatie

Technolo Enabled Astronom for Middle Schools,

or ITEAMS. part of NSF’s ITEST (Innoatie Technolo

Eeriences for Students and Teachers) roram, the oal

of the ITEAMS roject is to insire articiants to ursue

STEM careers and increase their master of foundational

STEM subjects.

Usin the SED’s robotic telescoes in an online

MicroObserator, Kuss students inoled in ITEAMS

enae in real-life research. Thanks to a secure ebsite,

students can een use the telescoes hile sittin in front

of their comuters at school.

Said CfA’s Science Education Secialist Jaimie Miller, “The

students are enaed in the same kind of research as our

astrohsicists.” The artnershi is in its third ear and is

rearin for scale-u. There are a total of 70 Kuss students

articiatin, slit beteen rst, second, and third ear

of articiation.

The roject’s learnin roression beins ith rst-ear

students learnin ho to use the robotic telescoes b

eaminin dee sace objects and inestiatin uestions

of distance, size, and scale. Second-ear students areenaed in indiidual research rojects on subjects of their

choice—for eamle, hases of the moon or secic sace

objects. Said Miller, “In the same a scientists do, the

take ictures ith the telescoes, donload and rocess

the imaes, and use them in their research.” The third-ear

cohort comletes a castone roject contributin to the

SED’s real-time stud of eolanets. This cohort orks as a

rou to take ictures and analze data.

The roject is led b Kuss science teachers Sarah Chain

and Sand Sullian, ho teach the Astronom electie

and articiate in the SED’s rofessional deeloment

three to four times er ear. The SED also roides access

to the robotic telescoes, other tools, and actiit lans

for the teachers. Elicit connections to science careers

are made on eld tris, here students trael to Harard

to isit the science laboratories and to the Ne Enland

Auarium for a behind-the-scenes tour to meet the

Auarium’s marine scientists.

Miller said, “what I loe most about [the Kuss students]

is that the all ask uestions. That’s the beinnin of an

kind of academic learnin—the abilit to ask uestions.

The are askin the same uestions that scientists are

inestiatin riht no. The hae a reall keen insiht

and curiosit that is imressie.” Miller noted that the

classroom enironment created b Chain and Sullian

encouraes articiation and inuir: “The teachers create

an enironment here uestionin is oka—it’s eected

—and the students are treated euitabl, b each other

and the teachers. The kids are reall smilin from the

inside hen the et the ansers riht.”

The roject is ealuatin its imact throuh subject

matter tests and a student sure assessin self-identit

(identifin as a “science erson”), efcac (feelin caable

of becomin a scientist) and career intention.




mPaC

The additional time for science and the dee formal-

informal collaborations built b the Kuss throuh ELT

enable students to become more enaed in their

on science learnin in as that are alined ith the

National Research Council ndins on teachin and

learnin science. For eamle, throuh the Urban EcoloInstitute curricula, students al science concets to

enironmental concerns in their home enironment,

hich is an eamle of Strand 1 from Taking Science

to School—to kno, use, and interret scientic

elanations of the natural orld. Students ho collect

data throuh UEI and the Harard-Smithsonian Center

for Astrohsics Astronom roject, alon ith receiin

elicit instruction on ho to resent eidence, are

eosed to Strand 2 skills and knolede—eneratin

and ealuatin scientic eidence and elanations. As

the third-ear students contribute to the center’s real-

time stud of eolanets, the learn about the nature of

science (Strand 3) and foster their on identities as science

learners and eole ho kno about, use, and contribute

to science, reectin a learnin strand introduced in the

NRC’s Surrounded by Science. Encourain students to ask

scientic uestions and discuss ideas resectfull ith

eers eemlies Strand 4—articiatin roductiel in a

scientic communit.

The focus on science in the eanded-time curriculum

has ositiel imacted Kuss student erformance on

the state standardized science test. From 2007 to 2010,

the ercentae of eihth raders scorin rocient or

adanced on the science MCAS nearl doubled from 15ercent to 27 ercent, outacin oerall district ains

and bestin the district aerae of 22 ercent rocient

in 2010. Kuss staff members are clearl not satised ith

a 27 ercent rocienc rate, but the kno the scores

are headed in the riht direction. Deartment Chair ward

surmised that students’ science rocienc is increasin

as a result of a combination of strateies, catalzed b the

aailabilit of more time. “we hae chaned a lot of thins

in the last fe ears: we instituted the orksho model

and learned ho to better use data. we increased

eer obserations, and redesined the curricula.” The

continuin focus is on imroin students’ ritin and

readin comrehension skills hile simultaneousl

introducin and reinforcin ke scientic concets.

princial Mullen beliees the ELT electies hae also

increased students’ assion, as ell as their abilit in

science, as eidenced b the increasin number of Kuss

students choosin to enroll in science honors and/or

adanced lacement classes in hih school.

Beond science, ELT has had additional ositie imact on

Matthe Kuss Middle School.

crese La mt prociec: Beteen 2006-

2010, Kuss increased the ercentae of students scorin

rocient or adanced on MCAS b 34 oints in math and

b 16 oints in ELA, as comared to the other three middle

schools in Fall Rier, hich hae seen ains of 18 oints

in math and 10 oints in ELA durin the same time eriod.

The Kuss math ains hae been articularl imressie.

Oer the course of e ears, Kuss eihth raders hae all

but eliminated a 28-oint achieement a ith the state.24

crese erollet ttece: Enrollment at

Kuss has raned from a lo of 480 before ELT to 650 for the

2010-2011 school ear, makin it the larest of Fall Rier’s

four middle schools. In addition to the rise in enrollment,

dail attendance rates hae increased to 94 ercent, and

susension rates hae decreased 10 ercent since the 2008-09 school ear.

hi rtes o tecer stisctio: In 2009, 90 ercent of

Kuss teachers articiatin in a sure roject areed

that their school “sets hih standards for academic

erformance” and 96 ercent areed that teachers in their

school “are a rofessional communit of learners focused

on bein ood teachers.”25


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 23/68SCIENCE EDUCATION AND THE CALL FOR MORE TIME | 21MATTHEw KUSS MIDDLE SCHOOL |

ELT electies hae increased

students’ assion, as ell

as their abilit in science, as

eidenced b the increasin

number of Kuss students

choosin to enroll in science

honors and/or adanced

lacement classes in hih school.

2007

Massachusetts Deartment of Education: Matthe J. Kuss Middle School

15%

16%

33%

18%

22%

20%20%

22%

39% 39% 40%

13%

20%

27%

2008 2009 2010

nrrowi o ciece gp wit tte

8th grade Science MCAS Test

% a

t o r a

b o v e p r o f c i e n t

District

State

Kuss




THURgOOD MARSHALL

ACADEMy LOwER SCHOOLnW yk, nW yk

alts cilre o te roo mrsll ace

Lower cool (maL) i hrle sre riel, ope

er tt elies itese ocs o te ts t .

Hih eectations for children’s success are communicated

not just in the a teachers uer children on the subjectmatter, but also in the ubiuitous ortraits of African-

American icons ast and resent and the eemlars of

student academic ork and art rojects carefull chosen for

the alls of the hallas and classrooms.

TMALS as founded in 2005 b the Abssinian Deeloment

Cororation (ADC) in artnershi ith the Ne york Cit

public Schools and Ne visions for public Schools. The

elementar school is art of the reK-12th rade education

ieline sheherded b ADC in Central Harlem. The ieline

beins ith Head Start and culminates ith the Thurood

Marshall Academ for Learnin and Social Chane (TMALSC),

a middle/hih school created b ADC, Ne visions, and the

Ne york Cit public Schools in 1993. TMALSC no enrolls

550 students in rades 6-12 in a state-of-the-art buildin

comleted b ADC and its artners in 2004 as the rst hih

school built in Harlem in more than 50 ears. The hih

school boasted an 88 ercent cohort raduation rate for theclass of 2009, ersus a 63 ercent cohort raduation rate in

Ne york Cit oerall.

Since 1989, ADC has been a driin force for the

reitalization of Central Harlem, leerain

$600 million in resources to suort its housin,

economic reitalization, ciic enaement,

social serices, and education initiaties. Under

the leadershi of founder Dr. Calin O. Butts III,

astor of the historic Abssinian Batist Church,

ADC’s communit deeloment strate is drien

b the coniction that education is the central

element in lon-term communit reitalization.

Both the middle/hih school and TMALS share the motto “it

takes a illae to raise a child,” and althouh the hrase is

almost cliché, a isit to TMALS is a lesson in ho oerful

this notion can be hen it is lied and breathed eer da.

TMALS is led b princial Sean Daenort, hose condent,

distributie leadershi stle alins ell ith the school’s

artnershi model. His oal is to ensure that eer teacher

is euied ith the condence and skills to teach each

“Focusin on science throuh eanded

time has oened the door for us to be

a better school.”

Sean Daenort, princial (2004 – 2011)

Thurood Marshall Academ Loer School, Ne york, Ne york


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 25/68THURgOOD MARSHALL ACADEMy LOwER SCHOOL | 23

subject ell. He sends a lot of time in the classrooms,

obserin the teachers and askin the students to elain

hat the are learnin. His stle is reected in the a

facult members readil collaborate ith one another and

ith the on-site ADC staff. Said Josh Liinston, Manaer

of School-Based prorams for ADC, “TMALS is a er secial

communit that’s becomin a model for our educationork.” Daenort orks closel ith Liinston and Lucile

Middleton, a TMALS teacher and ADC Educational Liaison,

to create additional oortunities and suorts for TMALS

students. Under Ne york Cit’s rincial emoerment

model, Daenort has ide latitude to make budet and

stafn decisions that suort his ision.26

One of the major resources ADC and TMALS manae

toether is the lacement of nine AmeriCors Fellos ho

assist teachers durin the core classroom time and leadafternoon actiities from 1:00 pM to 5:30 pM each da. with

a total teachin staff of 15, an additional nine AmeriCors

members add sinicantl to the school’s caacit to

roide one-on-one attention to its students.

WhyExpandedLearningTimeandWhyScience?

when Daenort and Liinston heard about The After-

School Cororation’s Eanded Learnin Time ilot in

2007 (see bo, . 25), the immediatel decided to al,

knoin ho the struled to schedule adeuate

instructional time in core subjects ithin the si-hour-

and-tent-minute Ne york Cit school da. The

desire to imroe and eand science instruction as adriin factor in their decision to al for the initiatie.

princial Daenort elained, “Initiall e ere lookin

for eosure and enaement. There is not enouh

conersation about science in the African-American

communit. we ant our kids to understand that this is a

subject the can conuer.”

The TMALS team redesined the school da to incororate

eanded time and bean the roram in 2008. Liinston

of ADC said, “we looked at the da as a blank canas. we

hae the children from 8:30 to 5:30: who do e ant our

students to be? what do e ant them to learn and kno

ho to do? Ho do e create a da that ill suort our

children to meet these oals?” The lannin team createdAcademic Das (to afternoons a eek) and Enrichment

Das (to afternoons a eek), ith Fridas resered

for communit serice rojects led b the AmeriCors

team. This rorammin for students on Frida also

enables teachers to articiate in eekl meetins and

rofessional deeloment. The team created a schedule

hich roued rades K-2 and 3-5, alternatin the

Academic and Enrichment Das for each rou.

For the Enrichment Das rorammin, ADC oranizes

oa, art, dance, and caoeira (a Brazilian art form that

combines elements of martial arts, sorts, and music),

amon a rich assortment of resources. Liinston said, “we

understand ho mood and social/emotional and hsical

health imact a child’s loe of learnin. The enrichments

are desined to suort the total health deeloment of

eer child.” Academic Das include an additional science

instruction block tauht b TMALS teachers. Althouh not

reuired to ork the eanded da, 12 of the 15 teachers

ot to teach in the afternoons.


In a Februar 2006 Education Week article, The After-School

Cororation (TASC) president and CEO Luc Friedman,

alon ith co-author Jane quinn of the Children’s Aid

Societ, discussed the otential of after-school rorams

to suort science education:

“After-school rorams offer an ideal settin for nurturin

the otential scientist in eer student, as ell as for

reinforcin the science tauht durin school hours.

Comared to the school da, these rorams’ smaller

rous, loner time slots, and less-formal settins roide

oortunities for oun eole to isit museums, stud

neihborhood enironments, cultiate ardens, erformlaborator eeriments, and hae their loe of discoer

aakened in countless other as.”27

princial Daenort’s oal as to brin the uniue

benets of after-school science learnin into TMALS

classrooms durin the eanded da, hile at the same

time build his facult’s comfort leel and condence in

teachin science. Daenort also anted to strenthen

the interation of literac and math actiities into science

roo mrsll ace Lower cool (maL)

2010-2011


Grades: K – 5Former Schedule: 8:30 AM – 2:45 PM

Expanded Day Schedule: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM

Former Time on


Expanded Day Time on





learnin. He said, “we anted to take a different aroach

for the afternoons —less formal, more hands-on and

enain. The children understand it is still school. The

are still in uniform. But there are no rades; it’s a friendl

enironment for students to take risks and make mistakes.

Learnin science is all about learnin from mistakes.”

Daenort looked to TASC’s Frontiers in Urban Science

Initiatie (FUSE) to hel nd the aroriate science

curricula for the TMALS eanded time and also roide

hands-on trainin for the teachers (see bo, . 27). The FUSE

initiatie has ealuated seeral different curricula and

selected those that:

• are inuir-based and hands-on;

• inole outh in deeloin hiher-order thinkin skills

such as decision-makin, lannin, roblem-solin, and

reectin;

• include oortunities for arental inolement;

• roide oortunities for outh to learn about role

models;

• encourae outh to see themseles as learners;

• use techniues aroriate for a ariet of learninstles, ith attention to the needs of under-reresented

oulations;

• use affordable materials that are eas to nd;

• be eas to imlement b staff ho hae no science

backround;

• address national STEM standards;

• include a trainin comonent; and

• roide aroriate content for an urban, dierse

audience.28

For the 2010-2011 school ear, TASC offered the

folloin curricula:

• After-School Science plus (grades K-8)

• After-School Conseration Club (grades 3-6)

• 4-H wonderise (grades 3-7)

• BirdSleuth: After-School Inestiators (grades 3-6)• Miin in Math (grades K-5)

• NASA—The planetar Neihborhood (grades 3-5)

• Afterschool Unierse (grades 6-8)

TMALS chose Science plus for the rst rade, the Afterschool

Conseration Club for the second rade, 4H wonderise for

the third rade, and science curricula desined b teachers

in the fourth and fth rades. The 2010-2011 school ear

as TMALS’s second ear ith Afterschool Science plus, and

their rst ear ilotin the other rorams.

