Center for the Advancement of STEM Education

Dana Mohler-Faria Science and Mathematics Center

Room 220, Bridgewater, MA 02325

Website

http://microsites.bridgew.edu/case

Science • Technology

Engineering • Mathematics STEM

Annual Report The Center for the Advancement of STEM

Education

New Initiatives The Center for the Advancement of STEM Education launched a new small grant program and partnered with BSU faculty and regional organizations to develop several opportunities to promote scientific literacy. CASE worked with Biology faculty and staff to offer a Darwin Day community event, designed to “inspire people to reflect and act on the principles of intellectual bravery, perpetual curiosity, scientific thinking, and hunger for truth as embodied in Charles Darwin.” CASE also sponsored Future Educator STEM Workshops, run in partnership with Department of Education and STEM faculty and staff. A CASE grant also sponsored a Project GreenLab Open Lab Night for Middle and High School Educators professional development workshop. In addition, we partnered with GreenLight for Girls, an international organization dedicated to inspiring girls of all ages and backgrounds to pursue STEM subjects, to run a STEM day for local middle school students. We also partnered with the New England Coastal Wildlife Association and the Middleboro and Bridgewater-Raynham high schools to host a Whale of a Family Night community program. Several grant-funded initiatives were also launched this year, including Raising the Bar for All, funded by the Massachusetts Math and Science Partnership; The Great Diseases, funded by the National Institutes of Health; and Stormwater Stewards: Protecting and Restoring Fisheries through Watershed Stewardship, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Working with colleagues throughout the University and beyond, CASE is creating innovative programs that fulfill our mission of promoting scientific literacy in our community.

-Jennie Aizenman, Director

Making It Happen: CASE Faculty and Staff

Jennifer Aizenman, Director

Martina Arndt, Observatory

Edward Brush, Project GreenLab

Kevin Curry, Watershed Access Lab

Vernon Domingo, EarthView

James Hayes-Bohanan, EarthView

Jamie Kern, Observatory

2016 Advisory Committee

Martina Arndt, Professor of Physics, Faculty Coordinator, Observatory

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

Kevin Curry, Professor of Biological Sciences, Faculty Coordinator,

Watershed Access Lab

Nicole Glen, Associate Professor of Elementary and Early Childhood

Education

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

Project EarthView

Stephen Krajeski, Assistant Professor, Secondary Education and

Professional Programs

Jamie Kern, Visiting Lecturer, Physics, Observatory Manager

Jenna Mendell, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Faculty

Coordinator, CityLab

Rebecca Metcalf, Associate Professor and Chair of Mathematics, Faculty

Coordinator, Mathematics and Computer Science Collaborative (MACS)

Polina Sabinin, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Faculty Coordinator,

Games Teachers Play

Kim McCoy, Assistant Director,

CityLab and Watershed Coordinator

Jenna Mendell, CityLab

Rebecca Metcalf, MACS

Polina Sabinin, Engage in Math

Maura Whittemore, Administrative

Assistant

CASE operating costs in FY2016 were $217,772, with 56% provided

by the University, and 46% covered by CASE revenue and grant

funding. Additionally, CASE brought in $73,039 in revenue that will

be used in FY17 to support existing and new programs.

Financial Information

23,306

16,766

4,459

1,218

178

203

685

By the Numbers

PreK-12 Students

Participants in CASE programs

Community Members

K-12 Teachers

Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Schools

Faculty and Staff

Grant Funded Programs

Raising the Bar, a Massachusetts Mathematics and Science Partnership-funded program partners CASE and BSU STEM faculty with Randolph and Braintree Public Schools. The mission to promote math and science content knowledge for teachers of K-12 student will be achieved through developing and offering three graduate level science content courses for teachers. Funding to BSU is $61,965 over two years.

CASE partnerships expand our ability to promote interest and literacy in science and mathematics across the region.

Stormwater Stewards: Protecting and Restoring Fisheries through Watershed Stewardship is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funded program that partners the Watershed Access Lab with local middle and high schools. Programs are designed to excite middle and high school teachers and their students to become active stewards of watershed resources. BSU’s funding is $217,813 over three years.

