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C 2003)
Journal of Science Education and Technology, Vol. 12, No. 4, December 2003 (

Learning What It Takes to Teach Science: High School

Students as Science Teachers for Middle School Students
Regina E. Toolin1

This study examines the influence of St. Johns University Summer Science Experience and
Teacher Mentoring Program on African American and Hispanic high school students interest
in science and science teaching as career goals. In the first phase of the program, high school
students from six school districts in Suffolk County, Long Island (a suburb of metropolitan
New York City) engaged in investigative science experiences that emphasized environmental
science, chemistry, and technology and learned about effective science pedagogy. The second
phase of the program functioned as a teaching practicum for the high school students, where
they planned for instruction and taught middle school students investigations similar to those
that they had engaged in during the summer program. Various surveys were developed to assess
high school students attitudes about science and science teaching, knowledge of effective
teaching approaches, knowledge of ways to motivate younger students, and the overall impact
of the program on the high students interest in science and/or science teaching as career goals.
Program evaluations reveal that over 75% of the students expressed an interest in considering
science or science teaching as career possibilities. Implications for minority teacher recruitment
are discussed.
KEY WORDS: science teacher recruitment; teacher shortage; minority students; science learning; science
pedagogy; science and technology.

INTRODUCTION

The background and culture of the science teachers

often does not mirror that of the student population
that they teach, leaving these students with few role
models and mentors with whom they can identify and
relate to in the science classroom. Research suggests
that this disparity of urban and suburban minority
teachers may be one of the underlying reasons why
so few minority students consider science and science
teaching as career paths (National Science Foundation [NSF], 1995).
The St. Johns University Summer Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program conducted
at the Oakdale campus on the Great South Bay
of Long Island, attempted to address the disparity of underrepresented science teachers through a
two-phase program that emphasized science learning
and science teaching. In the first phase of the program, underrepresented high school students from
six school districts in Suffolk County, Long Island
(a suburb of metropolitan New York City) engaged
in investigative science experiences that emphasized

Shortage of Minority Science Teachers

The shortage of science teachers in the United
States has been a highly documented dilemma facing school districts for over the last two decades
(Abeles, 1982; Bailey, 1983; Bullock and Scott, 1993;
Fifer and Odell, 1992; Rumberger, 1985; Schorling,
2000; Shymansky and Aldridge, 1982; Urrows and
Urrows, 1986). This dilemma has left many school districts without certified science teachers in their middle and high school science classes sometimes resulting in teachers teaching outside of their major area
of study. The problem becomes even more complex
when one looks at the demographics of the science
teacher population in urban and suburban schools.
1 Department of Early Childhood, Childhood, and Adolescent Ed-

ucation, School of Education, St. Johns University, 8000 Utopia

Parkway, Jamaica, New York 11439; e-mail: toolinr@stjohns.edu

457
C 2003 Plenum Publishing Corporation
1059-0145/03/1200-0457/0

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environmental science, chemistry, and technology and
learned about pedagogical practices that emphasized
a problem-based approach to science teaching. The
second phase of the program functioned as a teaching practicum for the high school students, where they
planned for instruction and taught middle school students investigations similar to those that they had engaged in during the summer program.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Recruitment of Minority Science and Math Teachers
According to a NSF (1995) Feasibility Study
African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans constitute 30% of the U.S. K12 school population, while only about 11% of science and mathematics teachers come from these groups. This NSF
study focused specifically on the Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) program whose primary goal
was to increase the number of minority science and
mathematics teachers through partnerships that are
highly feasible, advisable, and cost-effective. Moreover, the study recommends strong disciplinary content knowledge for teacher preparation; collaborative
initiatives that build upon the established infrastructure of institutional partnerships; and the coordination with other National Science Foundation-funded
initiatives to achieve systemic impact and efficiency.
The Partnership for Excellence in Teacher Education (Della-Piana et al., 2001) is similar to the AMP
Alliance in that it functions to promote reform in
science and mathematics teacher education for minorities. Math and science undergraduate majors who
participated in this summer program to promote the
teaching profession reported that the summer experience was generally positive; that teaching was challenging but rewarding; and nearly all reported a strong
desire to teach.
Other programs focused on attracting minorities and females to science and science teaching. In
an NSF-funded program, Williams-Robertson (1990)
found that recruitment efforts encouraged participation of many students and that more than half of the
students who participated in the Summer Institute
showed an increased interest in science. However, the
study also found that neither teaching nor mentoring
younger students had a significant impact on the high
school students interest in teaching.
Other studies focused specifically on recruiting,
educating, retaining, and accrediting science teachers
through science teacher education programs (Loving

