I walked out of the classroom with a piece of my DNA in a tube, and anyone who saw it was interested in learning how I got it and all the details.
- SFUSD student
Overview
This year-long partnership combines robust science learning opportunities for students with an intensive professional development program for SFUSD teachers and UCSF scientists. As part of the program, teacher and scientist partners will develop lessons that use current discoveries in biomedical research to inspire students’ interest in science and develop their understanding of the concepts in the California Science Content Standards, the dynamic nature of scientific progress, and how modern biology relates to the students’ own lives. These lessons will incorporate strategies, learned in the Pathways professional development series, that promote success in science for underrepresented minority students (URM) and, critically, increase students’ beliefs in their own potential for success and thus their overall academic achievement.
Pathways will:
- Provide the opportunity for large numbers of students to develop sustained relationships with scientist role models
- Provide science learning experiences that are relevant to students’ lives and convey the excitement of scientific discovery
- Support teachers and early career scientists as they integrate strategies for promoting the success of URM in science into classroom appropriate, standards-aligned, investigative lessons based on current research developments
- Be rigorously evaluated so that outcomes for teachers, students, and early career scientists can be identified
- Create a professional community of educators focused on promoting URM student success in science and reducing the achievement gap
Pathways is funded by a National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources Science Education Partnership Award (NIH NCRR SEPA).
