Bridging Classrooms and Nature: South Carolina Outdoors for Understanding the Teaching of Science (SCOUTS)

This Noyce Research Experiences in STEM Settings (RESS) project aims to serve the national need of developing highly effective science teachers who can engage students in authentic scientific practices using real-world data and local outdoor environments. Additionally, this project will support 24 pre-service and in-service science teachers by providing an immersive two-year freshwater ecology research experience that includes citizen science investigations, mentoring from professional scientists, professional learning workshops, and opportunities to design and implement classroom-based citizen science projects. The proposed project components will enable participating teachers to develop expertise in outdoor science instruction, freshwater ecology research, data collection and analysis, and the design of standards-aligned science learning experiences that engage students in authentic scientific inquiry and strengthen the future STEM workforce through high-quality science education. This project at Clemson University includes partnerships with high-need rural school districts in South Carolina, Clemson University and University of South Carolina faculty in science education and freshwater ecology and the South Carolina Adopt-a-Stream program. Project goals include recruiting and supporting 24 pre-service and in-service science teachers over two cohorts, providing sustained research experiences in freshwater ecology and citizen science, strengthening teachers’ understanding of scientific practices and the nature of science, and supporting the translation of these experiences into high-quality classroom instruction. Participants will engage in field-based freshwater ecology investigations, collect and analyze environmental data, develop and present research findings, and implement citizen science projects with students in grades 6–12. The project is designed to expand access to authentic STEM learning opportunities and strengthen science teaching capacity in rural communities. This project will be iteratively evaluated. Evaluation of the project will be guided by the following evaluation questions: (a) What is the quality of the SCOUTS program for participants and to what extent does it support teachers’ understanding of the scientific process, effective professional learning, and implementation of citizen science instruction? and (b) What is the effectiveness of participants in conducting citizen science research, communicating research findings, developing and implementing citizen science lessons, and disseminating their work through professional presentations and publications? The results of this project will be disseminated to help enhance the field. This RESS project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K–12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K–12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K–12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.