Toolin
and Marshall; 1997) and science and math teacher education programs (Jacullo-Noto, 1991). The Teacher
Opportunity Corps (TOC) first established as a collaboration between the Metro Center, the New York
State Education Department, and New York Universitys Math and Science Education Program in 1987,
was developed to recruit teachers from traditionally
underrepresented groups and to assure innovative
and effective teacher preparation programs in math
and science for prospective teachers working with atrisk students in New York. Participating teachers enrolled in a graduate education program leading to a
masters degree and permanent New York State certification for math and science. Since its inception, TOC
has added more than 250 science and math teachers
to New York City schools.
Culturally Diverse Teacher Education Programs
Many colleges and universities across the country have responded to the shortage of minority teachers by instituting programs to attract and retain these
populations of students. Abel (1994) reports on five
teacher education programs that have begun to meet
the needs of underrepresented, diverse populations.
The goals of such programs include establishing a professional development center that will offer undergraduate and graduate programs to prepare teachers and school administrators from underrepresented
populations (Central Washington University); the operation of an academic support center that provides
developmental education services (Jacksonville State
University); and the recruitment of culturally diverse
student populations, making scholarships available to
minority students, and reimbursement for undergraduate students seeking bilingual education endorsement (Saginaw Valley State University). Montana
State University serves both the Crow and Northern Cheyenne nations and has implemented the Systemic Teacher Excellence Preparation Project to help
Native American and other mathematics and science
teachers. The State University of New York at Plattsburgh, having small numbers of African Americans,
Hispanics, Asians, and French-speaking Canadian
Americans, conducts an outreach program to increase
student diversity.
Recruiting Underrepresented High School
Students to Science and Science Teaching
St. Johns University (SJU) Summer Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program shares the

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same fundamental goal as the various programs described in this review, namely to increase the number of underrepresented people in science and science teaching. However, SJUs program differs from
these programs in that the target population is high
school juniors and the programs objectives are to engage these students in authentic science investigations
that utilize innovative technology such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and video microscopes, to
teach them effective science pedagogy, and to provide
them with a practicum teaching experience where
they teach middle school students field-based and labbased science investigations in a follow-up program in
the fall.

459
Faculty and Staff
Four science professors from the College of Arts
and Sciences, one science education professor from
the School of Education and four teaching assistants
from the Departments of Chemistry and Environmental Studies were instrumental in the delivery of
the 2002 Summer Science Experience and Teacher
Mentoring Program. Moreover, one camp coordinator, five high school science teachers, and one middle
school math teacher representing each of the participating school districts assisted in program activities.

Program Design
BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURES
The St. Johns University (SJU) Summer Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program is
a component of a federally funded U.S. Department
of Education Grant entitled the Institute for Minority Teacher Training and Development. The primary
goal of the program is to increase achievement and
interest in science and science teaching for underrepresented high school students from Suffolk County,
New York. By targeting underrepresented high school
juniors and middle school students from six designated school districts it was hoped that some of these
students would pursue science and/or science teaching as careers, thereby responding to the critical need
for more underrepresented scientists and science
teachers.

Student Selection
African American and Hispanic high school juniors from six school districts including Amityville,
Wyandanch, Copiague, Central Islip, Huntington, and
Brentwood in Suffolk County, New York were invited by each of their districts to participate in the
program. Students who demonstrated an interest in
science and/or science teaching as determined by
teachers and administrators recommendations were
invited to participate in the program. In addition,
underrepresented middle school students from the
same districts were invited to participate in the fall
program. Two cohorts of approximately 50 middle
school students in each cohort attended two Saturday
Science Experiences from September to November
2002.