The teachers are enthusiastic about After-School

Science plus, created b the Academ for Educational

Deeloment’s Educational Euit Center. TMALS sent

a team of teachers to the TASC-sonsored After-School

Science plus trainin, here the conducted eeriments

the ould subseuentl teach the students. Debra Turner,

a third-rade teacher, noted, “Science plus emhasizes

constructin thins, urin it out, and ettin ecited

about science. Since the eeriments use eerda

materials, the children often reeat them at home. when

the share hat the learned in school, the are leaders and

build condence, and then the families are also enaed.”

princial Daenort added, “Some of our teachers struleith science and math. The Science plus curricula is

accessible and elcomin, for them and the students.”

Teacher Lucile Middleton commented on the imact of

Science plus on TMALS: “One of our teachers had a er

traditional aroach to science: orksheets, readin

chaters in book, memorization, testin, and on to the net

chater. Science plus trainin has been transformatie

for this teacher. No that classroom has centers and

eeriments throuhout the school da.” Another

teacher added, “Science plus has heled ie teachers

the condence to teach science, and it’s chanin the

a e teach.”

maL tet rops

2010-2011


Limited English Procient 0%


Source: Ne york Cit public Schools



xPandd Lanng m and h af-ChL

CPan (aC)

In Ne york, The After-School Cororation (TASC) leads and

suorts a cit-ide netork of 17 ublic elementar and

middle schools that are eandin the school da b

at least 35 ercent—more than 60 additional das ofschool—each ear. TASC EandED Schools (an initiatie

launched in 2007 as Eanded Learnin Time schools)

is manaed in artnershi ith the Ne york Cit

Deartment of Education and the Deartment of youth

and Communit Deeloment.

Most of the EandED Schools bean their eanded

schedules as oluntar rorams that sered anhere

from 29 ercent to 100 ercent of the students. Oer the

course of the three-ear ilot, the eanded da has

remained oluntar for students, but at four schools nearl

all the students no articiate in the EandED Schools

roram. For eamle, at Thurood Marshall Academ

Loer School, 91 ercent of the 204 students attend the

eanded da.

Durin these additional hours, each school artners ith

a communit-based oranization to roide enrichment

rorammin. The eanded school da is desined b

a cross-sector team, includin the rincial, teachers,

communit artners, arents, and a school staff member

ho is the educational liaison beteen the school and

communit-based oranization staff. TASC adises schools

to send at least 40 ercent of added time on academic

suort; at least 30 ercent on arts, sorts, communitserice, and leadershi actiities; and also to add a third

dail meal and recreational actiities to the schedule.

uL

As art of an interim ealuation of a three-ear ilot of

TASC’s eanded-time model, teachers ere asked hether

it imroed their students’ learnin. Eiht-e ercent

of teachers in EandED Schools reorted imroed

learnin for articiants. The ealuation also reealed thatstudent attendance rates at EandED Schools ere about

four ercentae oints hiher than students in matched

comarison schools.29

aot aC: Founded in 1998 ith a challene rant from

the Oen Societ Institute, TASC’s ision is that “kids from

all backrounds ill hae access to the rane of hih-

ualit actiities beond the school da that eer famil

ants for their children: eeriences that suort their

intellectual, creatie, and health deeloment and hel

them to be their best, in and out of school.”30 TASC has

suorted more than 150 communit oranizations to

oerate dail after-school and eanded learnin rorams

in 325 Ne york Cit ublic schools, serin 300,000

students. TASC also has been a ke leader in deeloin

infrastructure to suort after-school rorams, includin

staff trainin and education, curricula deeloment and

dissemination, eanded fundin models, and olic and

adocac at the cit, state, and national leels.

fn n uban CnC duCan (fu)

TASC launched the Frontiers in Urban Science Education(FUSE) initiatie in 2007 to increase oun eole’s interest

and enaement in STEM learnin in school, after school,

and oer the summer. FUSE’s oal is to catalze a culture

shift amon after-school leaders and staff in suort of

hih-ualit informal science education (ISE) ithin after-

school rorams. FUSE emlos a to-fold aroach to

brin about this culture shift and to shae ractice. First, a

“rass-tos” strate enaes leaders and staff of schools

and after-school rorams, oernment ofcials, science

oranizations, olicmakers, and funders in aareness-

raisin actiities that ill build enthusiasm and caacit

for inuir-based STEM learnin after school. Second,

a “rass-roots” strate roides frontline after-schoolstaff and suerisors ith the content knolede and

instructional skills to delier hih-ualit ISE.

with suort from the Noce Foundation, TASC deeloed

the FUSE model, then ith further suort, joined ith

the Collaboratie for Buildin After-School Sstems to

launch FUSE in multile cities around the countr. In 2011,

TASC joined ith the Ne york State Afterschool Netork

(NySAN) to launch FUSE throuhout Ne york State.



8:00-8:30

8:45-9:30

9:35-10:20

10:23-11:10

11:15-12:05

12:10-1:00

1:05-1:50

1:55-2:40

2:50-3:27

3:30-4:154:25-5:00

5:00-5:30

mo

Breakfast

Journal writin(Math for those belorade leel)

Math

gm

Readin/writin

Lunch/Recess

Math

Science

Small grou Instruction:Readin Hel, MathHel, Adanced Math,Music, Museum Club

Meal and Science

Homeork

es

Breakfast


Choice: visual Arts, Char-acter Buildin, Literacthrouh Arts

Math

Social Studies

Lunch/Recess

Math

Science

Small grou Instruction:Readin Hel, Math Hel,Adanced Math, Music,Museum Club

Meal and Choice: MartialArts, photorah, Afri-can Dance, Ste Team,Chorus

Homeork

Wees

Breakfast


Math

gm

Readin/writin

Lunch/Recess

Math

Science


Meal and Science

Homeork

rs

Breakfast


Choice: visual Arts, Char-acter Buildin, Literacthrouh Arts

Math

Social Studies

Lunch/Recess

Math

Science


Meal and Choice: MartialArts, photorah, Afri-can Dance, Ste Team,Chorus

Homeork

fri

Breakfast


Math

gm

Readin/writin

Lunch/Recess

Math

Science

Small grou Instruction:Readin Hel, MathHel, Adanced Math,Music, Museum Club

Meal and Science

Homeork

maL pe-d cele (picl ir-gre cele)


ADC’s STEM Director Eeln Roman suorts the TMALS

facult in honin their edao and helin to interate

the science curricula across the full da and across the

discilines of literac and mathematics. Roman assists

teachers and administrators ith lannin, instruction,and imlementation, and leads rofessional deeloment

for the K-2 and 3-5 teacher teams. She also roides

indiidual coachin and technical suort on a eekl

basis to the TMALS teachers.

Said Roman, “Sometimes teachers ill come from a

orksho er ecited, but then hit a roadblock hen the

tr to imlement hat the hae learned. M role is to

deeen their knolede of the content and the curriculum

and hel them make connections amon the arious

aroaches, hether it is After-School Science plus, the

FOSS [Full Otion Science Sstem] kits, or other resources.”

Her emhasis is on helin teachers interate literac,

hands-on science, and math. “There is so much emhasis

on literac and math in Ne york, as in other laces,”

Roman elained. “So the teachers are more rone to

incororate the science hen ou can make those elicit

connections. The kno the are enhancin the math and

literac skills, too.”

Roman is assionate about the otential of interatin

literac, math, and science to address the ocabular and

readin skills as that hinder the efforts of man lo-

income children to reach rocienc in math, science, and

other areas. “There is an imortant crossroad beteenscience and Enlish lanuae arts. we can brin out the

science in a book, and at the same time er intentionall

teach children literac strateies—ho to dissect the

uratie lanuae, ho to discern the author’s intent,

ho to look at the roots of ords and infer their meanin

b connectin it to hat the alread kno. The Evolution

of Calpurnia Tate , b Jacueline Kell, is a reat eamle.”

The book is a comin-of-ae stor of a oun irl in earl

20th centur Tennessee, strulin ith societal and

famil ressures and discoerin her jo in accomanin

her naturalist randfather on his ildlife inestiations.

“we need to increase kids’ eosure to hih-ualit

books and suort those lessons ith hands-on science

actiities. The more the eerience hands-on learnin, the

knolede is internalized, and the ocabular increases,”

said Roman.




Eeln Roman, ADC’s STEM Director, and the teachers

describe ho TMALS interates literac, math, and science

in a multi-da rst-rade lesson based on the book Mouse

Count , b Ellen Stoll walsh. The book tells the stor of a

meado snake countin u ten mice he catches for a later

meal, and then countin don as each one escaes.

The lesson beins ith a read-aloud, to build the children’s

countin and rediction skills, and then moes to a

hands-on actiit that builds number sense as the children

use counters to enerate different combinations of the

number ten.

The lesson roceeds into science, as the class discusses

hat liin thins need to surie and ho a meado

functions as a habitat. The children create their on

meados in another hands-on actiit. Then the class

discusses ho man mice snakes need to eat to surie,

testin out estimatin skills and eneratin hotheses.

The teacher brins in a snake skeleton or a lie snake, so the

children can see ho the sine is constructed and enables

it to slither—reinforcin ne ocabular throuhout. The

children comare the snake’s sine to their on sines,

discuss different kinds of snakes, and are introduced to ho

snakes are classied.

Finall, the students rite their on Mouse Count-insired

book. “Man of these children hae neer seen a meado,

so it is imortant to emhasize and re-emhasize the

ocabular throuhout. This deel etended lesson is

ossible at TMALS because the can stretch it oer seeral

das and afternoons,” said Roman.

Teacher Danica ward added, “The eanded time enables

us to teach skills in different as. we can alternate amon

tetbooks, labs, and hands-on centers. we introduce the

concets durin the rst art of the da and then o back in

the afternoon to etend the lesson. I use that etra time to

build it u, and make sure students et hat the need. It

isn’t alas somethin ne. Reetition is useful sometimes

for children ho take loner to et it, eseciall if the rou

is smaller.”

Siobhan gordon, a rst-rade teacher, areed, “Children

hae different learnin stles and the eanded time

roides more time to meet their needs. Eseciall in

science, the oortunit for children to be hands-on, and

touch thins, is imortant. Before eanded time, e ma

hae one back to reinforce a lesson the net da, but e

onl had time to mention it. No e can etend, eand,

and deeen.”

CLam PLgh: ngang CnC, mah, and LaCy hugh MUS CU

One of our teachers had a er traditionalaroach to science: orksheets, readin

chaters in book, memorization, testin,

and on to the net chater. Science plus

trainin has been transformatie for this

teacher. No that classroom has centers and

eeriments throuhout the school da.”Lucile Middleton, teacher, TMALS

“



mPaC

Lessons like Mouse Count hae meaninful imact on

TMALS students’ rocienc in science. when the students

can actuall see ho a snake’s skeleton is constructed

and comare it to their on sines the are alin ne

concets (Strand 1). when the children create their onmeados and learn about the interactions beteen snakes

and mice, the are atherin eidence and reasonin

from the eidence about hat snakes need to surie

(Strand 2). when the return to the same lesson later in

the da, the students are encouraed to reect on their

earlier eeriences (Strand 3). And hen the hae a

chance to talk ith one another about their ideas, the

are articiatin roductiel in a communit of fello

scientists (Strand 4).

On the 2010 Ne york state standardized science test,

nearl 92 ercent of TMALS fourth raders scored

rocient or aboe (56.8 ercent rocient; 35.1 ercent

adanced) comared to 83 ercent rocient or aboe

in Ne york Cit. For TMALS, these results reresent a

sinicant ain from the ear before, hen 71 ercent of

fourth raders scored rocient or aboe.

TMALS does not rel on test scores alone to ealuate the

imact of the school’s focus on science. princial Sean

Daenort enaes in freuent classroom obserations,

and often asks students to elain to him hat the are

learnin. He, Eeln Roman, and the school staff are aare

that sustained ains ill take a multi-ear effort. Roman

added, “It is imortant to do constant assessments that

are creatie. we’re not just relin on hain the children

rite somethin, but instead bein intentional about

hain the teacher ask direct uestions and learnin

ho to differentiate the roress and understandin

of indiidual children orkin ithin a rou or lain

a ame.”

nrrowi o ciece acieeet gp: maL s. tte

[95%]

State (not disadantaed)TMALS (economicall disadantaed)

Ne york State Deartment of Education: TMALS Reort CardNe york State Deartment of Education: Ne york State Reort Card

NOTE: Because TMALS bean in 2004 ith onl Kinderarten andadded one rade er ear, as children aed u, 2009 as the rst earthat there as fourth rade.

[96%][92%]

[67%]

2009 2010

28%

4%



PCP

In summer 2011, Sean Daenort left TMALS to lead the

Thurood Marshall Academ for Learnin and Social Chane

(TMALSC), the middle/hih school counterart to TMALS. Artteacher Dan Brooks Decosta as aointed rincial of

TMALS. Decosta intends to continue the eanded-learnin-

time roram and its emhasis on hands-on, enain

science actiities, citin After-School Science plus as a ke

drier of science rocienc amon TMALS students.

Decosta and her facult are also analzin the full curricula

aainst the ne Common Core standards and identifin

as and areas for sharer focus. “The ne standards reallemhasize non-ction readin and ritin skills—and e

are focusin on this as a leer to deeen our aroach to

interatin science and literac throuhout the rades,”

said Decosta.

The eanded time enables us to

teach skills in different as. wecan alternate amon tetbooks,

labs, and hands-on centers. we

introduce the concets durin therst art of the da and then o

back in the afternoon to etend

the lesson.”

