The University of West Florida (UWF)-Teach program has for the past three years provided opportunities for twelve weeks during the summer for its Noyce Scholars to engage in research with STEM faculty and develop the outcomes of their engagement into citizen science lesson plans for middle or high school students under the supervision of a high school science teacher. In the summer of 2021, two Noyce Scholars - one Environmental Science Teaching and one Mathematics Teaching - worked with a UWF Environmental Science faculty on research related to sand dunes at Pensacola Beach. For the first six weeks, the scholars met with their STEM faculty and took a trip to Pensacola Beach in order to familiarize themselves with the research related to sand dunes. For the remaining six weeks of the summer, the scholars worked directly with a high school science teacher to develop citizen science based lesson plans for each of their respective disciplines. All throughout the process, the Noyce scholars were mentored and supported by a graduate Noyce Scholar who had just completed their first year of teaching and who had engaged in the summer professional development during their tenure as a Noyce scholar. The scholars gained valuable insights about lesson plan development from working collaboratively with each other and have been able to mutually support each other in their teacher development journeys beyond their summer professional development experience.

NSF Awards: 1660615

Presented in: 2022 (see original presentation & discussion)

Grade Level: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Undergraduate