In August 2002, approximately 25 high school juniors came to SJUs Oakdale Campus to participate
in the first phase of the program that emphasized science learning and science pedagogy. During this time,
students explored questions about the natural ecosystems and diverse species found on the Oakdale Campus, learned about chemical principles and reactions
in the laboratory, utilized GPS, video microscopes,
and various water and soil testing instruments, and
planned investigative lessons to be taught to middle
school students in the second phase of the program in
the fall.
As part of the program design (see Table I) students were regularly engaged in investigations involving the use of GPS, seining/microcosms, water
quality testing, environmental forensics, and chemical demonstrations/safety. Each investigation was facilitated by an SJU faculty member and supported by
student assistants as well as teachers from the participating school districts.

Problem-Posing and Questioning

as a Way of Knowing Science
The Summer Science Experience and Teacher
Mentoring Program was based on the philosophy that
by engaging students in real science investigations
that emphasized environmental science, chemistry,
and technology that they would be motivated and encouraged to develop a deeper interest in learning science and to consider science and science teaching as
professions. During these investigations, faculty and
staff modeled and discussed the value of problembased teaching methods so that the high school
students, in turn, could draw on these approaches

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Table I. Summer Science Experience 2002Schedule of Program

Activities
Monday
9:0010:00
10:3012:00

1:303:00
3:305:00

Tuesday
9:0010:00

10:3012:00

1:303:00

3:305:00
Wednesday
9:0010:00

10:3012:00
1:303:00
3:305:00
Thursday
9:0010:00

11:0012:30

1:303:00

3:305:00
Friday
9:0012:30

1:303:00
5:306:30

6:308:00

Camp IntroductionIntroduce faculty,

staff and students. Warm-up activity.
Nature Walk/Environmental
SamplingStudents observe and
sample ecosystems on campus.
Set up MicrocosmsStudents construct
their microcosms in the laboratory.
Flex TimeStudents utilize the pool
facilities, computer room, basketball
court, etc.
Environmental ForensicsStudents
investigate an environmental crime in
the laboratory.
Water Quality AnalysisStudents collect
and analyze water samples and present
data.
Lesson Planning and Teaching
StrategiesWhat are the qualities of a
good teacher?
Flex Time
SeiningStudents utilize nets to seine the
Great South Bay and examine marine
species.
Global Positioning SystemsMapping the
environment.
Using video technology to investigate
organisms in the laboratory.
Flex Time
Chemical SafetyStoring, utilizing, and
disposing of chemicals safely in the
laboratory.
Chemical DemonstrationsStudents
create chemical demos as part of science
magic show.
Lesson PlanningStudents continue to
work on lesson preparation for fall
program.
Flex Time
Poster PreparationStudents assemble a
poster based on their experiences
during the camp.
Take Down MicrocosmsPrepare
chemistry magic show.
Chemistry Magic ShowStudents present
various scientific demonstrations for
parents and teachers.
BanquetPoster presentations; Students
receive certificates of participation/
recognition.

while teaching the middle school students in the fall

program.
This problem-based approach to teaching and
learning science entailed posing questions and problems that would stimulate thought and reflection
about the immediate environment that students were
exploring on the Oakdale Campus or about specific
chemical reactions that they were studying in the laboratory. For example, questions that were often heard
on campus that week were: Why are certain plant
and animal species adapted to live in freshwater or
saltwater environments but not both? What physical
adaptations enable an organism to survive in its habitat? What is the evidence for the presence of certain
pollutants in water or soil samples? What does that
evidence tell us?

Doing Real Science

To introduce students to the idea of what it means
to do science and to get a sense of what it means to
be a scientist, students were encouraged to work in
cooperative teams as they solved relevant problems
through observation, questioning, data collection, and
data analysis. Students presented their findings and
conclusions from their inquiry on a group poster that
was displayed at a banquet on the final day of the
program.
The science investigations were field-based and
lab-based in nature including GPS, microcosms, seining, and chemistry investigations. During the GPS investigations, students were first taught basic skills in
determining points of latitude and longitude using a
compass and then compared the compass coordinates
with that of the hand-held GPS. As a corollary to this
activity, students were then given the task of mapping various points along the shoreline of the campus
utilizing the hand-held GPS. These experiences eventually led a group of interested high school students to
design a treasure hunt game involving the use of the
GPS for middle school students in the fall program.
Other examples of cooperative investigations included the design of microcosms or fish tank simulations of the stream, pond, and marine ecosystems
found on the campus. Students studied the various
natural ecosystems and determined the kinds of representative biotic and abiotic factors they would collect in the design of their microcosms. In addition,
students conducted a variety of water quality tests
on the samples including pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity levels and examined and dissected

