Creating a Sustainable Professional Network of K-16 Science Faculty
The Vertically Integrated Partnerships K-16 project ("VIP K-16") is an NSF-funded Math and Science Partnerships grant. The project involves the partnership of one large school district, one community college, and several universities. VIP K-16 aims to improve science instruction in Maryland high schools and universities by providing science teachers and faculty with many opportunities to network, share experiences, and learn from each other about inquiry instruction and course reform.
The assumptions behind this plan are similar to those of NSF's MSP program as a whole: that partnership among K-12 and IHE institutions will enhance teaching and therefore learning by students at both kinds of school. Existing research on professional learning communities, particularly of teachers, suggests that these benefits to teaching may come not only from partnerships of institutions, but also from collaborations among the teachers themselves. Therefore, one of the primary goals of VIP K-16 is to strengthen and grow interactions among higher education and K-12 institutions at multiple levels, including the teacher level.
Many components of the project were therefore designed to involve K-12 teachers, higher-education faculty and students, and/or project leaders in collaborations and learning communities. These collaborations focus on further redesigning and implementing curriculum at both levels or on designing professional development and other grant activities. Among them are:
Science research experiences for teachers, with ongoing support for bringing real scientific inquiry to the classroom in collaboration with their peers;
Undergraduates in the classroom: High-school classroom internships for undergraduate science majors, who are partnered with science teachers;
Teaching assistant training programs in science departments;
Faculty learning communities in which faculty team up (often with teachers) to redesign instruction or plan further professional development.
Master Science Teachers, a team of dedicated professionals who spend extra time planning and leading all aspects of grant activities for K-12 teachers.
