The BER lab has been continuously engaged in equity and diversity projects for the past 20 years. These projects have (i) increased access to high quality educational experiences for students and teachers in under-resourced school districts, (ii) provided mentorship to students (K-12, undergraduate) underrepresented in science (e.g. first-generation students, racial and ethnic minorities), (iii) involved students in long-term, authentic scientific research experiences, (iv) published culturally-relevant resources for science teachers, (v) examined the quality of assessment tools designed to measure knowledge in underrepresented students, (vi) produced and disseminated peer-reviewed research for enhancing student success and persistence in science, (vii) conducted teacher professional development workshops to reduce conflict about evolutionary ideas, and (viii) designed interventions to improve learning outcomes. Below are some examples of the work that the lab has been involved in.

Science teachers, sense of place, and high-needs urban schools. As a result of significant shortages of certified science teachers in high-needs urban schools, in recent years non-traditional teacher certification programs have recruited many applicants from outside of the NYC region (e.g. the NYC Teaching Fellows program and Teach for America). As a result, significant percentages of pre-certified, in-service NYC life and earth science teachers have arrived in the city lacking a “sense of place” and ecological grounding. This situation has exacerbated student isolation from local environments, ecological contexts, and biodiversity because teachers lacked understanding and awareness of the rich and fascinating biota within the city. In the field of science education, considerable research has focused on the theoretical construct of “sense of place” (SOP) and how the extent or magnitude of one’s SOP can be leveraged to enhance teaching and learning outcomes. This project involved developing professional learning experiences to transform NYC Teaching Fellows’ sense of place in order to build stronger

connections between teachers, students, and ecology in high-needs city schools. The project achieved five overarching goals: (1) increased teacher knowledge of the biodiversity and marine environments that occur throughout the New York City region; (2) increased mastery of conceptual topics central to the state standards through the use of NYC exemplars in high-need schools; (3) increased teacher use of NYC coastal and marine resources and biodiversity as scientific examples when teaching required components of the secondary science curriculum in high-needs schools; (4) assessed the impact of the course on the percentage of teachers who engaged their secondary students with local ecology and biodiversity; and (5) determined how learning about the natural history and marine biology affected teachers’ cognitive conceptualizations of the city and their “sense of Place.” See Nehm (2015) for details.

STARS at the Mott Hall Middle School. The Student Apprenticeship in Science program, spearheaded by visionary and inspiring science teacher Susan Herzog, connected students from Mott Hall middle school to science research labs. Each year, pairs of middle school students from backgrounds

underrepresented in science engaged in long-term, authentic research experiences in the lab. The accomplishments of the many Mott Hall students who collaborated on science research were impressive. For example, Mott Hall School students Yulissa Hidalgo and Isamara Cabrera, along with undergraduate Novia Jarrett, presented their research on Dominican Republic biodiversity

patterns at the national meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver Colorado. This program continues to be a source of inspiration for successful school-university partnerships.

Inclusive Excellence at SBU. This multi-departmental initiative, housed in the Department of Ecology & Evolution and linked to the departments of Chemistry, Mathematics, Psychology, and Applied Mathematics and Statistics, is using a data-driven approach to generate robust, evidence-based understanding in order to guide the transformation, expansion, and integration of equitable introductory science and mathematics education at the university (see Publications for examples). Dr. Nehm directs this multidisciplinary project. This project is funded by a generous grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Culturally-relevant science education. This five-year project had two foci: an educational equity focus and a scientific participation focus. Both foci were anchored in a framework that valued the unique strengths and funds of knowledge that underrepresented students harbor. The educational component of the project explored whether science teachers were able to identify student resources and use them to enact culturally-relevant science instruction. The study explicitly rejected common approaches to minority education–such as academic “gap gazing” and “deficit models”. Instead, the project documented how an understanding of transnationalism, sense of place, and cultural capital could be leveraged to help teachers to teach science more effectively in New York City’s Dominican-American community. In addition to teacher resources, the project generated new understanding of the links between teacher perspectives and Dominican American student outcomes. Specifically, research documented how teachers working in schools with Dominican-American student majorities who lacked understanding of their students’ funds of knowledge inadvertently contributed to a cascade of negative outcomes linked to deficit perspectives. The second focus of the project sought to provide entry points into academic science for Dominican-American students by leveraging an ongoing scientific research collaborative known as the Dominican Republic Project (DRP). This large-scale multidisciplinary scientific research effort involved more than 30 scientists from around the world. DRP investigated marine biodiversity change in the Caribbean region from the Miocene epoch (25 million years ago) to the present. The data for the project came from a sequence of sedimentary rocks rich in mollusks, corals, and other fossils in the Cibao Valley of the northern Dominican Republic that were used to study evolution, extinction, and biodiversity change. Scientific research in the DRP engaged Dominican-American students and others underrepresented in science. The research and education components of the project were summarized in a book co-edited with Ann Budd. See Nehm, Luna, and Budd (2008) for details of the educational initiatives.

Science Teachers and Evolution. Throughout the United States–including New York–many science teachers avoid the topic of evolution, reject the idea of evolution, or feel immense personal conflict about evolution. This situation denies students–particularly those in under-resourced schools–access to educational experiences central to understanding contemporary issues. Although a large body of work in science education has established the pervasive challenges of science teachers’ alternative conceptions about evolution and anti-evolutionary attitudes, only a handful of interventions have explored the mitigation of these issues using professional development workshops, and fe

w have investigated if positive outcomes are sustained long after program completion. For the past 15 years, D

r. Nehm has led and studied interventions designed to help teachers understand evolution and the nature of science and reduce teachers’ feelings of conflict about this important scientific idea. The goal of this work is to ensure that all students are provided access to accurate science. Examples of this work include Nehm and Schonfeld (2007) and Ha, Baldwin, and Nehm (2016). 

 

Middle School Ecology and the Next Generation Science Standards. This project was spearheaded by E&E alum Dr. Becky Grella of Brentwood Schools.  Professor Dianna Padilla and Ross Nehm worked with Brentwood school teachers to learn NGSS-based disciplinary core ideas and scientific practices relating to ecology. The movement of matter and energy through ecological systems was the content focus, and scientific model building was the scientific practice focus. In addition to field trips to Flax Pond marine labs, teachers updated their preparation to teach their students New York State NGSS ideas. This project is supported by a grant to Brentwood Schools and SBU from the State of New York.

 

Mentorship. Since its founding, the lab has continuously mentored science students, including those who are the first in their families to attend college and those who are under-represented in science. At the undergraduate level, Dr. Nehm has served as a RISE mentor, a MARC mentor, and a SURIC mentor. At the Ph.D. level, he was selected as a mentor for the Sandra Abell Summer Institute. Several publications and national awards resulted from collaborations with students (e.g., AIBS Team Research Award, Siemens-Westinghouse national semi-finalists and Discover Channel competition). The City College of New York honored Dr. Nehm with a college-wide mentoring award for his work with a group of talented students in the Dominican Republic Project. The lab continues to provide a place for students to grow and develop into scientists, medical doctors, science teachers, and advocates for the importance of science in society.