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many of the marine invertebrates and vertebrates collected from these various ecosystems. Student interest, enthusiasm, and questioning heightened when
they magnified and projected the marine organisms
they were studying onto a TV screen through a video
microscope.
During the seining investigation, groups of students, teachers, and faculty prepared to learn about
marine species up close as they unraveled and dragged
a 20-ft. seine through the waters of the Great South
Bay. Students were delighted by their catch of grass
shrimp, blue crabs, needlefish, puffer fish, and other
indigenous species that many had never observed or
touched before. Student enthusiasm and participation
increased after each new group waded into the water and brought back a fresh catch of marine species.
After the organisms were observed and recorded, all
students participated in the ritual of returning them
to the marine habitat.
During the forensics investigation, students
worked collaboratively in the laboratory to solve an
environmental crime as they conducted various chemical tests on soil samples to determine the point source
of contamination for a local town (simulated). Students utilized evidence from these tests to determine
which local factory was the source of the pollution.
In the laboratory, students also engaged in a variety of chemical demonstrations designed to illustrate
principles of pH, equilibrium, and the effect of temperature and pressure on objects. These demonstrations became part of the chemistry magic show that
the high school students performed for parents, politicians, and community members at the banquet on the
last day of the program.

Learning What It Takes to Teach Science

One of the primary goals of the program was to
increase underrepresented students interest in science teaching as a career possibility. To achieve this
goal, students engaged in large group discussions that
focused on the elements of effective teaching and lesson planning and considered a number of topics that
middle school students might be interested in learning
for the investigative lesson that they would teach in
the fall program. Given that they had learned about
chemistry, environmental forensics, and ecological interactions on the Oakdale campus and had become
skilled in the use of GPS, dissecting and video microscopes, and water and soil testing kits, the high school
students were encouraged to expand upon the science

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investigations they had already experienced and develop new lessons and activities that would motivate
and engage middle school students in the fall program.
Working in groups of four or five and facilitated
by one of the district teachers, the high school
students brainstormed lesson ideas and created an
outline of the investigative lessons (See Appendix A)
that they would teach in the fall program. The lesson
plan format included a motivating or jump-start
activity; a series of investigations and other learning
experiences that they would use to explore science
concepts and processes in more depth; and the
steps they would take to assess the progress of the
lesson and student learning. In the fall, the students
returned to the Oakdale Campus a week prior to
the Middle School Saturday Science Experience to
finalize their investigative lesson plans, to conduct
mock lessons, and to make necessary modifications
to their investigative lessons.
The high school students were solely responsible for teaching the lessons with limited supervision
from faculty and district teachers. In the end, the high
school students chose to modify four of the investigations that they had engaged in during the summer
program including GPS, seining, water quality testing,
and chemistry demonstrations. They were encouraged
to be innovative and creative in their lesson design
and delivery. For example, the GPS investigation was
modified to include a treasure hunt whereby middle
school students utilized the GPS to find clues around
campus that eventually led them to the treasure chest
full of candy at the end of the hunt. The water quality testing investigation was modified to include the
design and testing of healthy and polluted microcosms. The chemical magic show was modified to include a humorous story theme from Jurassic Park. The
seining investigation was conducted in essentially the
same manner as it was in the summer program.
The Middle School Saturday Science Experience occurred over four Saturdays from September
to November 2002. Upon arrival at the Oakdale campus, the first cohort of 50 middle school students were
given a brief orientation to the program that included
the opportunity to view the posters illustrating the
high school students investigative experiences from
the summer. Facilitated by a group of four to five
high school students and a district teacher, the middle
school students were divided into four teams, where
each team engaged in two of the four planned investigations on that particular day. Upon returning to the
program on the second Saturday Science Experience,
the middle school students engaged in the other two