12 Schools, Colleges, Universities and Organizations

Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Martin Middle School Martinson elementary Mashpee Middle-High School Mass Insight Education Math Kangaroo McCall School McCall School Memorial School Middleboro High School Monomoy Regional Middle School Mulcahey Elementary Mullein Hill Christian Academy Naval Undersea Warfare Center NERC NESTVAL New England- St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society Newton Country Day School Newton South High School Nicholas A. Ferri Middle School Nichols Middle School North Andover Middle North Attleboro High School North Attleboro Middle School North Middle School North Quincy High School Norton High School Norton Middle School Old Colony VoTech Oliver Ames High School Our Sister's School Parker Middle School ParkView Elementary School Paula Shea Children's Endowment PCIS Pearson Middle School Pembroke Community Middle School Pembroke High School Pembroke Middle Philip G. Coburn Elementary School Pierce Middle School Pilgrim Academy Plouffe Academy Plymouth North High School Plymouth South High School Project Wet Pt. Webster Middle Pyne Arts Magnet Qualters Middle School Quincy High School

Ralph D. Butler Elementary Raynham Middle School Richardson-Olmsted School Roger Williams University Rogers Middle School Rumney Marsh Academy Sacred Heart High School Salem State University Sandwich HS Scituate High School Seekonk High School Sharon High School Sharon Middle School Shepard Hill Regional High School Silver Lake Middle School Silver Lake Regional High School Simmons College Sippican School South Middle School South Shore Charter Public School South Shore Vo Tech Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School Spofford Pond School St Bridget School St. John Paul II High School St. John the Evangelist Canton St. Joseph Catholic Stoughton High School Suffolk University Tenney Grammar Trinity Catholic University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Upper Cape Regional Technical School Wareham Jr. Girl Scouts Wareham Middle School Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry Waters West Middle West Suburban Creative Arts Council Westfield State University Wheelock College Whitman Brownie Troop Whitman Hanson Regional High School Wickford Middle School William M. Davies Career and Technical High School Williams Intermediate School Worcester Group Worcester State University Wynn School Youth Environmental & Social Society

Participating K-12 Schools, Colleges, Universities and Organizations

Abington High School Ahern Middle School Alfred S. Letourneau Elementary School Ashfield Middle School Austin Intermediate School Beckwith Middle School Bi-County Collab. Boyden Elementary School Braintree East Middle Braintree High School Braintree South Middle Bridgewater Middle School Bridgewater Raynham Regional High School Bristol Plymouth Vocational Tech Broad Meadows Middle School Brockton Cub Scouts/Tiger Den Brockton High School BSU Honors Program Buckswood International School Butler Elementary School Calvary Chapel Academy Captain Samuel Brown School Carlos Pacheco School Carver Elementary School Cathedral High School Center School Chapman Middle Chatham Middle Cisco Class of '42 Coyle & Cassidy High School Coyle & Cassidy Middle School Cub Scouts Pack 239 Cub Scouts Raynham Pack 43 Cub Scouts Whitman Pack 22 Dartmouth Middle Dawe Elementary School Dennett Elementary Dhahran Elementary Middle School Downey Elementary Duxbury Middle School East Bridgewater Jr/Sr High School East Middle School Easton Middle School Edgar B Davis School Elms College Envisions Program Falmouth Academy Falmouth High School First Experimental School Fisher School

Fitchburg State University Footbridge Program Friedman Middle School Frolio Middle School Furnace Brook Middle School Garfield Middle School Gear Up Program George R. Austin Intermediate School Girl Scout Cadette Troop #75463 Girl Scouts Cadettes, West Bridgewater Girl Scouts of Eastern MA Global Charter High School Gordon Mitchell Middle School Greater Lawrence Technical High School Greenlight for Girls Halifax Elementary Hanover High School Hanover Middle School Hanson Middle School Hingham High School Hingham Middle School Hobomock Elementary School Hopkinton High School Horace Mann Middle School Howe Manning Elementary Hull Middle Indian Head School J. B. Congdon School John F Kennedy Elementary John J. Ahern Middle School John T. Nichols Jr. Middle School John W. Rogers Middle School Jordan/Jackson Elementary School Joseph Case Jr High School Kenneth Coombs School King Philip Middle School King Phillips High School Kingston Elementary Kingston Intermediate School LaLiberte Elementary School Lawrence Academy Liberty Elementary School Lieutenant Peter Hansen Littleton Middle School Looney Math Consulting Louis F. Angelo Elementary Louise A Conley Elementary School MA State House Malden Catholic Mansfield High School Maquan Elementary School

Participating K-12 Schools, Colleges, Universities and Organizations Discover the Microbes Within: The Wolbachia Project represents a partnership between CASE, the BSU Department of Biology and the Marine Biological Laboratory and is funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. The program provided “discovery science” professional development to 19 pre-service and in-service teachers and undergraduate biology majors. Funding for BSU’s component of the project is $36,640 over two years.

