Community partnership grant generates preservice teacher and middle school student motivation for authentic science and mathematics

School Science and Mathematics, Jan 2003 by Selover, Nancy J, Dorn, Ronald I, Brazel, Anthony J, Dorn, Denise

Motorola Inc., research climatologists, preservice teachers taking a science requirement, and students in a Title I middle school explored whether a new major urban lake increases local humidity and decreases quality of life in a community dependent on "dry heat " during summers. Analysis of automated climate data reveals that the urban lake is too small to increase humidity, a conclusion roughly consistent with student-gathered data-keeping in mind the difficulty of students in making reliable scientific measurements. Qualitative survey questions and interviews about the process revealed that elementary education majors learned they could generate excitement for authentic science and mathematics within themselves and within students through research experiences. Furthermore, the interaction introduced low income, minority middle schoolers to the idea that attending college is an option in their future. Thus, synergistic involvement of education majors and children in scientific research to generate excitement in science and mathematics is strongly encouraged..

An important topic in today's educational marketplace is the role of collaborations among private and public stakeholders in the preparation, retention, and recruitment of science, mathematics, and technology teachers. The project described in this article represents just such a collaboration. The project brought together Motorola Inc. (a private corporation), climatologists in a major state university (as a scientific research unit), preservice elementary teachers taking their general studies science course, and students in a suburban Title I middle school with 60% free and reduced lunch and 45% minorities (25% non-White Hispanic; 10% Black; 10% other).

A 2-year grant from the Arizona State University/ Motorola Great Communities Grants program partnered Arizona State University (ASU) personnel with local groups to help solve community problems. The scientific issue ofinterest to the community focused on the extent to which the addition ofa 224-acre lake would affect the climate of the adjacent community. In a location where "dry heat" makes the summer bearable for many, any potential development that would increase humidity raised concerns about quality oflife. The grant provided weather monitoring equipment and supplies and expenses for student field trips. Since field data transects were a fundamental part ofthe study, university students assisted middle school students with data collection.

The research problem addressed here is whether grant funds from a corporation can spur a synergistic project promoting (a) preservice teacher interest in science, (b) middle school student interest in applied mathematics, (c) a greater appreciation by all parties for basic science research, and (d) contributions to scientific knowledge on urban ecological issues, such as the climatological effects of a public water project. Context

The context of this project is the nationwide agenda of "accountability" in K-12 education. Arizona's educational reforms in standards and accountability testing, measured by standardized testing in the skill arenas of language arts and mathematics only, preceded President Bush's new education bill. The impact of accountability had been realized by Arizona school administrators well before President Bush's agenda:

Accountability is the buzzword in education. As schools are put under the microscope to get students to pass standardized tests [in math and language arts], the responsibility ultimately rests on the shoulders ofthe superintendent....administrators will increasingly see their pay linked to student performance. We're probably getting into a time where there'll be more and more performance pay contracts. (Go, 2001, p. B-9)

A statewide proposition, 301, even ties funds and administrative careers directly to mathematics and language arts test scores. The net result amounts to a reduction in emphasis of content-rich areas such as science education and not only in Arizona: "`His schools', Parker says, `are sacrificing important lessons in science, social studies and foreign languages to focus on concepts that will be tested. (Cole, 2001, p. 61). John Parker is Assistant Superintendent for Roanoke Rapids District, North Carolina.

In no uncertain terms, science education is under siege, albeit in an unintended war in Arizona and, perhaps, in the future, nationally, through these accountability measures. In the Arizona environment of accountability, we decided to see if this sciencemathematics partnership could function under the umbrella of a mathematics class, in which the mathematics teacher-partner focused the student's performance on mathematic standards of number sense and measurement.

In presenting the findings, prevalent issues in the larger literature governing our project are first discussed, then the methodological approach applied to different components of this partnership is described, results are summarized, and broader implications ofour findings are discussed.