Teaching, Research, and Industry Applications to Deepen Scientific Understanding

1. The NSF GK-12 TRIAD Project: Preliminary Findings From Bringing Together Higher Education, Industry, &K-12 Communities in Middle Tennessee A. Farone, K. Sadler, M. Farone, G. Rowell, P. Phoebus Middle Tennessee State University J. Dye, John Paul II High School; T. Gary, O’More College of Design L. Wisner-Lynch, BioTN Teaching, Research, and Industry Applications to Deepen Scientific Understanding

2. GK-12 Program Goals Graduate StudentsCommunication, Leadership, Team Building K-12 EducationEnhanced Teaching and Learning Higher EducationTransform Graduate Programs Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12)

3. Ten Year Numbers • Annual Budget $55+ Million • GK-12 has made 299 awards at 182 institutions • Funded 7,440 Graduate Fellows • Provided resources for 10,717 K-12 Teachers, working in 5,503 different schools • 550,024 K-12 Students have been impacted by GK-12 Fellows Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12)

4. GK-12 Projects: National Distribution Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12)

6. Schools & Partner Teachers • Diverse • Free & Reduced Lunch (19.0% - 71.8%) • Minority students (22.0% - 75.7%) • Grades 9 – 12 • Science subjects (biology, ecology, chemistry) • Teacher: 82.2% Caucasian; 10.7% African-American; 7.1% Asian-American • Ph.d. to Health technology license

8. Industry Partners

10. Graduate Fellows • M.Sci. and Ph.D. (teaching assistantship) • 64.4% Caucasian; 32.1% African-American; 3.5% Latino • Research labs represent diverse disciplines • One year in high school classroom • 10 hrs/wk • Teach and collaborate • Mentor student research projects

11. Graduate Fellow Impact • Does TRIAD result in improved GF communication? • What is the GF perception of the industry experience?

12. Surveys • GF professional communication from research presentation (Assessing Scientists Presentation Skills Protocol) • GF communication during the school year (Perception on Inquiry & Teaching Skill; and TRIAD Instrument on Familiarity & Skills) • GF implementation of the industry experience (Perception on Inquiry & Teaching Skill)

13. Graduate Fellow Data • Represents – Combined Data for • Cohort 1 (July 2009 – May 2010) • Cohort 2 (July 2010 – May 2011) • Cohort 3 (July 2011 – May 2012) • Typically presented as • Pre (Summer Training Workshop: July) • Post (After two semesters as a GK-Fellow: May) • Difference (Post – Pre) • Note: Since the change over time is a focus of the analysis, data are only included for the • participants if they have both pre and post scores and examines matched-pair difference.

14. Graduate Fellows Expose Students to a Future in Science TRIAD Survey. (Questions 17, 16, & 14 respectively.) 1 = somewhat but not very familiar; 2 = fairly familiar; 3 = very familiar

15. Graduate Fellow Data: Communicating Science TRIAD Survey. (Questions 37, 36, 34, 33, 12/24 (paired), respectively.) Q 37, 36, 34, & 33: 0 = poor, 1= just okay, 2 = fairly good, 3 = very good Q 12/24: 0= not at all, 1 = somewhat familiar; 2 = fairly familiar; 3 = very familiar

16. Graduate Fellow: Communicating as a Teacher Graduate Fellows Perception on Inquiry and Teaching Skill 1= Not Confident, 2=Slightly, 3 = Moderately, and 4 = Very Confident Questions: l, k, j, I, h. e, respectively

17. Graduate Fellow Confidence: Biotech Industry Experience Graduate Fellows Perception on Inquiry and Teaching Skill 1= Not Confident, 2=Slightly, 3 = Moderately, and 4 = Very Confident

18. Conclusions • Research Questions • Improve Graduate Fellow Communication • Graduate Fellows Value Industry Partnership • Sustainability • Graduate Fellow Stipends • Support for Research in Schools • Effective STEM Communication Training

19. Questions? Please contact us if you would like more information: anthony.farone@mtsu.edu mary.farone@mtsu.edu kim.sadler@mtsu.edu