Assessing Student Learning Growth Using Math, Science, and Engineering
Practices – Year 1
Partners: Framingham Public Schools, Marlborough Public Schools; St. Bridget's, and the Learning Center for the Deaf private schools; and UMass Boston
According to NGSS Appendix L, “During the middle school and high school years, students develop a number of powerful quantitative tools, from rates and proportional relationships, to basic algebra and functions, to basic statistics and probability. Such tools are applicable far beyond the mathematics classroom. Such tools can also be better understood, and more securely mastered, by applying them in a variety of contexts.” Frequently in middle schools, math and science are taught in separate departments, and while science teachers ask students to apply mathematical concepts and skills in order make scientific calculations, they often use language and methods that are not aligned with the mathematics that students are learning in concurrent mathematics classes. It is our vision that through an intensive summer course and ongoing meetings throughout the school year, middle school science teachers from two high needs districts will develop knowledge and skills necessary for students to achieve college and career readiness, and they will develop assessment tools that inform student learning, guide instruction, and evaluate student progress. Further, through including senior district leadership, district leaders in science, math, bilingual and special education, members of the district bargaining unit and school evaluators in the ongoing discussions of student work measured by the assessments, both districts will develop the capacity to use district determined measures effectively to support student learning growth in science and other content areas.
In year one, the grant will provide the opportunity to develop and provide a graduate course taught jointly by two UMASS Boston professors of math and science. The course entitled, Strategies to Improve Instruction in Middle School Science, will provide middle school science teachers with the ability to understand the underlying organization of the revised science standards and how mathematical concepts and practices serve to support student achievement of the science and engineering standards. There will be a focus on the language used to support consistency across math and science, and to improve instruction for English learners. In addition, middle school science teachers will develop the capacity to create, use, and refine district determined assessment measures that inform instruction and provide feedback on student learning throughout the school year and vertically across the middle school science content. Through three school year meetings, district leaders, teachers and administrators will develop a deeper understanding of the new science standards; create tools to determine what science and engineering content and practices look like in student work and classroom observations; and learn how to use assessments to measure student learning growth in science. Pending funding, the partnership will provide the opportunity to develop science teacher leaders through advanced coursework, expansion of the course to all middle school teachers and fifth grade teachers, and developing district determined measures for science in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. In addition, district and school leaders

will develop deeper understanding of what instruction that develops college and career readiness skills in science and mathematics looks like in practice and student work.
The outcomes of this work will be three graduate courses, designed to become a STEM certificate program at UMASS Boston, the development of science leaders in two high needs districts that will be able to provide ongoing professional development, a change in science educator practice that results in student achievement, and DDMs. Tools and protocols will be developed to continue to refine the district determined measures that will be able to be used with other grade levels and content areas. District leaders and evaluators will be able to articulate the components of effective science instruction that lead to student science achievement.
For more project information, contact the program director: Lori DiGisi, STEM
Coordinator, ldigisi@framingham.k12.ma.us
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Engineering Design Process: Developing Middle School STEM Teachers – Year 1
Partners: Global Learning Charter and Wareham Public Schools; Holy Family Holy
Name private school; and Bristol Community College
This project pairs Bristol Community College's SAGE Program Lending Lab, instructors in the Robotics, Biotech, and Computer Science departments, the Museum Institute for
Teaching Science with Middle School Teachers from Global Learning Charter Public
School, Holy Family Holy Name parochial school and Wareham Middle School's new
STEAM Academy over the course of three years to increase teaching competency in robotics, biotech, and computer science.
Year One activities included a 45-hour course that utilizes the ROV program as a demonstration for how the Engineering Design Process can be utilized by middle-school classroom teachers to further scientific investigation. Taking place over two weeks, the first week would focus on science and technology content and application of ROVs by professors in the field. Week two would focus on BCC's Lending Lab and unit planning.