The Great Diseases: Biomedical Science in the High School Classroom partners CASE, the BSU Department of Biology, and Tufts University School of Medicine and is funded through a National Institutes of Health, Science and Education Partnership Award. BSU will offer five inquiry-based courses focused on the Great Diseases Curriculum, developed by the Center for Translational Science Education at Tufts. Funding for BSU’s component is $112,527 over 5 years.

The Paula Shea Children’s Endowment partnered with CASE and the Bridgewater Raynham school district to sponsor 16 students to attend the Spring and Summer Science Academy; to host Environmental Explorers – This Watery World, an afterschool program for 24 students in grades 4-6; and to host an Astronomy Enrichment Program for 24 Bridgewater Raynham 4th and 5th grade students. BSU received $14,844 in FY16.

CASE Grant Program CASE launched a grant program to support BSU faculty and staff who develop projects that further CASE’s mission to increase interest and literacy in STEM topics. The following four projects received funding and administrative support from CASE in 2016. Elementary & Early Childhood Pre-Service Teacher Science & Engineering Workshops Niki Glen & Heather Pacheco-Guffrey, Elementary and Early Childhood Education; Deborah Fiore, Biology; Jamie Kern; Physics; Kim McCoy; Biology and CASE New Workshop Development in Astronomy Joseph Doyle, Physics Darwin Day @ BSU Caitlin Fisher Reid, Thilina Surasinghe and Maria Armour, Biology Open Lab Research Night for High School and Middle School Educators Ed Brush and Tammy King, Chemistry

Observatory

The Observatory at Bridgewater State University hosts public and private viewing events, runs K-12 workshops, and provides resources for student research, astronomy courses, and service-learning. In 2016, the Observatory hosted numerous special events including a Pluto Celebration, Lunar Eclipse viewing, Operation Stardust, and Mars Opposition 2016. Additionally, the Observatory ran a Paula Shea Children’s Endowment-funded afterschool program for 3rd and 4th grade students.

Although more than half of the viewing nights were cancelled due to weather, the Observatory still hosted 1,123 community members, 917 K-12 students, 185 BSU undergraduates, 126 K-12 teachers, and 2 BSU faculty/staff in the 2016 programs and events.

Engage in Math also partners with Math Kangaroo, an international competition in mathematics that encourages students to master their mathematical knowledge and gain confidence in their ability to comprehend mathematics.

Engage in Math

Engage in Math is an outreach program for teachers, students and parents which unlocks the world of engaging mathematics through creative problem solving, puzzles and games. Programs include Games Teachers Play professional development seminars and Parents’ Serious Play Game Nights, where parents explore age-appropriate mathematical games. Engage in Math also provides professional development for educators based on school district needs and outreach program for local elementary schools.

137 community members, 110 K-12 students, 77 preK-12 teachers, and 1 undergraduate student participated in Engage in Math workshops.

72 preK-12 students, 22 BSU students, and 11 BSU faculty

members attended Math Kangaroo this year.

More than 650 people attended the Math Kangaroo awards ceremony, where 250 Massachusetts students were recognized for their achievements.

Community Events Through the following events, CASE provides members of our regional community the opportunity to experience the excitement and relevance of science to everyday life; allows undergraduate students to assume leadership roles in communicating scientific concepts to the general public; and increases the community’s awareness of the excellent science and mathematics education and resources available at BSU.

Open Lab Night invites BSU community members to explore the Science and Mathematics Center’s labs and conduct hands-on STEM activities led by undergraduate students. This event is funded by the Office of University and Community Partnerships and CASE.

Whale of a Family Night is a collaborative program run in partnership with the New England Coastal Wildlife Association and the Youth Environmental and Social Society clubs from Middleboro and Bridgewater-Raynham High Schools. The program aims to educate the community on the impact of marine debris on whales and other marine wildlife in the coastal water of New England. The event is funded by the Office of University and Community Partnerships and CASE.