“

Danica ward, fourth-rade teacher, TMALS




EDITH I. STARKE

AND pIERSONELEMENTARy SCHOOLSvOLUSIA COUNTy, FLORIDA

2006, dept periteet Cris Colwell e to

ocs eepl o te ieqc o sciece istrctioi volsi Cot Plic cools. “we hae three bi

roblems in science instruction: time, trainin, and rior,”

he elained. Colell then detailed the backround on

each of these three challenes.

ie: Florida state la reuires a 90-minute readin block

and 60-minute math block dail in elementar school.

Said Colell, “As a result, e had to face the harsh realit

that e did not hae elicit science instruction oin

on in our elementar schools. In some laces, e hae

allocated 15-20 minutes three times a eek, and een this

is not haenin.”

rii: Acknoleded Colell, “Man of our teacher

rearation institutions focus their re-serice education

on readin rst, math second, and science not at all. There

is inadeuate science content knolede and

science edaoical skill. particularl in the

uer elementar rades, man teachers are

not comfortable ith science content.”

ior: Florida adoted the Net generation

Sunshine State Science Standards in 2008.

The state science assessments are chanin

in 2012 to reect the ne standards. Thesene standards do not “siral” or reisit

content ith increasin comleit across

the rades. Each unit is tauht full in one

rade onl. In addition, districts are rearin

for 2016, hen assae of biolo, and

either chemistr or hsics, ill be reuired

to raduate hih school. In Colell’s ie, the district

needs to increase academic rior throuhout the science

curriculum to ensure students are reared for the ne

reuirements.

“M hardest ear teachin here

as the one ear e did not hae

the etra hour. I could not take a

breath. There as no time to do the

hands-on inuir aroach. Student

learnin suffered.”

Jennifer Robinson, fth-rade teacher, pierson Elementar School


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 35/68EDITH I. STARKE AND pIERSON ELEMENTARy SCHOOLS | 33

vLua Cuny PubLC ChL

PlusOne

The plus One Initiatie of Florida’s volusia Count public

Schools bean in Januar 2003, hen the teachers

and rincial of one elementar school bean a ilot

roram eandin the si-hour school da b one hour.particiatin teachers ere aid for their etra time out of

the school’s Title I allocation. Reconizin the earl success

and oularit of the ilot, and seizin on the additional

time as a ke strate to assist under-erformin schools

in imroin student academic outcomes, the district has

eanded the roram to nine elementar schools. These

nine Title I schools enroll aroimatel 4,800 students,

82 ercent of hom are lo-income. The one additional

hour er da at each school boosts learnin time b the

euialent of an etra 30 das each ear.

Funded entirel b Title I and oerseen b the district’s

Title I administrator and deut suerintendent, plus One

has been leel-funded b the district oer the last to

ears, desite declinin Title I allocations from the federal

oernment. The additional fundin suorts teachers

and ararofessionals to ork the additional hour at their

contracted rate. plus One bean as oluntar for teachers

to articiate and then, b 2007, became mandator for the

hole facult at each articiatin school, as lon as 80

ercent of the school’s teachers ote to articiate.

All plus One time is deoted to additional academic

instruction, and each plus One school has eibilit

in desinin its schedule and choosin the academicriorities for its additional time. Across the district, time

for science had been scaled back in elementar schools

to accommodate more time in Enlish lanuae arts and

math classes. Conseuentl, most of the plus One schools

use at least art of the additional instructional time for

science. In addition, the district has been suortin a

strate hereb schools offer small-rou academic

suort classes, built into the da, to address student

learnin decits in tareted as. The volusia plus One

schools hae imlemented this model more full than the

non-plus One schools because the are able to dedicate

aroimatel 30 minutes dail to these classes.

eslts: All plus One schools hae seen marked roth

in the ercentae of students achiein rocienc in

ritin. Science scores hae risen fairl consistentl in

most of the articiatin schools oer the last four ears.31

DistrictandSchoolDetails

Located about 50 miles northeast of Orlando, volusia

Count is an area rouhl the size of Rhode Island. Home

to half a million eole, volusia incororates a stretch of

beaches alon the coast—includin Datona Beach—andetends est to the farmin, residential, and retirement

communities near St. John’s Rier.

volusia Count public Schools enroll nearl 63,000 students

in 45 elementar schools, 13 middle schools, 10 hih

schools, and seeral alternatie rorams. Students come

from 158 countries and seak 78 different lanuaes.

Althouh the count has economicall roserous areas,

it also has tons marked b sinicant oert leels. Just

oer half of the district’s students are eliible for free and

reduced-riced meals and 68 schools receie Title I funds.

volusia Count also contends ith the state’s second

hihest rate of homeless children (behind Miami-Dade).

The case studies resented here focus on to schools

imlementin the district’s plus One roram: pierson and

Edith I. Starke elementar schools.

pierson Elementar School is the onl elementar school

in the aricultural ton of pierson, about 30 miles est

of the Atlantic Ocean. Knon as “The Fern Caital of the

world,” pierson has a oulation of 2,596 accordin to the

2000 census. Ferns ron on pierson’s sralin farms are

eorted orldide for use in oral arranements and

other decorations. Accordin to the 2000 census, the ercaita income for the ton as $12,450. pierson bean to

artiall imlement the plus One initiatie in the 2007-2008

school ear, ith school-ide imlementation beinnin in

fall 2008.

Edith I. Starke Elementar School is one of si ublic

elementar schools located in the count seat of Deland.

with a oulation of about 25,000 accordin to the 2000

Census, Deland is knon for its historic architecture and

is home to Stetson Uniersit, the rst riate collee in

the state. The er caita income for the cit in 2000 as

$15,936. Starke has been a plus One school since the 2006-

2007 school ear.



WhyExpandedLearningTimeandWhyScience?

pierson and Starke Elementar Schools are usin plus

One—an etra hour of instruction aailable for some

volusia elementar schools—to increase the time, trainin

and rior of their science instruction.

Starke and pierson redesined the entire school da to

take adantae of the plus One hour. Both schools also

hae instituted core reforms that osition them ellto maimize the use of additional instructional time,

includin establishin teacher rofessional learnin

communities to analze data and imroe instructional

ractice. The schools also hae imlemented the

Resonse to Interention model to boost literac and

math rocienc. gien the oortunit to add an etra

hour, each school chose science as a ke riorit. Both

these schools are also suorted b additional science

rofessional deeloment and curricular resources from

the district.


Before plus One, the schools aeraed 20 minutes of

science instruction to to three das er eek across

K-5. No, Starke and pierson fourth and fth raders

articiate in about 60 minutes of science each da.

Students in rimar rades hae 30 minutes er da of

science. Students at both schools are actiel enaed

in science learnin. Teachers use a mi of edaoicalaroaches, includin teacher-led discussions, eer-to-eer

uestionin, and hands-on eeriments and inestiations.

The classroom ace oerall is relaed, and the teachers

often sto to reinforce a articular concet or check to see

if the lesson is resonatin ith the rou.

Teachers at both schools consider the additional science

time critical to their aroach. Said Jason Kno, a pierson

fth-rade teacher: “No e hae a chance to o back

and send the etra time to make sure students reall

understand it—eseciall m ESE (secial education)

students. Sometimes it takes them loner to read the

material, understand the instructions, and ask uestions.

with the etra time, the can do it.”

For eamle, Laura Bechard’s blended fourth- and fth-

rade class at pierson is diided into teams that rotate

amon eerimental stations demonstratin the effects

of ater erosion. One rou is creatin small and lare

aes b moin the ater back and forth and obserin

the imact on the sand in lastic bins, hile another

rou obseres the different imacts of simulated rain on

lanters lled ith cloer and those acked ith just dirt.

In their science notebooks, the children share obserations

and make drains of their results.

Said Bechard, “you hae to do science; ou cannot just

read about it. we do eeriments three times a eek,

on aerae. But to hae alue, it needs to be elicitl

connected to the real orld, and students need to enae

in discussion and analsis around the eeriment. we need

that etra time for debrien to reinforce the ocabular

or scientic concets illustrated durin the eeriment.

Otherise it’s just a fun eeriment.

“Enain in that debrien in the dee a these

students need takes a lot of time,” Bechard continued.

“Students must sho me in lots of different, creatie asthat the understand hat the science is. For eamle,

the can o online to create a comic stri that illustrates

the difference beteen erosion and eatherin. The can

create osters or moies usin online tools.”

The school staff members talk about the imact of oert

and lanuae barriers on student learnin and ho the

adjust their edao to ll as in students’ contetual

knolede. Richard T. Mers, the rincial at pierson, said,

tre leetr cool 2010-2011

Number of Students 429

Grades K – 5

Percent of Students

Participating in ELT 100

Former Schedule 7:55 AM – 2:05 PM

ELT Schedule 7:55 AM – 3:05 PM:

M, T, Th F

7:55 AM – 2:05 PM: W

Former Time on Scienceper Week K-5: 40-60 minutes

ELT Time on Science per Week K-3: 150 minutes

4-5: 275 minutes

Pierso leetr cool 2010-2011

Number of Students 540

Grades K – 5

Percent of Students

Participating in ELT 100

Former Schedule 8:10 AM – 2:20 PM

ELT Schedule 8:10 AM – 3:20 PM

Former Time on Science

per Week 60 minutes

ELT Time on Science per Week 300 minutes



37EDITH I. STARKE AND pIERSON ELEMENTARy SCHOOLS |

“Our students are strulin ith the basic ocabular,

understandin the eneral concets. we hae a hih-

oert oulation. Families are strulin to make ends

meet. Man arents are siml not able to roide content

knolede and consistent hel to ensure their children’s

academic success. Children and families on the hole hae

er limited eosure to the orld outside of the ton.”Said Bechard, “Our students strule ith ho the science

e teach connects to the real orld. we need to make it

elicit and reinforce those connections constantl. This,

aain, takes time.”

Accordin to the teachers, these contetual as imact

standardized test scores. “Often, test scores don’t reect

the science knolede. The a the tests are built, the

assumed frames of reference are missin for our students,

and the et tried u b a strane ord or unfamiliar

settin, een if the do understand the scientic concet,”

said princial Mers.

BeyondtheExpandedDay

Both pierson and Starke schools hae imlemented

additional suorts, beond the plus One initiatie, to

bolster student achieement and suort families.

Starke has a 21st Centur Communit Learnin Center

after-school roram on site until 5:30pM eer da. The

roram enrolls 65 children from rades three throuh e

ho hae each been identied b the staff as needin etra

suort. Sharon Llod mentors the Starke fth raders’

science fair rojects durin the after-school roram, llin

an imortant a because man of these children do not

hae the suort readil aailable at home for helin ith

these labor-intensie rojects. Accordin to Starke princial

Barbara Head, children in the roram hae made academic

ains hen measured aainst children ho are not inthe roram.

pierson princial Mers as determined to brin the

Science Olmiad to pierson after seein its otential for

catalzin science enaement amon middle schoolers.

Beun in the 2010-2011, the 22-member team is the onl

elementar-leel Science Olmiad team in the district.

The team trains after school under the suerision of a

pierson teacher and is rearin to trael to Orlando for

the Science Olmiad cometition. For man of the team

members, this ill be their rst tri to Orlando, 30 miles to

the est. pierson teachers also started a Saturda session

to roide suort and materials for students orkin on

their science fair rojects.

Both schools run ell-attended, school-based Famil

Science Nihts in artnershi ith Orlando Science

Center and the Museum of Arts and Sciences. The eents

feature hands-on learnin labs staffed b teachers and

olunteers (and at the Starke, b Stetson Uniersit

education students).

“Our students strule ith hothe science e teach connects tothe real orld. we need to make

it elicit and reinforce those

connections constantl. This,aain, takes time.”Laura Bechard, fourth-rade science teacher, pierson Elementar School




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CLam PLgh: Wha a hadW?

Sharon Llod’s kinderartners at Starke Elementar

are sharin hat the kno about shados. The offer

the folloin obserations, hich Llod rites on the

hiteboard at the front of the room hile the children sit

cross-leed in a semi-circle around her.

• Shados follo ou

• Our hands make shados

• Shados can be bi or little

• The sun makes shados

Llod turns to the icture book Bear’s Shadow b Frank

Asch and beins to read. She stos freuentl to ask her

students to redict hat miht haen net. At the oint

here Bear has reeted his shado and settled don for a

na, Llod asks the children to redict hat ill haen to

his shado as he slees. She directs the children to discuss

their ideas in airs, and then take turns sharin ith the

rou. The redict that the shado ill not sta the same.

“The clouds miht come!” offers one intentl focused irl.

After brinin the entire class outside into the courtard,

Llod las out a lare iece of aer deictin a ond

scribbled in ith blue marker. She has a fe maneticshin oles and some to sh. Each child ets a chance

to catch the sh, hile Llod oints out that here the

choose to stand either hides or eoses their shado to

the sh. “Kee our shado behind ou so it doesn’t scare

the sh!” she calls.

Back inside, the children take out their science journals.

Each is marked ith the title “Scientist” recedin his or

her name and is lled ith drains and ritin from the

ear’s science lessons. Llod asks the children to dra

themseles shin and include the ond, their on bod,

and their shado. She kees askin uestions as she

circles the room. Stoin net to one child, she eclaims,

“I am so roud of ou that ou thouht to include the sun

in our icture!”

Llod is a 20-ear eteran of Starke. She is reconized

b princial Barbara Head and her eers as the school’s

resident eert on science. For seeral ears, Llod as

the science lab interention teacher. She has sent the

last to ears teachin kinderarten. She elains the full

contet of the da’s lesson. “The shado lesson is artof a four-eek unit on Objects in the Da and Niht Sk,

ithin our Earth in Sace and Time curriculum. Durin the

unit, e record ho the osition of the sun chanes durin

the school da. yesterda e discussed hat e kne

about shados. we incororate literature into the lesson

heneer e can. we alas tr to hae an interactie

actiit—toda it as shin. Then e hae the children

elain hat the learned in their science notebook.