Teachers would be responsible for then developing units of study in the Understanding by Design format that utilizes the technology available to teachers in the BCC Lending
Lab. Teachers would also need to design District-Determined Measures to determine the impact on student learning. Years Two and Three would replicate the aforementioned structure using biotech and computer science. Major outcomes would thus be middle school science-based Model Units based on the Understanding by Design framework. Units would contain CESA and District Determined Measures. Additional outcomes could include filming of the PD sessions for use by other teachers across the
Commonwealth and nation. Units and assessments will be presented at NSTA and
MassCue.
For more project information, contact the program director: Derek Michael, Director of
Curriculum, dmichael@glcps.org
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Modeling Mathematics Through the Mathematical Practices – Year 1
Partners: Lesley University, Springfield and Easthampton Public Schools

You cannot teach what you do not know, and teaching is not telling; learning is not listening! It is these sentiments that drive the focus of this project and partnership.
Lesley University is partnering with both Springfield and Easthampton Public Schools.
Lesley will provide mathematics content courses and in-classroom coaching for participating teachers. This project will work with upper elementary and middle school teachers in grades 5 - 8 to provide nine mathematics content courses develop specifically to align to the new Mass State Frameworks, but which will delve deeper into the mathematics they are expected to teach. Each course will emphasize the key mathematical practices being modeled, not by number, but by content so teachers can recognize what the concepts actually mean giving them the ability to seamlessly integrate them into their practice. For example, the use of a conjecture board and the reasoning it takes to prove or disprove a mathematical belief is an effective way to model the practice, create mathematical arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Administrators in both districts have expressed concern that their teachers do not know the mathematics content or representations that are articulated in the new standards so each course will focus on an individual domain, the representations identified in the standards, and how each domain might be represented numerically, algebraically, and geometrically.
The coaching component of this project is designed to support teachers as they work toward changing their practice to include the mathematical practices, select challenging problems and tasks, and include effective formative assessment strategies in all their classes. This will address the fact that although teachers profess to replicating the workshop model in their classrooms, observations show the exact opposite. Without coaching teachers continue to teach the way they always have and are still getting poor results. The coaching component will complement the discussions that will occur during the Mathematics Learning Communities (MLC).
This project aims to:
• Deepen participants mathematics content knowledge as evidenced in pre- and post-inventories, classroom presentations, assignments, and in the manner in which they make and prove or disprove conjectures;
• Enable participants to incorporate the mathematical practices in their instruction and adapt them as habits of mind for both teachers and their students;
• Support participants in their classrooms as they strive to improve their practice through coaching and supporting district coaches through monthly professional development;
• Enable teachers to actually provide new opportunities for students to learn the new STEM content. and
• Improve student achievement as evidenced through scores on ANet assessments, district benchmark assessments, MCAS and PARCC, and the examination of student work as collected by teacher participants and discussed in individual courses as well as observations of teachers and their students by the external evaluators.
For more project information, contact the program director: Dr Anne M. Collins,
Director of Math Programs, collins2@lesley.edu
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NCIS (North Central Integrated STEM) MMSP Project – Year 1

Partners: Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, Winchendon, and Narragansett Regional
Public Schools, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Vision - This project will result in students who have the ability to apply their knowledge of mathematics, science, technology and engineering while asking questions, exploring phenomena and solving problems in practice for becoming STEM literate citizens, regardless of their career choice and in preparing them for success in college and careers in the STEM fields. We envision teachers as the primary levers to raise student achievement towards this outcome. As such the mission includes a three tier model accessing STEM and pedagogical expertise and modeling through a partnership with
WPI, explicit professional development, and the transfer of agency and application of learning through middle school teachers to students.
Based on the analysis of both student MCAS achievement grade 5 and 8 in mathematics and science, and Middle School Teachers' certifications and knowledge gaps throughout the partnering districts, three distinct courses (and 5 course opportunities overall) have been developed in collaboration with Worcester Polytechnic
Institute. The goals of these content institutes also align to the WPI logic model used by both Fitchburg and Leominster to support STEM program improvement. The goals will be: 1. Deepen teacher content knowledge in core science and mathematics concepts including Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). 2. Articulate the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics while maintaining content rigor and integrity. 3. Build and sustain mathematics and science practices, modeled through
WPI cross-disciplinary teaching. This will demonstrate a changed vision for a collaborative approach to STEM instruction in our public school classrooms.
