ITEST is a program that promotes PreK-12 student interests and capacities to participate in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communications technology (ICT) workforce of the future. To achieve this objective, ITEST supports the development, implementation, and selective spread of innovative strategies for engaging students in experiences that:
Welcome to Detroit and the Belle Isle Aquarium, where students come to see fish, turtles, and frogs and leave with learning and excitement about what they, too, could be doing in the world of science. This project starts with teacher professional development to enhance their knowledge of biology and ecology and to help them prepare their classes to benefit the most from their field trip visit. Aquarium educators (and our education researchers) follow up with classroom visits, and teachers get the opportunity to reinforce lessons with small grants to enhance learning opportunities. Want t
“Promoting Student Interest in Science and Science Careers through a Scalable Place-based Environmental Educational Program at a Public Aquarium,” is an NSF project that will work with 90 Detroit Public School Community District (DPSCD) fifth grade teachers in biological STEM areas related to fisheries, wildlife, conservation and aquatic sciences. More than 2,300 fifth grade students from DPSCD are expected to participate in field trips to the Belle Isle Aquarium and follow-up activities.
Field experience is the culminating experience for pre-service teacher training. As COVID-19 closed schools across the country, pre-service teachers’ field experiences were disrupted. This case study examines how a student teacher, a team of mentor teachers, and a university supervisor at a regional public university adapted to remote learning.
Climate change is an urgent topic for science and society. To help students and communities learn and respond to the climate crisis, multiple strategies are needed. Our expert panel will lead a conversation about three strategies for engaging learning and teaching about climate change, as exemplified in selected Multiplex videos: [1] as part of the curriculum, [2] as a focus of citizen science, and [3] as part of the debate in communities at large about the reliability and meaning of emerging science.
More than 140 rural and urban students with learning disabilities and difficulties, grades 4-6, use an innovative, integrated curriculum to bolster engagement in and conceptual understanding of fraction concepts and interest in STEM and ICT careers.
Socio-environmental science investigations (SESI) are a series of secondary level geospatial investigations that focus on social issues related to environmental science. The investigations focus on local problems and utilize fieldwork to gather data in a local setting. Students use the Esri Collector app to gather geo-referenced data outside their school. The student-collected data is then shared into a Cloud-based map service over the Internet.
More than 700 middle and high school students in Southeast Michigan urban schools engage in STEM Learning/Civic Action teams with over 12 teachers and 3 community STEM professional partners to address environmental issues affecting their local communities
ITEST Data Brief Volume 5, Issue 1, August 2018. This data brief explores the partnerships that ITEST projects engage in for project planning and design, implementation, dissemination, and evaluation.