Tomorro e ill trace our shados outside eriodicall

oer the course of the da.

“we construct the lesson to focus on literac and readin

strateies and dele into scientic concets, buildin onhat the children alread kno. we ould not be able

to accomlish all these oals ithout the etra hour of

instructional time,” Llod said.

princial Head commented, “Interatin literac is critical.

Children under-erform on the district third-rade science

assessment because the strule ith readin. yes, kids

need hands-on science. But the biest factor determinin

success is ‘Can the read the tet?’”



tre tet rops 2010-2011


English Language Learners 27.7%

Special Education 19.1%

Pierso tet rops 2010-2011


English Language Learners 47%






In volusia Count, the district las a ke role in suortin

science instruction. The district science team, consistin

of a science secialist and a teacher-on-loan, oranizes

rofessional deeloment oortunities, roides

uidance in deeloin curricula mas and acin uides,and desins the interim science assessments. The district

also suorts four science coaches, funded throuh

federal American Recoer and Reinestment Act (ARRA)

resources. The science coaches are school-based, and the

also roide rofessional deeloment and trainin for

elementar science teachers throuhout the district. At

each school, one erson is the science contact and receies

a stiend to articiate in to das of trainin and

eriodic meetins called b the district science staff.

The district staff admit that this rofessional deeloment

and coachin arranement is less than ideal but that it

tries to leerae the resources that are aailable in the

fairest a ossible. “we kno e do not hae enouh

resources to offer all the content, assessment, and data

analsis trainin needed,” said Jennifer Talor, District

Science Secialist K-12. “Our oal is to ensure euit across

the sstem in access to science materials, sulies, labs,

resource materials, and tetbooks.”

The district also laces a reat deal of emhasis on

hain ualit curriculum and materials. volusia science

eerts roduce the science curricula ma keed to

the state standards for each rade. The ma roides

acin uidance and suestions for actiities but doesnot roide da-to-da lesson lans. At each school, the

teachers reie the ma and lan their dail lessons. The

district science team roides suort and uidance to the

teachers as the comlete this rocess.

Teachers at both volusia eanded-time schools had hih

raise for the district’s efforts. Hain just comleted a

district-sonsored teacher orksho that shocased a

hands-on rocks and minerals unit, pierson fourth-rade

teachers ere eaer to teach the lesson to their students.

The district reuires teachers to ie eiht science

assessments er ear in rades three throuh e. “we

ork hard to make sure the assessments are at the riht

leel of difcult,” said Laura Herrera, ho is a science

teacher-on-loan to the district science deartment. Shecontinued, “Students are reuired to al, snthesize, and

roblem-sole ith their knolede, not just demonstrate

memorization of facts.”

The teachers analze the results of the interim assessments

ithin their rofessional learnin communities (pLCs). The

science team roides the pLCs ith uidance documents

and data analsis sheets to hel increase the efcienc

and imact of their efforts. Said Caroln gardinier, volusia

Count public Schools Title I Director, “we hae heled the

pLCs moe from admirin all this data to actuall usin it to

make instructional decisions.”

Starke School has brokered an additional resource for

teacher rofessional deeloment throuh its relationshi

ith nearb Stetson Uniersit. Stetson rofessors roide

in-serice teacher rofessional deeloment and onoin

uidance to Starke’s pLCs and princial Barbara Head in

a rane of areas—includin core curricula, classroom

manaement, behaioral interentions, and staff

recruitment and retention. Starke, in turn, roides ractica

lacements for re-serice Stetson education students.

Deut Suerintendent Colell elained, “The Stetson

model is to o dee. The are consistent, lon-term artners

that are deel imactin a small number of schools,includin Starke.”

Stetson re-serice teachers are ured to take etra stes

to et to kno students and families durin their ractica,

throuh olunteerin in the after-school roram and

stafn famil nihts. Said Doulas MacIsaac, Stetson

Uniersit rofessor, “Some students stud the imact of

arent inolement on children’s school erformance, but

our re-serice teachers understand it rst-hand.”



mPaC

The additional hour of time enables teachers at Starke

and pierson Elementar Schools to interate a rane of

teachin and learnin strateies alined ith the Taking

Science to School strands. For eamle, an imortant

asect of Strand 3 is not just for the students to be aareof hat rofessional scientists do, but enae in reection

on the as that their on thinkin and learnin is

roressin. Reuirin students to rite and dra in their

journals after the enae in science actiities encouraes

them to reect on their on thinkin and learnin, een as

earl as kinderarten ae. Starke and pierson teachers are

also aare of the imortance of Strand 4—articiatin

roductiel in scientic ractices and discourse. These

teachers reconize that students need to enae in

discussion and analsis around the eeriments—not

just to better understand the ocabular and scientic

concets, but also to ain ractice articulatin their ideas

and listenin thouhtfull, criticall, and resectfull to

one another. As one of the teachers remarked, ithout

an oortunit for the students to discuss their ideas

toether, “it’s just a fun eeriment.”

Students in both schools—desite hiher oert rates

and reater lanuae barriers than students in the district

and state oerall—are catchin u ith, and sometimes

outscorin, their eers on the fth-rade science test.

In 2010, the ercentae of Starke students that scoredrocient on the test as ithin si oints of the state

aerae (43 ercent s. 49 ercent), and pierson students’

rocienc rates bested the state (55 ercent). perhas

more imortantl, oer the last four ears, each school

has eerienced roth in rocienc of at least

15 ercentae oints, suestin that oer time the

schools are increasin the effectieness of their

science teachin.

EDITH I. STARKE AND pIERSON ELEMENTARy SCHOOLS | 41

2007

24%

40%

36%

43%

55%

42%

44% 46%

52% 54%

43%

46%49%

24%

30%

43%

2008 2009 2010

tet Perorce o 5t gre fCa ciece est

Starke and pierson s. State

%

a t o r a b o v e g r a d e l e v e l

District

District

State

Starke

pierson

FCAT: Florida’s

Comrehensie

Assessment Test

Florida Deartment

of Education: School

Science Reorts

Cost er student

for plus One (2009 -

2010 school ear) is

aroimatel $700.

(Funded throuh Title I

dollars.)




JANE LONg

MIDDLE SCHOOLHOUSTON, TExAS

Je Lo mile cool s ee er costrctio

i ore ws t oe. aist jor reotio

to te psicl plt, stets st ere te

icoeiece o oise, st tpe-o wlws,

ersti teir ptiece will eetll e rewre

wit etter cilit. The simultaneous constructionroject—buildin an educational roram that results in

increased oortunities and academic success for Jane

Lon students—is sinicantl more challenin, but

romises to hae een more transformatie and lastinimact for the school’s students and their families.

Ninet-si ercent of Jane Lon students are lo-income,

and 85 ercent are Latino, reectin the demorahics of

gulfton, the school’s surroundin neihborhood. gulfton

is best knon for its 90-lus aartment comlees, built

to house oil industr rofessionals in the 1960s and

1970s. After the oil bust of the 1980s, the neihborhood

transitioned to become a lo-income communit of

immirants from Meico, Central America, and dozens

of other countries and reions. B 2000, gulfton as

Houston’s most densel oulated communit, ith an

estimated 45,000 eole liin in a three suare-mile

area. Local eerts estimate the actual oulation ofgulfton is closer to 70,000, accountin for a sinicant

number of eole ho are reluctant to articiate in

the Census because of immiration status.32 Houston

Indeendent School District (HISD) schools

in the neihborhood hae struled

ith oercrodin and lo academic

erformance.

WhyExpandedLearningTimeandWhy

Science?

Oer the ast four ears, KIpp, yES, and

Harmon charter schools hae oened in

gulfton, offerin etended school das and romisinbetter academic results for neihborhood children.

Hundreds of families hae oted out of HISD in faor of

the charters, driin Jane Lon’s enrollment don from

1,337 students in 2007 to 773 in 2010.

As Jane Lon has lost students to the nearb charters, its

budet decreased, forcin the school to cut enrichments

such as band and theatre arts, surrin increased student

“Stain here kees me occuied and

hels m brain deelo more so I can

et to hih school and succeed in life.”

Carmen, sith rader, Jane Lon Middle School


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 45/68JANE LONg MIDDLE SCHOOL 43

attrition. Leaders and staff of the school, acutel aare of

the cometitie enironment, kne the needed to break

out of the crilin ccle.

Diana De La Rosa as the rincial of Jane Lon from

2003 until mid-March 2011, hen she as taed to lead

the turnaround of another Houston middle school. She

elained, “when I started, e ere reall strulin

to meet academic erformance oals. The majorit of

students ere failin. It as clear to me that e did not

hae enouh time to counter the students’ lanuae

and knolede as. we needed a a to increase

instructional time—eseciall in science.” De La Rosa

and her team started b redesinin the schedule tocreate 90-minute instructional blocks. Students receied a

90-minute block of science eer other da.

Aare that the cometin charters all had etended

schedules, De La Rosa and her staff also souht to roide

learnin oortunities beond the school da for Jane

Lon students. “we had a fe after-school rorams at

the time, but the ere led b teachers ho ere frankl

orn out b the end of the da. There as no ener to

tr anthin different and the rorams had little imact

on students,” said De La Rosa. “Then Citizen Schools came

alon. The ere read to take on the afternoon.”

Founded as an after-school roram in Boston in 1995,

Citizen Schools runs eanded da and after-school

rorams for 4,400 middle school students at 37 sites in

seen states. The Citizen Schools model features roject-

based “arenticeshis”—ten-eek, hands-on courses

tauht b “Citizen Teachers” from the local communit,

includin journalists, laers, stockbrokers, scientists,

and others. In addition to articiatin in arenticeshis,

students receie academic suort, o on eld tris,

and enae in serice oortunities and collee and

career elorations.

In the rst ear of Citizen Schools at Jane Lon, 38 students

articiated for the full ear, aerain 93 ercent

attendance in the roram. Accordin to rubrics deeloed

b Citizen Schools to track student outcomes, 79 ercent

of students in the roram that rst ear imroed their

oral communication skills and 72 ercent imroed

their leadershi skills. Oer the same eriod, 71 ercent

maintained a assin rade or imroed a loer rade

in Enlish lanuae arts and 74 ercent did so in math.

Satisfaction as also hih: On a scale from 1 to 5, theaerae ratin of roram ualit b students, families,

olunteers, teachers, and Citizen Schools staff members

as 4.3 out of 5.

De La Rosa as imressed. “ Then e thouht, let’s assin

them the reall touh kids!” she said. The same ear Citizen

Schools came to Jane Lon, De La Rosa had tareted

intensie attention on the “bride rou”—22 sith

raders ho ere oer-ae for rade leel and strulin

academicall. De La Rosa herself led the rou in the

homeroom eriod and encouraed teachers to roide the

rou ith additional hel before and after school. Desite

the etra effort, the end of the ear brouht disaointinresults: Onl 10 bride rou students ere romoted to

seenth rade.

The net ear, De La Rosa enrolled 15 bride rou

students in the Citizen Schools roram. She as

oerhelmed b the result. “The did not lose one of those

kids! The een had a fe in honors classes b the end of

the ear. The Citizen Schools staff struled less, ersisted

Je Lo mile cool 2010-2011


grades: 6 – 8

Students particiatin in Reuired for all 240 sith raders

Eanded Da: 60 seenth/eihth raders oluntaril articiate

Former Schedule: 7:45 AM – 3:00 pM

Eanded Da Schedule: 7:45 AM – 5:30 pM

Former Time on Science er week: 180 minutes

Eanded Da Time on 450 minutes of core science classes for sith and eihth

Science er week: raders; additional aerae of 90 minutes er eek of STEM

arenticeshis throuh Citizen Schools for all sith

raders and 60 seenth/eihth raders




more, and did better than e did. we ere able to

accelerate the roress of these students throuh middle

school so that b the end of eihth rade the cauht u

ith their eer rou.”

That eerience coninced De La Rosa that Citizen Schools

could hae a similar imact on the entire sith rade. Aear of intensie lannin, includin focus rous ith

arents, rincials, and teachers of elementar feeder

schools, resulted in Jane Lon teachers otin 36-1 to

eand the school da b reuirin all sith raders to

enroll in the Citizen Schools roram. with ermission

from HISD, in Fall 2010 Jane Lon bean reuirin all sith

raders to attend school from 7:45 AM to 5:30 pM, ith the

last 2.5 hours deoted to the Citizen Schools roram.

The eanded schedule as funded b a combination of

Title I, AmeriCors, state and local education funds, and

riate resources raised b Citizen Schools. To hel nance

the roram, Jane Lon eliminated an assistant rincial

osition and fundin for eld tris and other actiities.

Additional resources from a 21st Centur Communit

Learnin Center rant suort the oluntar articiation

of seenth and eihth raders in the Citizen Schools

roram.

De La Rosa ould hae liked to etend the school da for

the entire school, but bean ith the sith rade ien

budet constraints. “we strateicall focused on the sith

rade to establish a baseline of educational culture and

behaior in middle school. we ant these kids to achiee

success, to build their condence riht from the start.”


CoreScienceClass

Once the ere sure that the entire sith rade ould

enroll in Citizen Schools, Jane Lon school leaders

redesined the school da to leerae additional time for

science. Since Citizen Schools roided electies ia their

arenticeshi roram, school leaders eliminated one

of the sith-rade electie blocks and doubled science

instructional time to 90 minutes dail for sith raders.At the same time, administrators eliminated an eihth-

rade electie to double eihth-rade science time to

90 minutes eer da. Eihth rade is the testin ear

for science in Teas.

De La Rosa sa the imact on the facult riht aa.

“The are less stressed about coerin all the toics,

and the hae better classroom manaement because

the see the students eer sinle da,” she said.

Assistant princial Kendall Baile said, “The majorit of

our students are not natie Enlish seakers. Like an

other students, the need time to understand the scientic

concets, but the need een more time because the

reall strule ith the both the scientic lanuae and

limited ocabular oerall.”