Key features of this project include: modeling an integrated approach to instruction by cross-disciplinary experts developing and delivering course work; teams of middle school math, science and technology teachers engaged in the high quality professional development; creation of integrated mini-units by these teams; Support and follow-up for teacher teams as they implement the mini-units with their students; creation and administration of curriculum embedded performance assessments (CEPAs) to serve first as unit measures for content gain and ultimately as District Determined Measures
(DDMs).
For more project information, contact the program director: Paula Giaquinto, Assistant
Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction, giaquintop@fitchburg.k12.ma.us
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West Springfield and The Fulcrum Institute: A Partnership for Improving
Grades 5-8 STEM Education – Year 1
Partners: West Springfield, Easthampton, Agawam, Ludlow, Hampden/Wilbraham
Regional School District, STGRSD, and East Longmeadow Public Schools and Tufts
University
Approximately 30 grades 5-8 teachers from partnering districts will complete a rigorous three-course sequence in science content and pedagogy through Tufts University that were previously developed for the purpose of increasing content knowledge and improving instructional practice. The courses, which are delivered primarily in a highly interactive online format, emphasize the practices of the NGSS standards, the

connections between science and mathematics, and research into our middle grade level students' understandings and effective pedagogy. Past graduates of the courses have found them to be transformative in terms of content knowledge, skills and confidence in science practice across multiple fields, and the ability to become a teacher-leader.
For more project information, contact the program director: Russell Johnston,
Superintendent, rjohnston@wsps.org
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Worcester Mathematics Partnership – Year 1
Partners: Worcester Public Schools, Clarke University
Worcester Public Schools, a high-need LEA in conjunction with its IHE partner, Clark
University proposes a professional development program for Mathematics teachers in
Grades 6, 7 and 8. The professional development will consist of a Masters level course titled Curriculum and Knowing in Mathematics (for Middle School Teachers), at Clark
University, and 24 hours of follow-up activities during the following school year. The 45 hour course will be administered to Mathematics teachers in middle and elementary schools to 14 educators drawn from public and private schools. It will focus on
Mathematics content knowledge and increase educator understanding of the
Massachusetts content and learning standards. The 24 hours of follow-up activities will follow the reflective practice cycle model, and a learning community for educators will be formed.
Alongside the implementation of the professional development course, funds will be used for the development of a district wide Mathematics District Determined Measure.
There is a need in the Worcester Public Schools for a DDM that complements the two standardized tests administered to all students. The initial DDM will be created by work groups consisting of teachers and administrative staff. Once the DDM has been created, all participants in the course will be able to provide feedback and suggestions on the use and implementation of this new evaluation tool.
For more project information, contact the program director: Mary Meade Montaque,
Quadrant Manager, montaquem@worc.k12.ma.us
and Albert G. Ganem Jr., Manager of
Staff Development, ganema@worc.k12.ma.us
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Berkshire Math and Science Partnership Program – Year 3
Partners: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), Pittsfield Public Schools,
Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School, and Adams-Cheshire Public
Schools.
The vision of the Berkshire Mathematics and Science Partnership Program (BMSP) is to provide an effective and systematic professional development program for middle school teachers in Berkshire County schools. The three goals of the program are to: 1) improve math and science content knowledge of middle school teacher participants in
MSP courses, 2) improve the integration of math, science and literacy curriculum standards in math and science instruction, and 3) improve student performance in math

and science. This program is informed by a planning group that includes administrative leadership from each partner institution, as well as program and curriculum development by science and math experts, yielding the design of an effective and responsive professional development program. Each member of the planning team has worked to build a program that reflects the identified professional development needs of their respective teachers, the school improvement plans of participating schools and districts, as well as links to plans and initiatives of the Berkshire County STEM Pipeline.
MCLA serves as the lead institution for the Berkshire MSP Program for teachers in
Pittsfield Public Schools (PPS), the Berkshire Arts and Technology (BART) Charter
School, and Adams Cheshire Regional School District, and most recently North Adams
Public Schools (NAPS) all of which are identified as high need schools for Title II-B programs.
