A new $2.8 million federal grant will fund a five-year Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis project, or STeLLA CO2, starting this month in a unique partnership between BSCS Science Learning — an independent nonprofit dedicated to research-driven innovation in science education — and the University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Northern Colorado.
The partnership has the potential to impact one-third of all secondary science educators certified in Colorado annually.
STeLLA CO2 builds off a 15-year line of STeLLA research, which studies the effectiveness of video-based analysis of practice as a tool for teachers to visualize and apply powerful science instruction. The project aims to create a community of key teacher leaders who share a common vision of excellence in effective science instruction, and this is the first STeLLA project designed to collaborate with university faculty educating future middle and high school science teachers.
“We are deeply committed to this program, and we believe not only our science and education faculty but also CU Teach mentor teachers will benefit from and add value to the STeLLA CO2 community,” said Erin Furtak, CU Boulder Associate Professor of Science Education and Director of CU Teach, a nationally recognized secondary math and science teacher education program that offers first-hand classroom experiences and prepares outstanding STEM teachers.
“We look forward to combining our strong, field-based coursework with the STeLLA approach to provide our science teacher candidates with greater coherence in their science learning and classroom preparation.”