Of the 240 enterin sith raders in Fall 2010, 87 ere

readin at third-rade leel or belo, and another 75

ere readin belo the fth-rade leel. The teachers

identied students’ lo readin leels and inadeuate

ras of ocabular as imortant riorities for additional

attention. The used some of the etra time to emhasize

the ocabular—callin it out, usin it in sentences, and

hihlihtin it in the interactie science notebooks.

Jill Bailer, a 28-ear eteran teacher at Jane Lon and the

science deartment head, said, “M students recentl ot

tried u b the ord ‘reect’ in a lesson elainin the

source of moonliht. The understand that the moon’s

liht comes from the sun, but the didn’t kno that

ord. Comoundin the roblem, the lack inference

skills. Throuhout their education, the hae not been

challened enouh to roblem sole. we need to build

their skills and motiation to nd the ansers the don’t

kno. with more time, e can create ood rojects that

consistentl etend the learnin, ie the kids a chance

to demonstrate hat the kno, challene them, and

build their condence oer time. we hae the chance to be

intentional about that no ith the sith rade.”

Bailer offered an eamle of a roject on the lunar ccleas a a she uses the eanded time to build hiher-

order skills. “we ae the students to das to ork on

their lunar ccle models. The orked in teams; the

ere creatie about oranizin resources; and their

understandin of the concets deeened.” Science teacher

Ella Meisner commented, “Sometimes it is durin a roject

that I can see here students do not reall understand the

scientic concet—een if the did oka on their ritten

assessment, the hae misconcetions that are reealed

throuh doin the roject, and I can correct them.”

Another imact of the increased science time is the

oortunit to increase enaement in science, bbuildin closer teacher/student relationshis, and more

broadl diersifin the teachin methods. Said Meisner,

“I reall like seein the eihth raders eer da—I am

makin deeer connections ith them.”



Sith-rade science teacher Diann valentine uses some of

the eanded science time to test out a ne roject ith

her students. She has created an interdiscilinar unit

on store desin, ith the oal of buildin foundational

knolede for subseuent lessons on secies

classication. valentine diides her students into teams

and assins a different te of store to each team. Then sheroides the teams ith lists of tical items that ould be

found in their stores. She asks the teams to cateorize the

roducts, justif their choices, and diaram their store’s

laout. She has desined the eercise so the students are

reuired to create hierarchical classication sstems—like

the sstems that bioloists use to classif secies—but

usin familiar objects. valentine etends the lesson into

math, reuirin students to rice the roducts and create

nancial rojections. Throuhout, she emhasizes the

ocabular of commerce. Introducin the roject to the

students, valentine elains that she ants them to

roser in their careers and that this roject is intended to

teach them both about the real issues businesseole faceeer da and about the knolede and follo-throuh on

tasks reuired to be successful.

valentine assins secic roles to each team member.

“I asked the oun eole ho usuall hae the most

trouble focusin to lead their teams,” she said. The roject

is desined to last seen 90-minute class eriods and

to culminate ith the teams resentin their stores to

the class. The class is then read to moe directl into a

unit on secies classication. “M students don’t haethe backround knolede ithin hich to situate

elanations of scientic concets. This unit is desined to

create that. But e ould neer hae done this if e had

not doubled the science time,” said valentine.

Students are ecited as the embarked on the roject.

Said Luis, a sith-rade student, “we are rouin thins

different as so e kno here to nd them. we are

makin diarams. we hae to ure out the aisles and

the rices. we are doin math. I am the nancial manaer

of the store!” Ale, another sith rader, added, “I’m the

team manaer of m store. I hae to take care of the hole

roject and make sure it does not et messed u.”

CLam PLgh: dgn a a fundan f PC CLafCan

7:45 – 8:30

8:30 – 10:00

10:00 –11:30

11:30 – 12:00

12:00 – 1:30

1:30 – 2:45

2:45 – 3:00

3:00 – 4:00

4:00-4:30

4:30-5:30

mo

Electie / Adisor

Science

Math

Lunch

Social Studies

ELA

Snack

Academic Suort –Math Academic Leaue

Collee and CareerConnections

es

Electie / Adisor

Science

Math

Lunch

Social Studies

ELA

Snack

Academic Suort –DEAR, journalin, differ-entiated suort b team

Arenticeshis

Wees

Electie / Adisor

Science

Math

Lunch

Social Studies

ELA

Snack

Academic Suort – MathAcademic Leaue

Elore – ChoiceActiities

rs

Electie / Adisor

Science

Math

Lunch

Social Studies

ELA

Snack

Academic Suort –DEAR, journalin, differ-entiated suort b team

Arenticeshis

fri

Electie / Adisor

Science

Math

Lunch

Social Studies

ELA

Snack

Elore – ChoiceActiities

Je Lo pe-d cele




Arenticeshis

ie oun eole

the oortunit to

create authenticork, to be the

leaders, and to

build condence

in their abilit and

intellience



intellience

j g m 47

Play-oh and pipe cleaners are the supplies needed for

the “Vision and the Brain” itizen chools apprenticeship

session late on a Tuesday afternoon. itizen Teacher

auil Patel chose these siple supplies to help his

students rasp soe coplicated scientic content. They

are buildin brain odels usin Play-oh, delineatinthe different lobes of the brain by color. atasha Parekh,

a itizen chools teachin fellow, circles the roo,

answerin questions and akin sure everyone is on

track. “Who reebers the function of the occipital lobe?”

Patel queries the class. Frank, an eihth rader, calls out

“Vision!” and then turns to his copanion to note, “sn’t it

weird that the vision lobe is at the back of the head?”

sked about his experience in itizen chools, Frank

offered, “itizen chools helps e in science class. like it

because learn new thins and y friends are here. t is

fun. They also help e with y hoework. t’s not like y

other doesn’t help—she does! But itizen chools helps

e too.”

With their brain odels copleted, the 15 students

turn their attention to Patel, who is a research assistant

professor in the epartent of eurobioloy and natoyat the University of Texas medical chool. Patel anaes

the roup easily with his cal, friendly deeanor and clear

expectation that the students will aster the aterial.

e describes a diara of a nerve cell, pronouncin the

scientic nae and functions of each part, and asks the

students to build a basic cell structure usin pipe cleaners.

e circles the roo to check on their proress, askin one

student where the nucleus of his cell is and another to

explain the difference between dendrites and axons and

where each is on her odel. “These are beautiful. knew

you would be able to do this!” Patel says to the roup.

Aicsi sli: Visi A BAi

Citizen Schools Science Apprenticeships

jane on’s prora with itizen chools has rown

fro 70 students in 2009-2010 to 300 students in 2010-2011.

Fourteen full-tie teachin fellows and eiht part-tie

tea leaders staff the prora. The prora’s aor

coponents:

• monday–Thursday acadeic support sessions, or“cadeic eaues,” focus on ath at the request of

jane on school leaders;

• career and collee experiences, eld trips, and

explorations desined to help students develop future

collee and career oals; and

• twice-weekly apprenticeships.

The teachin fellows and tea leaders support the

volunteer “itizen Teachers” in leadin apprenticeships.

To keep roup size sall (15 vs. 28 durin the core acadeic

classes), itizen chools operates 36 apprenticeships perweek at jane on. itizen chools desined ore than half

of the apprenticeships to draw upon science, technoloy,

enineerin, or ath content and contexts. evelopent

of the coputin-focused apprenticeships is supported

in part by a 2010 three-year ational cience Foundation

rant to itizen chools.

For the vast aority of jane on students, participatin

in itizen chools is the rst opportunity they have ever

had to eet science professionals and enae in active

learnin connected to the Tm disciplines. aid Kathryn

ash, irector of ivic naeent for itizen chools

Texas, “They don’t know any scientists and they don’t know

what scientists do. ow they are eetin scientists and

enain in real work. This opens their eyes to possibilities

that they have never considered before.”

The apprenticeship is the centerpiece of the itizen

chools odel. ccordin to ash, apprenticeshipsive youn people the opportunity to create authentic

work, to be the leaders, and to build condence in their

ability and intellience. itizen chools requires each

apprenticeship to include the followin coponents:

1) interactive, hands on teachin; 2) explicit career

connections; 3) a focus on at least two of the followin 21st

century skills—oral presentation, teawork, leadership,

data analysis, advanced literacy, or technoloy; and 4) a

hih-quality WW!—the end product students present in

a showcase attended by their teachers and failies. The

WW! showcase is the culinatin event of the 10-week

apprenticeship. tudents are in the lead roles—presentin

their work to their failies and school-day teachers.itizen chools presents a special showcase for teachers at

3:00 Pm and then another for failies in the evenin.

“We are very intentional about uidin the content of the

apprenticeships—the lesson plans are structured and

very detailed, and we help the itizen Teachers weave in

the hands-on activities throuhout,” said ash of itizen

chools. mandy auser-gandin, itizen chools Prora

irector, explained, “We carefully choose itizen Teachers.

We need people who enoy iddle school-ae kids and can

be dynaic in front of the. We especially look for people


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 51/68j g m 49

who are learners theselves—open to hearin feedback

about their teachin. We try for collee raduates—

because we think our kids should o to collee and we

want to be role odels.”

itizen Teacher Katrina . eosaquo, a eophysicist

fro onoco Phillips, recently led a tea of enineersand eophysicists in developin and teachin an

apprenticeship on natural disasters. ach week,

eosaquo works with students to explore a different

type of phenoenon. ne week, students built volcanoes

and looked at land forations. nother week, students

ade their own structures and tested their interity

usin a leaf blower to siulate hurricane-force winds.

ater, students traveled to galveston to exaine daae

fro the 2008 urricane ke and eet with Texas &m

professors who enae in hurricane research. eosaquo

said: “We focused on teachin the kids about analyzin

data. We did soe basic earth science so they understood

about plate tectonics, but we really iniized our ‘talkin

at the’ tie. We built a odel of the earth’s plates usin

wood, sandpaper, and a bunee cord so the kids could

siulate plate oveent; we built volcanoes; and we had

the interpret earthquake data.

“The challene in teachin this ae is that they don’t

always offer feedback very well. You have to take the tie

to really know each youn person and ask in a lot of ways

to ake sure they are ettin it. oeties the lesson is

not tareted riht—too coplicated, or too easy, and you

need to readust. lso, it’s late in the afternoon—they can

be tired. t’s very hard, very frustratin, and very rewardin.You really et a sense of accoplishent workin with

the. a so proud of what they can accoplish.”

aid Principal e a osa, “The central focus is what the

kids are doin. They are workin toether—they are

dissectin sheep hearts and buildin solar cars. They are

learnin about careers and possibilities.”

assandra jones, itizen chools apus irector for

jane on, added, “ur oal is to expose kids to all kinds

of Tm content and careers and spark their enaeent

in science. ne thin we realized was how iportant

exposure is. These kids have not had the opportunitybefore to see if that spark of interest is there. o when they

feel it, they are excited.”

Jane long student subgroup 2010-2011

liible for Free/educed

Price unch 96%

iited nlish Procient 52%

nrolled in pecial ducation 12%

M s F si scic iM FFciVly

The jane on science teachers collaborate closely with

one another. “We have very structured science curricula

and we are all coverin the sae units at rouhly the sae

tie. o we know as seventh- and eihth-rade teachers,

what all the sixth raders did in science and we can build

on that. We have had coon curricula for about six

years,” said science teacher iann Valentine. “t helps usthat the science teachers are a tea; we have a positive

culture workin toether. We recreate that positive

culture in our classroos,” said science teacher gina

odriuez. The teachers receive support fro the school

adinistration and also fro the district science tea.

owever, the science teachers point out the aps in

consistency between the district’s plannin uide—

called the P-g—and the district-andated interi

assessents, which ust be adinistered every two to

three weeks. n addition to the inconsistency in content

between the assessents and what is expected to be

tauht, the assessents are perceived by the teachers

to focus priarily on lower-order thinkin and content.

dditionally, the P-g does not yet reect the chanin

Texas science standards and the statewide standardized

test. cience epartent ead jill Bailer also noted, “The

breadth of content is onerous for our kids, especially

because they have few resources to assist the at hoe.”

ne of the ost sinicant challenes for jane on

ovin forward is increasin connections between

itizen chools staff and the science faculty to ensure

that all science tie is used ost effectively. Beyond

the occasional apprenticeship led by a science teacher,or teachers choosin to attend the twice-yearly WW!

showcases, there is very little interaction between the two

roups of educators. Kendall Bailey, jane on ssistant

Principal, said, “ur faculty and the itizen chools staff

could learn a lot fro each other. The itizen chools

teachers have ore freedo over what they teach [in

the apprenticeships], and their careers are not hinin

on how well the students do on the standardized tests.

They could show our teachers how to ake their classes

ore enain, ore eaninful for the students. n

the ip side, the itizen chools staff plans reat thins

for the kids to do, and soeties they strule with

execution. ur faculty could help with content knowlede,pedaoical strateies, and classroo anaeent.”

ne challene is identifyin the tie for the tea to

work toether. n the oriinal desin, students were to be

disissed early every Friday to enable oint plannin and

professional developent aon teachers and itizen

chools staff. This plan had to be scrapped due to rant

requireents that the extended prora had to run every

day. evertheless, itizen chools apus irector assandra

jones is ovin forward. “We are already ettin ore

intentional by ephasizin scientic discourse and process

across all of our science-focused apprenticeships,” she said.




mPaC

The eanded school da and the redesin of the schedule

to roide more core science time has ien Jane Lon

teachers and Citizen Schools staff and olunteers time

to enae students in all four of the imortant strands of

science identied in Taking Science to School and the toadditional strands emhasized in Surrounded by Science.

For eamle, the store item classication roject, hich is

desined to hel students understand the rationale behind

the as that bioloists classif liin thins, roides

an oortunit for students to articiate in Strand 3—

understand the nature and deeloment of scientic

knolede. Citizen Schools STEM arenticeshis offer

stron eamles of all four Surrounded by Science learnin

strands: creatin ecitement, interest, and motiation to

learn about henomena in the natural and hsical orld

and deeloin a sense of identit in oun eole as

science learners.