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Toolin
beliefs, experiences, and feelings about science and
science teaching. A summary of the survey results is
presented in Table II.
Survey results reveal that 67% of the students
rated their prior school science experiences as mostly
positive; however, when asked to define the kinds of
science experiences that they engaged in their science
classes, only 50% of the students described their science experiences as inquiry-based and only 33% described their science experiences as problem-based or
project-based. Additionally, students responded to a
survey question about how learning science makes
them feel. Nine students stated that science made
them feel smart or intelligent, seven were bored or
disinterested with science, and one student stated that
learning science or being in science class made them
feel incompetent. Related to questions 4 and 5 about
career choices, one student reported being interested
in mechanical engineering, three were interested in
becoming doctors, one was interested in becoming a
forensic scientist, one was interested in becoming an
architect, and two students were interested in becoming biology teachers.

investigations. The second cohort of middle school

students followed the same program format later in
the fall.
PROGRAM EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS
Various surveys were developed to assess the extent that program goals were achieved. These surveys examined high school students attitudes about
science and science teaching, knowledge of effective
teaching approaches, knowledge of ways to motivate
younger students, and the overall impact of the program on the high school students interest in science
and/or science teaching as career goals. In addition,
other study artifacts such as lesson plans and student posters were considered as part of the program
evaluation.
Attitudinal Surveys
To assess the high school students prior experiences, beliefs, and attitudes about science and science
teaching, the Prior Experiences and Affect about Science and Science Teaching Survey (see Table II). that
consisted of Likert-scale and short response questions
was administered to students on the second day of the
summer program. Each student responded to this survey followed by a small group discussion facilitated by
the district teachers to further probe and discuss their

High School Students Program Evaluations

A program evaluation (See Appendix B) that
consisted of Likert-scale and extended response
questions was administered to high school students
upon completion of their program participation in the

Table II. Prior Experiences and Affect About Science and Science Teaching Survey
Survey questions
1. I like science and have had mostly
positive experiences learning science in
school.
2. My experiences learning science in
school have been mostly inquiry-based
and hands-on where the teacher
assigns problems and investigations for
us to do in small groups.
3. My experiences learning science in
school have been mostly
problem-based or project-based where
students are responsible for posing
their own questions and carrying out
their own investigations with some
teacher guidance.
4. I am interested in pursuing science as a
career. I would like to become a . . .
(scientist, doctor, engineer).
5. I am interested in pursuing science
teaching as a career. I would like to
become a . . . (kind of teacher).

Strongly
agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly
disagree

% Agree
strongly agree

67

10

50

33

55

10

27

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Table III. Summary of High School Student Program Evaluation
Results
Please rate the following (On a
scale of 15, with 1 being
the lowest and 5 being
the highest)
How interesting was the
program?
What was the quality of
supplemental materials?
Were the instructions on the
use of laboratory and
instruments and
procedures clearly
explained?
Have the activities motivated
you towards pursuing a
career in either science
or teaching?
Number of students
interested in a career in
science
Number of students
interested in a career in
science teaching

Average (on a scale 15)

3.9
4.31
4.06

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teacher or did not specify the field of teaching they
would be interested in pursuing. With respect to pursuing elementary school teaching one student wrote
the following:
I have always had a strong desire to teach (primarily
in elementary or early childhood education). My interest in science has little to do with what we are
learning now. I am more interested in DNA and
genetics.

Another student elaborated on their desire to be

a teacher and their understanding of the skills necessary to motivate students and plan for instruction.
Actual number of
students out of 18
respondents
6 or 33% of respondents

9 or 50% of respondents

fall 2002. Of the 25 students who participated in the

program, 18 completed the evaluation. This discrepancy is most probably due to the fact that fewer higher
school students participated in the fall program than
in the summer program. A summary of the evaluation
results is presented in Table III.
Considering Science and Science Teaching
as Career Possibilities
Survey results reveal that over 75% of the respondents expressed either a new or continued interest in pursuing a career in science or teaching. In
particular, two students were motivated by their experiences in the program to pursue both science and
science teaching as career possibilities. In response
to a question about the influence of the program on
their decision to pursue a career in either science or
teaching, one student wrote
These activities have definitely motivated me towards considering a career in science or teaching.
This program has opened many doors in the field
of science teaching along with academic achievements. I have also received a new sense of nature
and friendship.