MCLA, also the lead partner for the Berkshire STEM Pipeline, has a long history of providing teacher education and training, and is committed to meeting the professional development needs of district teachers in the service of their students. In 2013 the
Berkshire MSP Program will offer a three-credit graduate course titled Geometric
Modeling that will highlight Massachusetts Mathematics Frameworks. We will continue to use Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to provide teachers opportunities to share and comment on student work, explore collectively how students learn about specific concepts, and share course plans and instructional strategies to promote learning. PLC takes place through the Learning Management System, Canvas, where documents, comments, and assignments can be shared. Outcomes of this interdisciplinary approach will be a robust program that will help teachers make explicit connections across subjects as they teach middle school students. This is an effective method, yielding greater student achievement in math and an effective method to help students apply mathematics to everyday life. Berkshire MSP Program performance and outcomes will be reviewed by a highly qualified, objective evaluator to track, compile, analyze and disseminate formative and summative evidence of program performance.
Program information will also be shared pursuant to the statewide plan and process for evaluation. This year's Berkshire MSP course will also be integrated into MCLA's graduate education curriculum to further the systematic impact of this program.
For more project information, contact the program director: Christopher Himes, STEM
Pipeline Program Manager, c.himes@mcla.edu
.
Greater Boston South-Shore Science Partnership (GBSSSP) – Year 3
Partners: Northeastern University, Quincy Public Schools, Boston Public Schools, The
Archdiocese of Boston and the University of Massachusetts Boston
The Greater Boston-South Shore Science Partnership (GBSSSP), a collaboration between Boston and Quincy Public Schools, the Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Schools,
Northeastern University, (NEU) and University of Massachusetts-Boston, (UMB), seeks to increase student performance in science by providing rigorous professional development to science teachers in high needs school districts within Massachusetts.
Over the three years of the project, the Partnership will offer a total of 12 speciallydesigned graduate-level science courses that focus on strengthening teachers' content knowledge as well as modeling current pedagogical practices based on "How Students
Learn" research. Partner district teachers will be recruited with the help of the

corresponding Science Directors and be given priority. Each year, the courses offered are selected in consultation with the partner districts. It is expected that a total of 104 slots will be available this year (about 310 in 3 years)
These courses have been uniquely designed and honed at NEU and UMB over the past six years through funding provided by the National Science Foundation and the
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In fact, through previous and existing partnerships, close to 400 teachers have taken these courses
(about 1,200 participant slots in total), from 45 school districts in Massachusetts since summer 2005. Evaluation results published by the Education Development Center
(EDC) have indicated that students of teachers who have taken one of these courses demonstrate a higher performance level on the biology, chemistry, and unified science
MCAS than students of non-participating teachers.
We have a portfolio of eleven different courses, which have been developed in the following content areas: biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, engineering, and mathematics for middle school science teachers. The courses are focused on teaching the middle school curriculum in Massachusetts classrooms, but we have found that the courses are relevant to high school and elementary level teachers as well. Each course consists of 60 hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours of follow-up activities and grants teachers, 4-quarter hours of graduate credit. In order to maximize teachers' exposure to all levels of the curriculum and we have designed to courses to be cotaught by an instructional team consisting of a university STEM professor, a high school teacher leader and a middle school teacher leader experienced teaching that discipline in Massachusetts classrooms. Furthermore, these courses are part of a specially designed Master of Education in Middle School Science graduate degree offered by
Northeastern University, which incorporates eight of the courses developed and offered through the GBSSSP. This degree has been institutionalized at Northeastern University through the School of Professional Studies and was recently approved for professional licensure by the state of Massachusetts. At the conclusion of this degree, teachers will have received close to 500 hours of science content and pedagogy in five science discipline areas focused on enhancing teachers' abilities to teach science in
Massachusetts classrooms. In these classes, teachers from a variety of grade levels and district backgrounds meet weekly for four hours per session across thirteen weeks, or 6 hours per day for two weeks in the summer. Not only do teachers learn from their instructors, they benefit strongly from the community of peers as they work intensively alongside other teachers and gain knowledge, experience, and best practices. By the end of this summer, 26 teachers will have graduated with their Master's degrees through this program, with close to sixty other teachers matriculated into the degree.