At the close of its rst ear, the eanded schedule for

Jane Lon sith raders had imacted the school in

seeral as:

• No state assessment in science is administered to

sith rade students, but the math and readin scores

of the Jane Lon sith-rade shoed considerable

imroement oer ast ears. The ercentae of sith

raders assin the Teas Assessment of Knolede

and Skills (TAKS) in math in srin 2011 rose from 70 to

77 ercent and the ercent assin ith a “commended

erformance” increased 13 to 30 ercent. Accordin tothe Teas Education Aenc, commended erformance

is considerabl aboe the state assin standard and

shos thorouh understandin of the knolede and

skills at the rade leel tested.33 prior to this ear, the

sith-rade math assae rate as increasin onl

about a ercentae oint a ear for the last four ears.

Strikinl, the ercentae of sith raders scorin in the

commended erformance rane had been decreasin

nearl 2 ercentae oints er ear oer the rior three

ears before increasin 17 oints in 2011. Readin

achieement also climbed, ith sith-rade assin

rates on the 2011 readin TAKS imroin from 63 to

73 ercent and the commended erformance rateincreasin from 16 to 26 ercent.

• The 2010-11 academic ear as the rst in nine ears

that the school eceeded its enrollment rojections for

the sith rade. On the rst da of school in Setember

2010, 200 students ere eected, and 240 shoed u.

• parent satisfaction as hih. Accordin to a arent

sure administered b Citizen Schools, 89 ercent of

resondents areed that eanded time heled their

child do better in school; 92 ercent areed that since

eanded time as imlemented, their child has triedharder to do ell in school; and 76 ercent of arents

said the main reason the ant their child attendin

an eanded-time school is for eosure to skills and

oortunities needed for his or her future. One arent

noted in ritten sure feedback: “M child has a reat

attitude, stands tall, seaks out, has reat condence,

honest, and oenness” as a result of articiatin in

Citizen Schools.

• Attendance imroed. Sith raders osted a 96 ercent

attendance rate in 2010-2011 (reresentin a 20 ercent

reduction in absenteeism). Students noted in ritten

sure feedback, “ I hae fun and do stuff I’d neer done

in m life” and “what I like about Citizen Schools is the

raise me a lot hen I do ood.”

Jane Lon facult members mentioned the difference the

sa in students’ social deeloment, communications

skills, use of ocabular, and abilit to elain and seak

condentl. “The eosure to eole, laces, ideas, outside

of their immediate neihborhood is so aluable. It is so

imortant ho Citizen Schools teaches the kids to think

about their futures and the ossibilities outside this

e-block area—hich for man constitutes their entire

orld,” said teacher gina Rodriuez.

Carlos, a sith rader, declared, “I hae nothin to do at

home. I ant to be here doin somethin.” His friend Daid

said uietl, “Citizen Schools is a art of me, like a famil,

a home. M friends are here. I am comfortable. I like the

teachers. The classes are smaller. we hae more one-on-one

time. I am comfortable sain I don’t understand, and the

hel me.”



PCP

In March of 2011, princial Diana De La Rosa as

transferred b HISD to a ne osition as rincial of an

undererformin school, patrick Henr Middle School,

and a ne administratie team took oer manaement

of Jane Lon. The sitch in administrators is art of a

larer lan to conert Jane Lon to a manet school

serin rades 6 – 12 ith a focus on health sciences.

As art of that transition —hich is set to offer

rade 9 beinnin in Fall 2012—the current Jane Lon

administration oted to eliminate the eanded-time

roram for sith rade and return to a traditional

schedule. The future lans include offerin healthscience-related internshis for older students.

In her ne role at patrick Henr, princial De La Rosa

has continued the artnershi ith Citizen Schools

and alied for a rant to suort it. Because the rant

(a federal Title I priorit grant) as aarded for onl one

ear instead of the eected three, hoeer, patrick Henr

is not able to moe to an eanded da for all sith raders

at this time. De La Rosa hoes to nd sources to suort

eanded time in future ears and is actiel seekin ublic

and riate rants to suort the schedule eansion for

all sith raders. For no, the school offers otional after-

school enrichment ith Citizen Schools and aroimatel

200 students articiate (includin about one third of the

sith rade class). In addition, patrick Henr ill focus

attention on deeloin the science curriculum, includinrunnin a STEM fair ith arents and a STEM summer cam

for seenth raders.

The eosure to eole, laces,

ideas, outside of their immediate

neihborhood is so aluable. It isso imortant ho Citizen Schools

teaches the kids to think about theirfutures and the ossibilities outside

this e-block area—hich for manconstitutes their entire orld.”

gina Rodriuez, science teacher, Jane Lon Middle School

“




KEy FINDINgS“what doesn’t ork is tackin on a fe more

minutes to the da and askin teachers to do

more of hat the hae been doin. That’s siml

because there has to be a more comlete chane

in the structure and content of schoolin. we need

to nd as to deeen student enaement, to

ie kids a reater sense of onershi oer their

learnin, and to reall ta into student motiation.

ELT oens u those ossibilities, and hen it is

done ell, ou are seein kids ainin a sense of

master and cometence.”

– pedro Nouera, Eecutie Director of the Metroolitan

Center for Urban Education, Ne york Uniersit


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nctl-strengthening-science-1111 55/68KEy FINDINgS | 53

pedro Nouera, peter L. Ane professor of Education

at Ne york Uniersit, as not secicall addressin

science education in his interie ith The After-School

Cororation last fall, but it is strikin ho much the

ke themes emerin from research on science education

intersect ith the major tenets of student-centered

edao. Each school isited for this reort is attemtinto use the eanded time for to basic uroses:

Increasingstudents’activeengagementinand

profciencywithsciencelearning

Strengtheningteachers’capacitytoimplementan

enhancedscienceprogram

These to broad aroaches, each entailin three

distinct facets, are elored in detail belo. The

ndins are dran from the insihts and information

roided b the staff from the case stud schools

as ell as obserations of scholars and the

stud authors.


The initial drie for buildin in additional time in class has

been to make aailable more “time on task” for students.

Beond this objectie, hoeer, schools hae found three

secic benets of hain more time both ithin core

science classes and in etra science-themed actiities toadance their oerall science education roram.

1.alie wit te ntiol eserc

Cocil’s reports o ow stets

ler sciece, epe-tie scools

re iterti ore s-o

leri ctiities cilitti

ore scietic iscorse witi

te clssroo.

“Hands-on learnin” has become a ubiuitous hrase in

science education, and as such, it means different thins

to different eole. Karen worth, chair of the Teachin

Standards Committee of the National Science Education

Standards project, denes hands-on learnin as follos:“Hands-on learnin is not siml maniulatin thins.

It is enain in in-deth inestiations ith objects,

materials, henomena, and ideas, and drain meanin

and understandin from those eeriences.”34

Man teachers in eanded-time schools are interatin

hands-on learnin into the loner instructional blocks

in as that meet this hiher standard of scientic

inestiation. The actiities include eeriments, such

as usin ater and sand to create erosion; and rojects,

such as buildin scale-models of the solar sstem, creatin

diarams of the structure of a cell, or creatin relications

of the meado habitat. Althouh these rojects take timeto imlement correctl, the imact on students’ learnin

can be sinicant. For eamle, across the countr, fourth-

rade students ho reorted articiatin in hands-on

science actiities eer da, or almost eer da, scored an

aerae of 16 oints hiher on the 2009 Science National

Assessment of Educational proress (NAEp) than those ho

reorted neer doin hands-on actiities.35




Althouh interation of hands-on aroaches in

science class is necessar, it is not enouh. Ready, Set,

Science! asserts, “Man teachers hae their students

do eeriments or make obserations ith the

hoe that scientic understandin ill miraculousl

emere from the data. Bein eosed to ne information,

hoeer, is not the same as understandin or interatinthat information into hat one alread knos. Real

concetual chane reuires that deeer reoranizations

of knolede occur.”36

Man teachers interieed for this reort reconized this

difference beteen information eosure and interation,

and the reiterated that the additional time as

articularl imortant for them to ensure that hands-on

actiities are surrounded b reection on science content,

attention to lanuae, and oortunities for students to

build and demonstrate understandin throuh discussion

and arument.

Said Jennifer Talor, volusia Count District public Schools

Science Secialist K-12, “These discussions are ke;

otherise it’s hat I call ‘birthda art science’—fun and

ecitin but students don’t necessaril retain the science

knolede.” Debra Turner, a third-rade teacher at TMALS

in Ne york Cit elained, “Sometimes the students et

cauht u in the eeriment and lose siht of the oint.

we need the etra time to kee them on track and kee the

focus on the science oals.”

proidin oortunities for students to deelo and

communicate their ideas throuh rou discussion anddebate is an imortant a skilled science teachers

create classrooms that emulate ho scientists ork. In

an Aril 2010 Science reie, Stanford Uniersit School

of Education professor Jonathan Osborne noted that

to ensure student discourse effectiel contributes

to learnin, teachers must teach the norms of social

interaction, model eemlar aruments, dene secic

outcomes of the discussion, hel students ask the

aroriate uestions, and identif releant and irreleant

eidence.37 The Ready, Set, Science! authors oint out

that teachers can use scientic arument and other

discourse strateies to build the caacit of linuisticall

dierse learners b “alloin time for comle ideas to be

eressed, listened to, reeated, re-oiced, and resonded

to at lenth.”38

School leaders and teachers at the roled schools soke

about ho the eanded time has enabled them to createan enironment that allos students to make mistakes

and eamine hat the hae learned as a result, rather

than rushin throuh the material. Seeral teachers across

different schools ointed out that creatin an enironment

in hich mistakes are elcomed as oortunities to

learn emulates ho scientists enae ith their on

material. As Sharon Llod, a teacher at Starke Elementar

in volusia Count, eressed, “we must be illin to allo

the students to make mistakes and to make mistakes

ourseles. There is aluable learnin in makin a mistake.

Science is not a erfect thin.”

These teachers also are uidin their students to ork in

a scientic communit of their eers. Starke Elementar

teacher Cind McNair said, “In addition to the science

content, one of m oals is to teach students to ork

as cooeratie artners, so the are familiar ith the

scientic rocess. workin this a is the same as ho

scientists aroach their ork.” Trais Bacon, a pierson

fth-rade teacher, said, “M students need to ork on

resectin each other and treatin each other as members

of a communit. The need life and social skills. we need

the etra time for this. we need to slo eerthin don

and brin students toether to talk and enae in self-

reection. That’s a reat a for us to nd out: Hae theinternalized the learnin?”

Therefore, throuh hands-on learnin students can deeen

their master of science content and the scientic rocess

b enain in inestiations and discoer; atherin and

resentin eidence; defendin and elainin their ideas

in classroom discussions; and orkin roductiel ith

their eers. In other ords, students in eanded-time

schools are enain in science learnin that blends the

National Research Council’s four science learnin strands.



2.ecers i epe-tie scools re

si te etr tie to ipleet specic

strteies to coter eciecies i

rei leels, cro cotet,

oclr, wic ote re prooce

o i-poert, lis-le-

lerer stet popltios.

Man teachers and administrators ointed to as in

readin skill, backround contet, and knolede of

both scientic discourse and eneral ocabular as

sinicant challenes for students. Said Siobhan gordon,

a rst- rade teacher at Thurood Marshall Academ

Loer School (TMALS) in Ne york Cit, “we need to build

their ocabular and eose them to ne eeriences so

the hae oortunities to broaden their lanuae and

ersectie. we need to build their knolede so hen

the are readin the hae a broader contet to aroach

the material.” She roided an eamle: “Man don’t kno

hat a relace is; hen a uestion on the test refers to a

relace, the don’t kno hat to do.”

The need to boost readin rocienc has drien school

leaders across the countr to eand instructional time in

Enlish lanuae arts, sometimes at the eense of science

time. Some researchers uestion that dichotom, ointinout that literac skills are best acuired and understood

as learnin tools that suort acuisition of knolede

across discilines. These researchers cite eamles of

efforts to interate literac and science instruction,

ith the results benettin student cometencies in

both areas.39

At Matthe Kuss Middle School in Fall Rier,

Massachusetts, the focus is on ritin ractice across all

academic areas and eandin the students’ knolede

of ocabular broadl. Said Sarah Chain, a Kuss science

teacher, “we hae found that sometimes ke ords in

the test uestion are unfamiliar, for eamle: tradeoffs,

conestion, interchaneable. In each instance, students

did not kno the ord and couldn’t understand the

uestion, een thouh e are condent the did

understand the scientic concet. So e are orkin on

ocabular and inference skills.”

At TMALS in Ne york and at pierson and Starke in volusia

Count, the science lessons include uided readin and

buildin students’ decodin and inference strateies. At

Jane Lon in Houston, the “science lanuae oals” of each

lesson are emhasized, reeated, and reinforced multile

times. Jane Lon’s teachers also reconize the imact of

increasin roject-based learnin on the abilit of Enlish

lanuae learners to ras the material. Diann valentine,

a science teacher at Jane Lon, said, “M sith raders

recentl comleted models of the solar sstem. The

eamined the sun and rominences, asteroids, meteorites,

and comets. After this roject, m Enlish lanuae

learners ae a much better, more detailed elanation of

this on Enlish rocienc assessments then I hae eer

seen in the ast.”

The schools also are makin efforts to connect classroom

material to the “real orld.” Ready, Set, Science! identies

connectin “students’ eerda thinkin, knolede, and

resources to racticin scientists” as a ke strate for

romotin eualit in classroom discourse ith multi-

cultural oulations.40 In doin this, teachers also are

linkin ne ideas to rior knolede and eeriences.

Forin such a link is one instructional and curricular

feature that can suort students in deeloin literac inthe contet of science, accordin to researchers. “Elicitin

rior knolede becomes eseciall imortant hen

concets are abstract, hen scientic rinciles seem

distant from students’ eerda lies, and hen students’

eeriences lead them to deelo inaccurate ideas,” assert

Joseh Krajcik and LeeAnn Sutherland of the Uniersit of

Michian in an Aril 2010 Science reie article.41 Said fth-

rade pierson Elementar teacher Trais Bacon, “Tomorro

e ill be outside ith the arden hose in the dirt to see

ho erosion occurs. Our students strule ith alin

science to life, so e tr to make the eamles concrete.”