Many of the students (50%) expressed an interest

in teaching as a career. Four of the students discussed
a general interest in the field of teaching and were
interested in either becoming an elementary school

Well, I think from the beginning Ive always wanted

to be a teacher. I know that when I entered this program I realized that it is hard to be a teacher in trying
to keep the kids focused, interested and involved. It
is also hard in trying to organize lessons but it has
been a fun experience.

Three students wrote specifically about how the

program motivated them towards a career in science
teaching but not necessarily towards a career in science. Conversely, four students expressed an interest
in pursuing a career in science but not in teaching. In
this respect one student wrote
The fact that we were able to experiment with handson activities [motivated me towards a career in science]. I received more information on science and
it interested me. Although I do not have an interest
to be a teacher, I could help educate someone who
wants to be a teacher.

Another student wrote Yes, the experiences in

this program have motivated me further into a career
in science. It has shown me the fun in science.
Being a Good Teacher
Another component of the program evaluation
was to assess the extent that program participation influenced the high school students conception of what
it means to be a good teacher. Of the 18 students
who completed the survey, eleven responded affirmatively that their conceptions of teachers and teaching
had changed; four stated that their conceptions had
not changed, and three did not complete the question.
High school students comments about effective
science teaching practices ranged from an emphasis
on understanding, motivating, and engaging students
in fun and hands-on activities to an emphasis on
the qualities and skills that a teacher requires such as
patience, organization, and preparation. Subsequent

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to lesson planning and teaching the middle school students in the fall program, one student wrote I have
more respect for the good teachers and a sense of
sympathy for the bad ones.
Some students discussed the importance of
student-centered learning approaches that gets students interested and draws them into wanting to
learn. In many cases, the high students reflected upon
their own learning experiences in the summer program and discussed the value of not only engaging
students in the investigations but also in the design of
the learning experiences. Many students wrote about
the importance of letting the kids take part in activities and asking them for teaching ideas.
Others focused on what not to do in the classroom. One student commented At my school, we
have teachers dictating to us, which is boring and
makes you not want to learn.
Another student wrote, Now I feel that you
dont have to just throw the information at the students. It can be taught in fun and interesting ways.

How Should Science Be Taught?

Since one of the program goals was to teach the
high school students about effective science pedagogy,
upon completion of the program we were interested in
the kinds of approaches and strategies that they would
employ in teaching science. Almost without exception, the high school students used the phrase handson to describe the kinds of approaches or techniques
that they would utilize in teaching science. In fact,
one student commented that the approach they would
take would be 100% interactive hands-on.
The high school students were interested in motivating and engaging students in fun and interesting ways. The students used phrases like engage students in an energetic manner, show them something
amazing that pertains to what they are going to learn,
do activities that encourage students, and make the
class as fun as possible but also teach the student as
much during the process to describe their vision of
how to motivate students in the science classroom.
One student demonstrated their understanding
that learning science is an active process of doing and
working, not simply reading from a text or listening
to the teacher in the following:
I would make the lesson fun and not read too much
from the book. The kids dont like to only listen to
the teacher. They like to do work.

What Excites You and Frustrates You Most

About the Program?
Other survey questions afforded students the opportunity to evaluate and respond to their own experiences as learners in the program. Students overwhelmingly responded (86%) that seining was the
most exciting part of the program. One student wrote,
I think the seining was the most exciting because it
was really hands-on and fun. Another clearly demonstrated their enthusiasm for seining in the following
quote, The seining was a blast. Being that close to
nature was outstanding.
Approximately 15% of the students responded
that the chemical demonstrations and the chemical magic show were the most exciting aspects
of the program. Only one student wrote that the
GPS investigation was the most exciting learning
experience.
Most of the students responded that no part of
the program was frustrating for them. Individual students singled out specific activities such as GPS, chemistry, or seining, stating that these investigations were
particularly boring to them. One student wrote that
the lesson plan that they developed for the middle
school students was frustrating in the sense that they
were not yet satisfied with its organization. And finally, one student wrote that the most frustrating
part of the program was the part when we had to
leave.

