Cooperative Agreement NNX10AU94A

THE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF NEW ROCHELLE WILL ADDRESS CONCERNS FOUND IN NUMEROUS REPORTS REGARDING OUR COUNTRY'S CRITICAL NEED TO IMPROVE STEM LEARNING, WITH A FOCUS ON MINORITIES UNDER-REPRESENTED IN THE SCIENCES. THE PROJECT DIRECTLY IMPACTS STUDENT LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT. NEW ROCHELLE'S TEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL IMPLEMENT THE YOUNG ENGINEERS AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS (YEARS) PROJECT WHICH INCLUDES A SEQUENCE OF STEM ACTIVITIES AND CURRICULA INCORPORATING NASA EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, NASA AREAS OF INTEREST, AND THE RESOURCES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND THE NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE. MANY CURRENT TEACHING METHODS AND CURRICULA ARE DESIGNED TO PREPARE STUDENTS TO PASS TESTS BY ROTE LEARNING BUT FAIL TO DEVELOP COGNITIVE SKILLS NEEDED IN SCIENCE. YEARS IS NOT JUST AN ACRONYM FOR THE PROJECT. IT DESCRIBES THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT, TO HAVE STUDENTS ENGAGED IN STEM ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES FROM THE TIME THEY ENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND CONTINUE THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. BY DOING SO, STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP IMPORTANT COGNITIVE SKILLS NECESSARY TO SUCCEED IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING. TO ADDRESS NASA'S GOAL FOR THE DELIVERY OF NASA'S STEM-RELATED CONTENT THROUGH A TECHNOLOGY IMMERSED CURRICULUM, YEARS IS BUILT ON TWO INTERDEPENDENT MODULES: 1) PROVIDING SCIENCE TEACHERS WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES AND TRAININGS TO IMPROVE THEIR ABILITIES TO ENGAGE THEIR STUDENTS, WHICH WILL IMPACT STUDENT LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT. THE PREMISE IS MANY IN-SERVICE TEACHERS HAVE HAD LITTLE OR NO EXPERIENCE AS STUDENTS IN AN INQUIRY-BASED CLASSROOM. THUS, THEY ARE ASKED TO IMPLEMENT A STRATEGY THAT IS ABSTRACT TO THEM, RATHER THAN SOMETHING WITH WHICH THEY HAVE A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. TEACHERS WILL GAIN THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE BY PARTICIPATING IN AT LEAST ONE OF TWO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS; THE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR SCIENCE TEACHERS AND ROOFTOP VARIABLES. A THIRD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY, STARLAB, WILL BE FACILITATED BY THE NEW YORK HALL OF SCIENCE'S EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. ALL TRAINING PROGRAMS WILL INCLUDE CURRICULA ACTIVITIES CONTAINING NASA EDUCATION MATERIALS. HAVING THESE EXPERIENCES AND MATERIALS, AND BECOMING PART OF A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY, TEACHERS WILL BE EMPOWERED TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES; AND 2) PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH NASA-ENRICHED CURRICULUM DURING THE SCHOOL DAY AND OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE THEIR STEM LEARNING IN NASA-INSPIRED AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER STEM ACADEMIES. YEARS PRIMARY GOAL IS TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN FIRST-HAND HOW CLASSROOM EXPERIENCES RELATE TO REAL WORLD PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS THROUGH HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES AND EXPLORING ACTUAL APPLICATION SETTINGS. STUDENTS AT ALL GRADE LEVELS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN THESE ACTIVITIES, AND THEN WHEN THEY ARTICULATE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL, THEY WILL ENGAGE IN A RIGOROUS STEM EDUCATION. CAPTIVATING STUDENT INTEREST REQUIRES BEING RELEVANT TO STUDENTS' LIVES AND AT THE SAME TIME NOT HAVE STUDENTS FEEL THREATENED OR TURNED OFF BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THEY CANNOT DO SCIENCE OR MATHEMATICS. YEARS WILL USE THE CLASSROOM AS A VEHICLE TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH A FOUNDATION OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE. THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE WILL THEN HAVE THEM MOVE INTO HANDS-ON, PROBLEM-BASED ACTIVITIES. STUDENTS WILL BE AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT REAL WORLD SETTINGS WHERE THEY WILL LEARN FIRST HAND HOW THE APPLICATIONS ARE USED ON A DAILY BASIS. YEARS WILL BE THE CATALYST FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE IN THE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF NEW ROCHELLE'S STEM LEARNING. WITH A HIGHLY SUPPORTIVE ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNITY, ONCE YEARS IS FULLY INCORPORATED INTO THE CURRICULUM, THE PROJECT, INCLUDING THE AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER STEM ACADEMIES, WILL CONTINUE WELL BEYOND THE TWO-YEAR AWARD.