3. ot epe-tie ile scools

icle i tis st, stets were

coosi ro set o sciece electies

ie t icresi eeet, erici

te core sciece cotet, creti

coectios to sciece creers role

oels (relti irectl to ntiol

eserc Cocil reports o ot orl

iorl sciece leri). ese

two ile scools e crete orl-

iorl collortios to elier tis

ro re o sciece-se electies.

Both middle schools studied—Kuss and Jane Lon—

desined electies to relicate the mied-ae, actie,

hands-on learnin enironments found in hih-ualit out-

of-school time rorams. Their rimar oal is fosterin

enaement in science, and research shos that eihth

raders ho demonstrate interest in STEM are three times

more likel to later ursue derees in STEM elds.42 The

president’s Council of Adisors on Science and Technoloasserted in their Setember 2010 reort on imroin K-12

STEM education, “Students need oortunities to establish

deeer enaement ith and to learn science and

mathematics in non-standard, ersonal, and team-

oriented as that etend beond the curriculum and

the classroom. This is eseciall ital for identifin and

nurturin hih achieers and future STEM innoators.”43

At Jane Lon, the electies—in the form of

“arenticeshis”—are deliered b local olunteerrofessionals throuh Citizen Schools. At Kuss Middle

School, science facult members teach the electies

on subjects of their on choosin. Kuss facult hae

artnered ith eternal oranizations, includin

Urban Ecolo, the Harard-Smithsonian Center for

Astrohsics, and project Oceanolo, to roide

curricular materials and rofessional deeloment

suortin secic electies.

Career connections are an imortant comonent of the

electies and arenticeshis. The scientists teachin

arenticeshis throuh Citizen Schools can become role

models for Jane Lon students. Most of these students

are meetin a orkin scientist for the rst time, and the

fact that man of the scientists reect the students’ on

racial and ethnic heritae makes it all the more ossible

for students to enision such otential career athas

for themseles. Brinin STEM rofessionals into the

classroom—not just for a one-time isit, but in actie

teachin roles oer time—can be a oerful strate

to counter the lack of social caital that reents lo-

income and minorit oun eole from considerin

STEM careers.44 At Kuss Middle School as ell, teachers

make a oint to emhasize the career ossibilities. Kuss

science teacher Jennifer Berube, ho teaches the Forensicselectie, noted, “I make sure students understand the

career otential in forensics. Otherise, the neer assume

this is a ossibilit for them.”




Some of the schools eamined in this reort hae built

time in their eanded schedules to increase their suort

for teachers to hel them make the most effectie use

of science time. Other schools roled here resere

the eanded time eclusiel for instruction, etadministrators look for as to imlement increased

suort for teachers ithin eistin “teacher time.

As described belo, such suorts include access to:

(a) rofessional deeloment tools and trainin to

hel teachers use student assessment data to drie

instructional decisions and (b) curricula that are

uniform across the district and maed to state

standards and assessments.

1.pporte eterl prters, scool

istricts, /or scool leers, tecers

i epe-tie scools re prticipti

i proessiol eelopet ocse

o iproi cotet owlee

peoicl sill.

Most teachers in the roled schools anted accessto better and more tareted science rofessional

deeloment, and school leaders areed, citin barriers

of mone, time, and lack of ood ualit otions. In man

laces, teachers lled the as b creatin eer suort

rous, hich are often led b the eteran science teachers

and center on eer learnin echanes and obserations.

Outard-lookin, artnershi-oriented ersecties on

the art of school leaders and/or eteran teachers enabled

access to man free or lo-cost eternal rofessional

deeloment resources—includin After-School Science

plus and assistance from the Abssinian Deeloment

Cororation’s STEM Director for TMALS in Ne york; theUrban Ecolo Institute, Harard-Smithsonian Center

for Astrohsics, and project Oceanolo for Kuss in

Massachusetts; and Stetson Uniersit rofessors for

Starke Elementar in Florida. The volusia Count school

district science secialists also la an actie role in

offerin rofessional deeloment oortunities that are

directl alined ith the district’s science curricula and

ell-rearded b teachers. This district’s oal, in the near

future, is to streamline and focus trainin oortunities,

in science and across the curriculum.

Accordin to TMALS staff, enrollin a team of teachers

in rofessional deeloment that as actuall desinedfor after-school educators orked ell, because it

enabled the teachers to build their skills and condence in

facilitatin inuir-based lessons in a more accessible and

loer-stakes enironment than formal K-12 rofessional

deeloment ould hae offered. Hain a school leader

that reconized this and elcomed the “after-school”

curricula into the school as an imortant factor in

creatin success at TMALS.

2.iter s prt o epe-tie

iititie, or s prt o prllel reor

eorts, tecers i epe-tie scools

re si stet ssesset t to rie

istrctiol iproeet.

Kuss Middle School has anchored its oerall school

redesin in increasin teachers’ abilit to analzeformatie assessment data to drie instructional

imroement. For this reason, Kuss allocates art of its

eanded time for teachers to articiate in data analsis

teams. “Usin data to imroe our ractice is like

breathin no,” said Cind wrobel, a Kuss science teacher.

Throuh the Massachusetts Eanded Learnin Time

Initiatie, Kuss accesses free trainin, drain from the

resources of Massachusetts 2020 and Focus on Results

(oranizations that ork directl ith schools to facilitate

imroement) to build teacher and administrator skills

in this area. No, Kuss science teachers are leadin the

deeloment of interim science assessments that ill be

used across the district.

volusia Count reseres the “plus One” hour for instruction,

rather than time secicall for teachers to analze data

and al ndins to their instruction (althouh the 16

teacher rofessional deeloment das oer the course of

the ear are etended b one hour each in plus One schools).

Hoeer, the district has deel enaed school leaders

and teachers in usin data to understand hat students are

learnin. The science team reuires third-, fourth-, and fth-

rade teachers to administer eiht interim assessments oer

the course of the ear and has roided the teachers ith




uidance documents and data analsis sheets to hel them

analze the data durin their collaboratie lannin time.

Launchin the performance Matters sstem to analze

student data is the net major ste for volusia Count. Thissstem ill track state assessments and district interim

assessments in Enlish lanuae arts, math, and science. In

this a, the ne softare ill free teachers from comletin

data analsis b hand and enable them to send more time

lannin and ealuatin instructional resonses to the

data. performance Matters also ill roide a major tool for

customizin rofessional deeloment for each teacher—

not just in science, but oerall—as student assessments are

analzed to understand indiidual teacher needs.

3.ecers i epe-tie scools re

wori i tes to esre tt core

sciece crricl re ior cross teir

clssroos ppe to istrict

stte strs ssessets.

All the schools roled in this reort hae created uniform

science curricula oer the ast seeral ears. The haemoed toard increasin the consistenc of hat and

ho science is tauht across their classrooms and, in

some cases, across their schools as ell. Kuss teachers are

no orkin ith elementar and hih school teachers

to erticall alin the science curricula K-12 and comlete

an analsis of an as beteen the curricula and the

Massachusetts state science standards. The volusia Count

district roduces a science curricula ma keed to the

Florida state standards for each rade. Jane Lon teachers

lan their acin toether so the are all coerin the

same units on rouhl the same das. And the teachers

of Thurood Marshall in Ne york Cit ork ith Eeln

Roman, the Abssinian Deeloment Cororation STEMdirector, to alin the science curricula in core academic

classes ith afternoon science enrichments.

naL faC f uCC

The authors of this reort obsered the folloin four

ke characteristics that contribute to each of the schools’

success in leerain the eanded time for imroed

science instruction.

1. Leers wo prioritie sciece resorces to

spport it: with the focus oer the last decade on ELA

and math assessments, too fe schools hae rioritized

science. yet, in each of these schools under stud, the

rincials, assertin that science rocienc is euall

imortant to children’s learnin, hae shifted nancial

and staff resources to imroin science instruction.

For eamle, at Jane Lon Middle School in Houston,

then-rincial Diana De La Rosa ae u an assistant

rincial osition to fund the Citizen Schools eanded

da roram. Meanhile, Florida’s volusia Count

deotes 20 ercent of its Title I resources to the nine plus

One schools (out of 68 Title I schools), and has increased

its sendin on science instruction, desite a district

curriculum budet decrease from $7 million in 2007 to $2

million in 2010.

2. cool tes wit itesit o prpose

williess to te riss: Teachers, school leaders, and

eternal artners at the eanded-time schools hae an

intensit of urose as the restle ith the comle

challene of increasin student achieement in science

and other academic areas. In each school, eandin the

schedule reresented a major disrution of the status

uo and reuired an enormous inestment of time,talent, and resources. Still, eerone ho articiated

in this stud—school leaders, teachers, students, and

eternal artners—talked aroinl of the benets of

hain more time.

3. Coitet to iproi teci: Eanded

learnin time is roin to be a oerful dra for

stron science teachers. In some schools, the hae the

chance to desin and teach electies beond their core

academic classes and articiate in artnershis and

rofessional deeloment focused on science toics of

their on choice. In all schools, teachers hae the time

to dele deel into scientic content and rocess intheir core academic science classes. veteran science

teachers are creatin artnershis ith eternal science

oranizations, mentorin noice teachers, deeloin

innoatie lesson lans, leadin discussions of student

assessment data, and enain in eanded eer

obserations.



4. forl-iorl collortios tt eric sciece

teci leri: Some schools hae leeraed

eanded learnin time to create or deeen formal-

informal collaborations that hae transformed their

aroach to science instruction and enriched theirscience course offerins. These artnershis are aimed

at sarkin student enaement in science throuh

actie learnin connected to real-orld situations and

broadenin student ersectie about science careers

b hain them ork ith, and learn from, scientists.

Because the collaborations haen durin the school

da, all students hae access to, and benet from,

these eeriences, not just those ho miht hae

chosen to enroll in after-school rorammin or in the

informal science rorammin offered b one of the

artner oranizations. School leaders also hae been

sa about choosin their artners, tain into the

resources and eertise of oranizations that hae

embraced the mission of imroin science enaement

and rocienc amon under-reresented oulations,

and the leaders hae arnered national and local ublic

and riate resources to imlement their ideas. These

artner oranizations include Citizen Schools, The

After-School Cororation, Abssinian Deeloment

Cororation, the Harard-Smithsonian Center for

Astrohsics, and the Urban Ecolo Institute. In some

cases, these oranizations hae brouht not onl

resources and eertise; the also hae introduced their

school artners to ne strateies for assessin student

outcomes that o beond standardized tests or radesto measure enaement in science and students’ sense

of themseles as caable of ursuin science careers.

As a result of these core elements and the as in hich

the hae led school leaders to manae learnin time,

four out of the e schools in this stud hae shon

increased science rocienc leels, as measured b state

standardized tests. (Jane Lon Middle School in Houston

eerienced the eanded time schedule for onl one ear,

thus it ill be difcult to assess the imact of the initiatie

on eihth-rade science test scores.) As detailed in the case

studies, additional imacts of lenthenin the school da

hae included increased enrollment, attendance, ositiebehaior, arental inolement, and student enaement

in science.

Cnnung ChaLLng

Een ith these successes, the roled schools are

facin similar challenes in their efforts to create better

outcomes for students—both in science achieement and

enaement and in oerall academic and ersonal success.

These four challenes are:

1. proi te qlit o sciece teci: Transformin

science classrooms so the more closel emulate ho

scientists o about their ork—as articulated in the

National Research Council’s Science Learnin Strands—

is a comle endeaor. Chanin sstem-leel factors,

such as standards and assessments, to more closel

alin ith a hiher-order, comrehensie ision of

science rocienc ill ensure that teachers are not

forced to emhasize content oer scientic rocess.

In addition, ood rofessional deeloment is needed

across the board. The most effectie teachers in the

rou of schools studied hae had stron suort from

district science teams, or from eternal science artners,

to build their scientic knolede and imroe their

edaoical aroaches oer time.

2. ercoi i-poert lis-le-lerer

stets’ eciecies i rei sill, cro

cotet, ersti ot te scietic

iscorse ore eerl oclr: Teachers in

eer school hae used etra time to interate secic

strateies aimed at issues facin Enlish lanuae

learners. Nearl all teachers interieed for this reort

considered such issues their major obstacle to successand ere searchin for more effectie aroaches.

For a secial section in Science maazine in 2010,

researchers elored the toics of science, lanuae,

and literac, and offered aruments in suort of a rane

of ractices, such as teachin in the students’ natie

lanuae in the earl rades; redesinin science tets;

and imlementin a number of secic aroaches

shon to hae ositie imact.45 Broader dissemination

of this emerin knolede is needed, so that teachers,

district science secialists, and school leaders hae the

chance to ut into ractice hat researchers in science

and literac education are learnin. In addition, more

research must be conducted to elore ho learninoortunities should be desined to build a stroner and

broader backround contet for lo-income children, so

the can better scaffold knolede and skills in science

and in other academic areas.




3. ali sciece electies wit core cotet: In some

cases, the schools that offer science electies hae not

et made stron connections beteen these electies

and their core science curricula. Elorin ho to make

those connections is an onoin challene, both for

schools ith electies deliered b eternal artners

(Jane Lon), and those here the electies are tauhtb teachers (Kuss). Additionall, understandin ho to

assess the imact of the electies is an area that needs

more attention. Althouh the electies are not strictl

informal or after-school rorams, their desin and

delier has man similar attributes, includin the fact

that students in electies are not tested or raded in the

same as as the are in core science classes. Recent

ork b the National Research Council, the National

Academies of Science, and the proram in Education,

After-school and Resilienc (pEAR) at Harard Uniersit

and McLean Hosital has roided ideas on ho to

assess not onl conitie outcomes, but also attitudinal,

behaioral, and social outcomes from informal science

eeriences.46 The schools and their artners could

otentiall adat these lessons to their eanded-time

electies in an effort to better understand hether the

electies are delierin on their romise to enhance

science enaement and cometenc.

