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Project PASS (Proficiency AND Success in Science) A collaborative teacher professional development project
Supported by the Nevada Mathematics and Science Partnership Program Principal Investigators Loretta D. Asay, Clark County School District
Kent J. Crippen, College of Education, University of Nevada Las Vegas
John Farley, College of Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas Project Description Project PASS (Proficiency And Success in Science) is a 3-year, $750, 000 collaborative teacher professional development project funded by the Nevada Mathematics and Science Partnership Program. The PASS partnership includes the Curriculum and Professional Development Division of the Clark County School District (CPD/CCSD), the UNLV Center for Mathematics and Science Education (CMSE), and the Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development District (SNRPDP). The impetus for Project PASS is curriculum development focused on integrated scientific inquiry. Annually, Project PASS provides a 2-week summer institute for fifty high school science teachers with follow-up and graduate-level coursework during the academic year. Participating teachers gain highly qualified status by earning graduate credits in science and education. Project goals include development of a professional learning community, reformed teacher practice, and improved content knowledge for both teachers and their students. The theoretical model for Project PASS includes ten empirically supported guiding principles. Curriculum units are grounded in the lives of Vegas valley students and use a series of driving questions to engage learners in a process of using evidence to support their knowledge and beliefs. Instruction in PASS classrooms focuses on using multiple representations of data with technology to foster conceptual change. Supports are included to accommodate all learners, with special attention given to English language learners. The professional development model for Project PASS includes the innovative use of real-time video conferencing during the academic year for all participants. Participating teachers use the academic year to design and implement classroom-based action research projects to disseminate and validate the PASS principles and curriculum. The evaluation of Project PASS includes documenting changes in knowledge, dispositions, and skills and behaviors for both teachers and their students. Results are being reported nationally through conference presentations and journal articles. |
