After-school and summer programs are an invaluable opportunity for STEM learning. Our programs address this issue with the utilization of out-of-school time. Currently, Cal State East Bay faculty are working with K-12 teaches and community colleges to develop more powerful ways to teach in the STEM disciplines. The recently adopted Next Generation Science Standards have created an opportunity to work with teachers and school districts to transform the way they teach science. The Institute partners with CSUEB faculty and affiliates on a number of out-of-school time (OST) programs aimed at providing holistic academic and personal support to PK14 students in the Bay Area.
Alliance for Science Educators - Network Improvement Community (ASE-NIC)
The ASE-NIC Toolkit was designed as a set of planning tools to effectively prepare educators to meet the new Next Generation Science Standards. The tools were implemented and improved within the context of 51 university science methods courses across 10 universities, which enrolled a total of over 1100 preservice teachers or teacher interns. In 2015, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching selected ASE-NIC as one of six inaugural STEM Networked Improvement Communities nationwide to develop team expertise in Improvement Science and Networked Improvement Communities.
Aligning the Science Teacher Education Pathway (A-STEP)
The A-STEP project fosters collaboration between university faculty and local pathway partners in implementing a common set of tools, the ASE-NIC Toolkit, across the science teacher training and development pathway. The use of these tools provides common language and modes of discourse when designing and enacting curriculum that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards. Partnerships across steps function under a shared understanding of goals and paradigm shifts required to promote pedagogical reform in local contexts and along the teacher preparation pathway.
East Bay Science Project
The East Bay Science Project was established in 2000 to provide professional development programs for K-12 science teachers and technical support services for schools and districts. The East Bay Science Project (EBSP) is funded by the California Science Project (CSP). The CSP is a network of 18 regional sites that provide university-based professional development programs for K-12 teachers of science. The EBSP, in partnership with the CSP, is a provider of services to schools and districts in the east San Francisco Bay area seeking to strengthen their science programs and science instruction consistent with the Next Generation Science Standards.
Hands-On Science Teaching (HOST) Labs
This project provides opportunities for Cal State East Bay undergraduate students who have expressed an interest in pursuing a teaching career to facilitate NGSS-aligned lessons for middle-school students visiting the campus. in addition, the middle school students take a tour of the campus to increase awareness about college opportunities and culture.
Power of Discovery
This collaborative project with the Alameda County Office of Education aims to increase the quality and quantity of STEM education in publicly-funded afterschool programs. This includes peer-led professional development through three regional Communities of Practice and providing direct Technical Assistance to afterschool programs across the region. This is one of 6 regional Power of Discovery Hubs across California.
Science Partnership of the East Bay
The Science Partnership of the East Bay is a collaborative project that is led by Cal State East Bay and the Alameda County Office of Education and was established to deliver teacher professional development that aims to transform the teaching and learning of science aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. The Science Partnership has developed a professional development model for K-12 science teachers that focuses on rigorous science content, the development of effective and innovative instructional strategies, coaching, teacher leadership, and reflective communities of practice. Established in 2007, the Science Partnership has been awarded over $16 million dollars from federal and state agencies (including NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the California Department of Education) to develop and deliver professional development for science teachers in the SF Bay area. The focus of the Science Partnership has been to provide support for low-performing districts and districts with a high proportion of underrepresented minority and economically-disadvantaged students. Since 2012, the Science Partnership has partnered with 13 school district where more than 600 individual teachers were in engaged in professional development impacting nearly 200,000 K-12 students.
Teaming for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics (TEEM)
This grant is to work with TK through grade 3 teachers and site administrators from five schools in the Hayward Unified School District to improve mathematics content knowledge and pedagogy, with a focus on effective strategies to teach English Language Learners.
Transforming College Teaching: Statewide Implementation of the Faculty Learning Program
This grant supports collaborative STEM learning communities between Cal State East Bay and three area community colleges. Participants learn about how their students learn non-cognitive factors that affect learning, as well as share active learning strategies in their classroom.