Counting those who have already graduated, as well as those who will receive their degrees this summer, 25 of the 26 teachers who will have received an M.Ed. in Middle
School Science from Northeastern by the end of this summer are from high needs districts in Massachusetts
We have found the existence of the Master's degree to be a powerful motivator for teachers and one that has driven interest in the courses to unprecedented levels. The depth and breadth of science content and pedagogy, the powerful environment created by the teacher learning community, and the noted impact upon student performance have made these courses into "must have's" for teachers, as evidenced by our ongoing waiting lists.

Twelve courses will be offered through this MMSP, 4 each year. Of the four courses in
Year 1, 96 slots were filled with 85 unique teachers (some took multiple courses). It is anticipated that an additional 100-110 teachers will participate in the courses that will be offered in Year 2. These courses include: Mathematics for MS Science Teachers,
Chemistry II (The Energetics of Chemical Change), Physics I (Forces, Energy & Motion), and Biology II: Ecology, Evolution & Diversity of Life.
For more project information, contact the program director: Dr. Christos Zahopoulos,
Associate Professor, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, c.zahopoulos@neu.edu
.
Intensive Immersion Mathematics for STEM Teachers – Year 3
Partners: EduTron Corporation, Revere Public Schools, Everett Public Schools, Saugus
Public Schools, Worcester State University and Fitchburg State University
The effectiveness of the Intensive Immersion treatments, with respect to high-poverty and low performing schools, has been documented in various evaluation reports at the national level. The Intensive Immersion Institute (I3) approach has recently been named by the 2010 Abt MSP report (published by Federal DOE) as the top project among the 12 exemplary MSP Programs out of 575 programs nationwide. This proposal aims to leverage the experience to serve STEM teachers in the context of phasing in the
Common Core mathematics.
Based on the analyses of the students' and teachers' knowledge gaps in the Revere
Public Schools (RPS), Everett Public Schools (EPS) and Saugus Public Schools (SPS), three Intensive Immersion Institute courses will be developed and offered in years two and three. These courses will be aligned with the 2011 Massachusetts Mathematics
Framework based on the Common Core Standards (CCSS-M). Conceptual understanding, computational fluency, and problem solving are emphasized with a balanced approach. The Standards of Mathematical Practice are modeled and made explicit. These highly customized courses routinely integrate science/technology content and practices. The MMSP courses reached about 78 STEM teachers in [the compressed] year one. It is expected that approximately 105 teachers will participate and more than
4400 students will be impacted in years two and three of the program.
An eclectic ensemble of supplemental site-based activities will be offered to induce positive changes in teachers' classroom practices. Assessment tools, including EDA of
EduTron, allow the partnership to simultaneously monitor student and teacher progress annually. In addition to the measurable content gain, the chemistry, dynamics, and positive peer pressure fostered in the intensive immersion experience will trigger qualitative changes in individual teachers to such an extent that some of them may become catalysts to transform their local math communities into learning machines.
These transformations are expected to play a pivotal role in sustaining peer-based learning beyond the span of the project. The courses provide an intensive yet nonthreatening environment for teachers to acquire solid content knowledge, improve classroom practice, and improve student achievements in mathematics. A rigorous study based on quasi-experimental design will be conducted on the partnership by
WestEd.

For more project information, contact the program director: Andrew Chen, President,
EduTron, schen@edutron.com
.