4. aciei cil stilit: The schools in this stud

hae been creatie in leerain resources to eand

learnin time. with an unstable budet outlook,

hoeer, it ill likel be more difcult to sustain and

eand the number of students sered. volusia Count

has seen their Title I fundin reduced in recent ears,

as their numbers of children in oert hae declined,and further Title I decreases could imact the future

of the plus One roram. In Massachusetts, the Kuss

Middle School relies on annual leislatie aroriation

for ELT fundin. Thus far, state leaders hae remained

committed to the roram, but increasin budet

ressures could imact the Kuss ELT roram. TMALS

in Ne york Cit has funded its eanded time throuh

multile ublic and riate sources and must contend

ith the onoin threat of seere budet cuts and the

difcult of sustainin riate hilanthroic inestment

oer the lon-term. The short tenure of eanded

time at Jane Lon in Houston is an eamle of ho a

roram chamioned mainl b a sinle school leader

is etremel ulnerable hen that leader moes on. No

school in this stud has et accessed a a to fund the

eanded schedule that is comletel interated ith

the core er-uil budet and thus more insulated from

annual ariations in fundin.



policmakers, education reformers, and science educators

are orkin hard to chane the a science is tauht

in America. Increased ublic and arental aareness

about the imortance of science; strenthenin science

standards, assessments, and curricula; and oortunities

that inole students in informal and out-of-school time

science all romise to hel roduce more knoledeable,

enaed raduates ho ill become the inentors and

innoators of tomorro.

Hoeer, as lon as time for science instruction continues

to be sueezed, een these strateies ill likel fall

short of moin the needle on the science enaement

and rocienc of American students across the board.

without fundamentall restructurin the school

calendar—articularl at the elementar and middle

school leels—to add more learnin time and then

rioritizin science durin that time, most American

students ill siml not become either rocient in, or

ecited about, science.

Usin a rane of strateies, the eanded-time schools

eamined in this reort hae demonstrated that additional

time can brin about marked chane in students’ science

eeriences and rocienc. The schools also are offerin

teachers more suort to use science time effectiel—

throuh meaninful rofessional deeloment, solid

instructional leadershi, innoatie artnershis, hih-

ualit assessments, and curricula that meet indiidual

students’ needs.

This sinicant ork must be strenthened, sustained,

and scaled to continue to offer useful lessons to science

education reformers. Additional analsis and solutions

that address common challenes also ill benet the

increasin number of schools and districts currentl

considerin eandin their school da and ear. Man

more imlementation models are needed to uide the

efforts of schools and districts to add time in as that ill

roduce ositie outcomes for students, in science alon

ith other discilines. policmakers should rioritize

fundin that suorts eanded time, so that schools can

effectiel imlement those models that ill hae the

reatest imact on students.

The otential imact of eanded science time is reected

in the comments of Amira, a sith rader: “I asn’t that

ood at science before, but no I see that different as

of teachin are more interestin and hel me learn. I like

the fun, hands-on eeriments that hel to elain thins.”

She continued, “It also hels me hen teachers take thetime to make connections to m real life, tell me about m

career, and hel me think about the future.”

THE pROMISE OF MORE

TIME FOR SCIENCE

61SCIENCE EDUCATION AND THE CALL FOR MORE TIME |




“I asn’t that ood at science

before, but no.... I like the fu

hands-on eeriments that

hel to elain thins. It alsohels me hen teachers take

the time to make connections

to m real life, tell me about

m career, and hel me think

about the future.”– Amira, a sith rader



ndn

1 National Center for Education Statistics (2011). The Nation’s

Report Card: Science 2009 (NCES 2011–451). Institute

of Education Sciences, U.S. Deartment of Education,

washinton, DC; National Science Foundation, National

Center for Science and Enineerin Statistics (2010).Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, Chapter 2.

International S&E Higher Education. Arlinton, vA (NSB 10-

01).

2 Nation’s Report Card , . 9 and . 12.

3 National Center for Education Statistics. The 2007 Trends in

International Mathematics and Science Study. washinton,

DC: Author.

4 Science and Engineering Indicators, 2010.

5 Banerjee, R. and Mule, v.p. (2007). Engineering Education in

India Mumbai, India: ITT Bomba.

6 Science and Engineering Indicators , Chater 3. Science

& Enineerin Labor Force. Sidebar: Projected Growth of

Employment in S&E Occupations.

7 Ibid. International S&E Higher Education.

8 McMurrer, J. (2008). NCLB Year 5: Instructional Time in

Elementary Schools: A Closer Look at Changes for Specic

Subjects. washinton, DC: Center for Education polic.

9Kolbe, T., partride, p. and O’Reill, F. (2011). Time and

Learning in Schools: A National Prole. National Center

on Time & Learnin and the Center for Education polic

Analsis, Uniersit of Connecticut.

10Dorh, R., goldstein, D., Lee, S., Leori, K., Schneider, and

S., venkatesan, S. (2007). The Status of Science Education in

the Bay Area: Research Brief. Berkele, CA: Larence Hall of

Science, Uniersit of California.

11Johnson, A. “Makin science elementar: Schools ork hard

to t lessons into bus da.” The Boston Globe , March 4,

2011.

12Center on Education polic. (2010). State High School Tests:

Exit Exams and Other Assessments washinton, DC: Author.

13National Research Council. (2007). Taking Science to School:

Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8. Committee

on Science Learnin, Kinderarten throuh Eihth grade.

Richard A. Duschl, Heidi A. Scheinruber, and Andre w.

Shouse, Editors. Board on Science Education, Center for

Education. Diision of Behaioral and Social Sciences and

Education. washinton, DC: The National Academies press.

14Michaels, S., Shouse A.w. and Scheinruber, H.A. (2008).

Ready, Set, Science! Putting Research to Work in K-8

Classrooms. Board on Science Education, Center for

Education, Diision of Behaioral and Social Sciences

and Education. washinton, DC: The National Academiespress, . 57.

15Taking Science to School, . 37.

16Ibid. . 21.

17president’s Council of Adisors on Science and Technolo

(2010). Report to the President: Prepare and Inspire: K-12

Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

(STEM) for America’s Future , .12.

18Tai, R. H., Liu, C.q., Maltese, A.v. & Fan, x. (2006). “plannin

earl for careers in science,” Science 26 Ma 2006. vol 312,

no. 5777, . 1143-1144.

19Bell, p., Leenstein, B., Shouse A. and Feder, M., Editors.

(2009). Learning Science in Informal Environments: People,

Places and Pursuits. Committee on Learning Science in

Informal Environments , Board on Science Education,

Center for Education, Diision of Behaioral and Social

Sciences and Education. washinton, DC: The National

Academies press, . 2 and 4.

20Fenichel, M., and Scheinruber, H.A. (2010). Surrounded by

Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments. Boardon Science Education, Center for Education, Diision of

Behaioral and Social Sciences and Education. washinton,

DC: The National Academies press.

21Bean, B. ith Dillon, J., Hein, g.E., Macdonald, M.,

Michalchik, v., Miller, D., Root, D., Rudder, L., xanthoudaki,

M., & yoon, S. (2010). Making Science Matter: Collaborations

Between Informal Science Education Organizations and

Schools. A CAISE Inuir grou Reort. washinton, DC:

Center for Adancement of Informal Science Education

(CAISE).

22See National Center on Time & Learnin (2011), LearningTime in America: Trends to Reform the American School

Calendar Boston, MA: Author.

23Checkoa, A., et al. (2011). Evaluation of the Expanded

Learning Time Initiative Year Four Integrated Report: 2009-

10 Cambride, MA: Abt Associates.

24weihted for school size and rounded u to the nearest

hole number.

25The Triod project administers student, teacher and arent

sures and analzes the data to hel schools measure the

imact of effectie teachin and student enaement.




26 For more information on Ne york Cit’s rincial

emoerment model, see htt://schools.nc.o/ofces/

emoerment/default.htm

27 Friedman, L. and quinn, J. “Ho After-School prorams

Can Nurture youn Scientists and Boost the Countr’s

Scientic Literac.” Education Week , Februar 22, 2006.

28 Donner, J. and Moran, E. (2010). Collaboratie for

Buildin After-School Sstems Frontiers in Urban

Science Eloration Resource guide. .8. htt://.

afterschoolsstems.or/content/document/detail/3040/,

retrieed Aril 2011. The criteria ere also informed

bthe ork of great Science for girls, a National Science

Foundation-funded roject of the Educational Euit

Center at the Academ for Educational Deeloment.

29Interie ith Saskia Traill, The After-School Cororation,

Aril 2011; The After-School Cororation. (2010). Unlocking

the Power of Expanded Learning Time: Year Two Report.

Ne york: Author.

30htt://.tascor.or/section/aboutus/mission,

retrieed Ma 2011.

31 See Farbman, D. (2011). Harnessing the Power of

Expanded Time to Improve Schools. Boston, MA: National

Center on Time & Learnin. Aailable at: htt://.

timeandlearnin.or/?=node/99.

32 Roers, S. (2005). “Suerneihborhood 27: A Brief Histor

of Chane.” Places , 17(2). Collee of Enironmental Desin,Uniersit of California, Berkele, CA.

33 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills:

Understanding the Condential Student Report, A Guide

for Parents , 2011. htt://.tea.state.t.us/student.

assessment/taks/csr/, retrieed June 2011.

34Haur, D. and Rillero, p. (1994). “persecties of Hands-On

Science Teachin.” The ERIC Clearinhouse for Science,

Mathematics and Enironmental Education. posted to the

North Central Reional Laborator’s pathas to School

Imroement internet serer. htt://.ncrel.or/sdrs/

areas/issues/content/cntareas/science/eric/eric-1.htm,retrieed March 2011.

35The National Assessment of Educational proress

Data Elorer: htt://nces.ed.o/nationsreortcard/

naedata/reort.as, retrieed Ma 2011.

36Ready, Set, Science! , . 41.

37Osborne, J. (2010). “Aruin to Learn in Science: The Role

of Collaboratie, Critical Discourse.” Science , 328(5977),

463-466.

38Ready, Set, Science! , . 101-102.

39pearson, p. D., Moje, E., & greenleaf, C. (2010). “Literac

and science: Each in the serice of the other.” Science,

328(5977), 459-463.

40Ready, Set, Science! , . 101.

41Krajcik, J. and Sutherland, L. (2010). “Suortin Students

in Deeloin Literac in Science.” Science , 328(5977),

456-459.

42A. v. Maltese and Tai, R.H. (2010). “Eeballs in the Fride:

Sources of Earl Interest in Science.” International Journal

of Science Education , 32:669–685.

43president’s Council of Adisors on Science and Technolo

(2010). Report to the President: Prepare and Inspire: K-12

Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

(STEM) for America’s Future. .96.

44National Science Foundation Final worksho Reort

(2005). Pathway to STEM Careers: Preparing the STEM

Workforce of the 21st Century, Broadening Participation

Through a Comprehensive, Integrated System. htt://

.seas.u.edu/~stem/STEMreort_March05.df,

retrieed Ma 2011.

45pearson, p. D., Moje, E., & greenleaf, C. Amon the

aroaches cited ere: Concet-Oriented Readin

Instruction (CORI), In-deth Eanded Alications of

Science (Science IDEAS), guided Inuir suortinMultile Literacies (gIsML), Seeds of Science—Roots

of Readin and Readin Arenticeshi. An article in

the same issue of Science b Catherine Sno (. 450-

452) also referenced word generation, htt://.

ordeneration.or, a roram for middle school

students deeloed b the Strateic Education Research

partnershi that embeds all-urose academic ords in

interestin toics and roides actiities for use in math,

science and social studies as ell as Enlish lanuae arts

classes.

46Hussar, K., Schartz, S., Boiselle, E. and Noam, g. (2008).

Toward a Systematic Evidence-Base for Science in Out-of-School Time: The Role of Assessment. The proram in

Education, After-school and Resilienc (pEAR) at Harard

Uniersit and McLean Hosital; and Friedman, A. (Ed.).

(2008). Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal

Science Education Projects. htt://insci.or/resources/

Eal_Frameork.df, retrieed Ma 2011 and Assessment

Tools in Informal Science: Ratings and Reviews: htt://

.eareb.or/atis.



The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) is

dedicated to expanding learning time to improve student

achievement and enable a well-rounded education.

Through research, public policy, and technical assistance,

we support national, state, and local initiatives that add

significantly more school time to help children meet the

demands of the 21st century.

LEAD AUTHOR

Kathleen Traphagen

Consultant

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Jennifer Davis

Co-Founder and President, National Center on Time &

Learning

David Farbman

Senior Researcher, National Center on Time & Learning

Claire Kaplan

Vice President for Knowledge Management and Strategy,

National Center on Time & Learning

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The National Center on Time & Learning gratefully

acknowledges the Noyce Foundation for supporting the

publication of this report.

The Noyce Foundation aims to help young people become

curious, thoughtful, and engaged learners. The Noyce

Foundation focuses on a few key areas: improving the

teaching of math, science, and literacy in public schools;

develping leadership to support student achievment;

education policy and research; and, finally, on expanding

opportunities for students to experience hands-on science

in out-of-school settings.

We thank the following individuals for their guidance and

insights in developing this study:

Ron Ottinger

Executive Director, Noyce Foundation

Linda Rosen

Executive Director, Change the Equation

Cary Sneider

Associate Research Professor, Portland State University;

Advisor, Noyce Foundation

Claus von Zastrow

Chief Operating Officer and Director of Research,

Change the Equation

We also appreciate the contributions of members of the

NCTL team, including:

Blair Brown

Director of Communications and External Affairs

George Mastoras

Program Associate

Diane Sherlock

Editorial Director

Thomas Zorich

Program Associate

Finally, we are very grateful to the administrators,

teachers, partners, and students in the five profiled

schools for generously sharing their valuable time with us,

welcoming us into their schools, sharing photographs, and

demonstrating their commitment to improving science

education for all students.

Electronic copies of both the full report and executive

summary are available at: www.timeandlearning.org.

Printed copies can be obtained by calling (617) 378-3940.

Strengthening Science Education: The Power of More Time

To Deepen Inquiry and Engagement

Fall 2011

NATIONAL CENTER ON

TIME & LEARNING



www.timeandlearning.org

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