Greenlight for Girls Day engages middle school girls in hands-

on activities led by undergraduate students, faculty, staff and

volunteers from Cisco and Waters Corporations and the Naval

Undersea Warfare Center. This event is run in partnership with the

College of Education and Allied Studies and Greenlight for Girls, an

International non-profit STEM organization that aims to inspire

girls of all ages and backgrounds to pursue STEM studies. This

event was sponsored by the College of Education, CASE and

Greenlight for Girls.

Community Events continued

Turtle Necropsy, run in partnership with New England Coastal

Wildlife Association, provided the community a chance to observe

sea turtle examinations (necropsies) of three different species of

endangered sea turtles.

Nobel Prize Discussion, run in partnership with the Center for

the Advancement of Research and Scholarship, presents overviews

of the research and discoveries behind the year’s Nobel Prizes.

In 2016, MACS hosted 117 educators from 32 schools in its programs.

Project GreenLab aims to educate the BSU and regional communities about green chemistry and the impacts of chemicals on human and environmental health. In 2016, Project GreenLab hosted the 14th An-nual Undergraduate Symposium on Sustainability and the Environ-ment, which provides a forum for discussion of issues related to envi-ronmental research and education particular to the New England re-gion, and has created an environment that fosters collaborations in research and education among the participants. This was the first year regional high school students participated in the Symposium, including students from the Environmental Biotechnology program at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School who gave a tour of their “Biobus.” Biobus is a traveling classroom used to teach the community about the environment and sustainability.

Additionally, Project GreenLab debuted its first Open Lab Night for Middle and High School Educators Professional Development work-shop.

Project GreenLab

A total of 120 community members, 14 K-12 teachers, 3

undergraduate students and 2 BSU faculty participated in

Project GreenLab programs in 2016.

EarthView is a twenty-foot hand-painted globe that serves as a portable classroom energizing geography programs throughout the region. The majority of student participants engage in Earth-View within the context of their school curriculum. EarthView also hosts Geo Family Nights and is used in school-based programs and other educational organizations. EarthView is also used in general public events, such as professional conferences and legislative vis-its, including at the Massachusetts State House.

EarthView

A total of 10,770 K-12 students, 1,910 community members, 675 K-12 teachers, 182 undergraduate students, and 15 BSU faculty/staff participated in EarthView programs in 2016.

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

In 2016, MACS hosted 117 educators from 32 schools in its programs.

Darwin Day is offered in partnership with the Department of

Biology and provides undergraduate students the opportunity to

lead presentations on evolution, the life and studies of Charles

Darwin, and BSU’s Natural History Collection. The keynote speaker

was Dr. Hopi Hoekstra from Harvard University. This event was

funded by a CASE grant.

Community events were attended by 713 participants

from the community, 383 K-12 students, 125 BSU

undergraduate students, 113 faculty/staff, 10 K-12

teachers, and 4 BSU graduate students.

The South Shore Regional Science Fair provided high school

students the opportunity to present their work and receive

feedback from judges who participated in the event.

Watershed Access Lab

The Watershed Access Lab provides science education outreach programs and preK-12 teacher professional development focused on land use, water quality assessment, global water issues, conservation and environmental education. The Watershed Access Lab received a three-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fund a Stormwaters Steward program, scheduled to begin in 2017.

A total of 1,003 middle and high school students, 4 in-service teachers and 28 preservice teachers participated in Watershed Access Lab programming.

“The outdoor hands-on approach promotes both a great knowledge

of the topic that is being studied but also a greater

overall appreciation for nature and the beauty of our world. I hope

that I can teach this material with the same enthusiasm and

confidence as you do and cannot wait to apply what I have learned

from this class to my own future classrooms”

- Preservice teacher

BSU CityLab

A total of 2,316 students participated in 101 school visits to CityLab. 12 teachers and 747 students utilized CityLab’s Lending Lab program.

BSU CityLab is a biotechnology outreach program for middle and high school teachers and their students. The program provides hands-on, inquiry-based laboratory activities using current equipment and technology. In 2016, 7 undergraduate students and 1 graduate student conducted Directed Studies in CityLab. Additionally, 7 undergraduate students and one graduate assistant worked in CityLab.

Science Academy CASE expanded Science Academy summer and winter classes to include programming for high school students and a spring vacation class for middle school students. A total of 108 students in grades 6-12, 16 undergraduate students, including two NSF-funded Noyce Scholars, and 11 BSU faculty and staff participated in CASE Science Academy classes in 2016.