Making Math Meaningful – Year 3
Partners: Lesley University, Springfield Public Schools
Making Mathematics Meaningful, a partnership between Lesley University and the
Springfield Public Schools, is designed to increase the mathematics content knowledge as well as the pedagogical content knowledge of teachers in Level 3 and Level 4 middle schools. This project builds upon seven successful years of standards-based mathematics professional development in Springfield in conjunction with a former
MMSP and an USDOE Teacher for a Competitive Tomorrow grant. Students of those teachers who participated in previous partnerships are outperforming their counterparts whose teachers did not complete the same coursework. Unfortunately, the majority teachers in the middle schools targeted for this project chose not to participate. With the underperforming status of the schools, administrators can now require teacher participation and anticipate gains not only in teacher content knowledge but also in student achievement on the ELA, science, and mathematics MCAS.
The inclusion of problems directly related to the MA Curriculum Frameworks will include contexts that are required knowledge in the science frameworks. Through collaboration
Lesley and Springfield will be adapting the problems used in the math courses to include appropriate science to enable teacher participants to understand how and why the mathematics taught to middle school students is so important. Lesley has begun working with the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Department within Lesley
University to work on incorporating science based problems and problem solving in the math content courses. The goal is to show a seamless connection between the two content areas and foster connections between the mathematics classroom and science classroom.
In response to Springfield highlighting the need of the large percentage of English
Acquisition Learners in their school district, Lesley has made a commitment to incorporating strategies for teaching students who are non-native English speakers in all its courses and programs. To effectively meet this goal, faculty from Lesley
University's Literacy Division are part of the planning process and will elaborate on the most effective instructional strategies which will be modeled and overt attention brought to those strategies throughout each course. In addition, Lesley will commit to training all faculty who plan to teach these courses in Sheltered Content Instruction and have these techniques explicitly modeled in the mathematics courses. If the trend continues, participants who complete the first five of the mathematics content courses will be successful in passing the middle school math MTEL and becoming highly qualified to teach middle school mathematics.
For more project information, contact the program director: Dr. Anne Collins, Director of Math Programs, Lesley University, collins2@lesley.edu
.
Putting the M Back in STEM– Year 3
Partners: Lesley University, Brockton and Quincy Public Schools

Too often STEM is divided into STE and M. This partnership will bring the two together in a systematic and synergistic way such that mathematics is an integral and visible component of science, technology, and engineering. This program is designed to focus on the mathematics of science in a compelling, synergistic program comprised of inquiry science laboratories and problem solving mathematics. Participating middle school and elementary school teachers will engage in working through the necessary mathematics as they investigate particular disciplines of inquiry-based science with faculty from the Science and Mathematics disciplines in the Divisions of STEM and
Natural Science and Mathematics at Lesley University.
Due to a change in partners, Lesley University and Brockton Public Schools have met multiple time to create a program that meets the needs of both math and science teachers. Quincy Public Schools has joined the partnership for year two as both districts are looking to enhance the mathematics content knowledge of their elementary teachers while creating an integrated view of math and science. Program offerings will include mathematic of science courses, aligned with the Massachusetts Frameworks for science, mathematics, English Language Arts Frameworks, and the Massachusetts
English Language Proficiency Benchmarks and Outcomes for English Language
Learners. Participants will be co-taught by core and adjunct faculty from Lesley
University mathematicians, scientists, mathematics educators, and science educators.
Careful attention will be made to incorporate research-based strategies for building understanding in mathematics and science for English Language Learners in collaboration with professors recognized for their expertise in this field who have agreed to serve as advisors. In addition graduate level mathematics courses that already exist will begin to include more scientific concepts. For example, Functions and Algebra I will pay special attention to the activities related to Hook's Law and tension. All courses will have both a math and science lens through which they can be viewed.
Since all teachers are responsible for teaching language and literacy in their disciplines, this grant will explicitly address and include the importance of using the language of science and mathematics in ways of talking and representing the natural world through discourse, interaction, multiple representations, and collaboration which will meet the
College and Career Readiness Standards for Reading and Writing in Science
Technological Subjects. The discourse of both science and mathematics have their own vocabulary and organization so each content course will explicitly include pedagogical strategies for making the content accessible to all students but the focus is on strengthening the content knowledge of inquiry based science and problem solving based mathematics for teachers.
For more project information, contact the program director: Dr. Anne Collins, Director of Math Programs, Lesley University, collins2@lesley.edu
.