What Have You Learned From Your Experiences

in the Program?
In a question pertaining to what they had learned
from the program, many students focused on the qualities and skills of a good teacher. Some of their responses included the following:
How to be a good teacher. How to do (teach) all the
activities that we did.
Teaching skills and how to use chemicals to make
magic.
How to be better, interesting teachers.
I learned different teaching styles and I have gotten
a better vocabulary about science terms.

Many of the students also focused on the science knowledge and skills they had learned during the program including water quality testing, the
operation of the GPS, the preparation of the fish
tanks for the microcosms, and general laboratory
skills.

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What Suggestions Do You Have to Improve
the Program?
Few students made any substantial suggestions
for program improvement. In fact, students specifically wrote that the program was great the way it is.
One student went as far to say I think the program
was the best that it could possibly be.
For those who did make suggestions, the comments pertained to better food, more equipment, and
the recruitment of additional students from different
schools. With respect to teaching the middle school
students in the fall program, one student wrote A little more time for the lesson plan, like two more Saturdays. Finally, one student summed up their experiences at St. Johns University Summer Science and
Teacher Mentoring Program in the following quote:
You people had me entertained a lot and it was fun
that we all interacted and made new friends here. You
guys did a good job!

Middle School Students Program Evaluations

Upon program completion, one cohort of middle school students completed an evaluation of their
experiences in the Fall Program. The middle school
students were asked to write a brief statement of
what they learned in each of the investigations and to
share what they found most exciting about the program. Table IV represents a summary of what the
middle school students found most exciting about the
program.
As was the case with the high school students,
seining and the chemistry magic show were the
most popular investigative activities for the middle school students. The middle school students appeared to enjoy the hands-on investigations where
they could take part in and actually touch the
fish and the opportunity to freeze things and test
stuff.
One middle school student captured the essence
of their experience and probably the essence of the
program itself when they wrote What we did involved actually using real things scientists use. It was
hand-on.

DISCUSSION
Student evaluations reveal not only satisfaction
with their academic, personal, and social experiences

465
Table IV. Summary of Middle School Students Program
Evaluations
The candy and the magic
show
The seining was fun
because you could take part in
it and actually touch the fish
Everything
I liked everything. I
learned that science may
be difficult but science and
nature is fun. I plan on
coming here in the summer.
Everything because they
were all fun. I would like to
come over the summer.
Everything was exciting &
fun, some were difficult but
we accomplished them all.
I liked the science magic
show. It answered some of
my questions.
The color changing of the
water, learning GPS and the
experiments
My favorite activity was
the chemistry lab. It was very
interesting and fun.
The smoke signals . . . It
was fun.
The science magic show
because it is fascinating that
science is so important
I found the science magic
show very exciting.
Everything because it was
fun and interesting

The chemical part, we

learned how you can mix
chemicals to do different
things
Going in the water scared
me at first, but after a
while, I loved it.
Making an object frozen
solid in chemistry. Testing
things is for a person with
patience.
The seining was very
exciting. I hope to do the
program again.
What we did involved
actually using real things
scientists use. It was hand
-on.
The people were so nice,
especially the high school
students.
The smoke signals and
science magic show. We
got to freeze things
and test stuff
The seining and the
chemistry lab
I liked the program
because I learned new
things and I fell in
the water.
When we were doing the
thing with the diaper and
when we made the flower
freeze.
The seining part because
even though I was
cold it was fun.

related to the program but also an increased interest

on the part of some of the high school students in pursuing science and science teaching as career choices.
High school students began the program with an overall positive attitude about science and learning science in school (67%); however, they describe these
school science experiences as still primarily didactic
and teacher-driven in nature. Half of the students described having hands-on or inquiry-based school
science experiences but very few (only 33%) discussed real science experiences, where they posed
problems of interest and explored science projects
over time.
The goal of the 2002 Summer Science Experience
and Teacher Mentoring Program was to address this

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gap in real science experience for these high school
students by engaging them in authentic ecological and
geological investigations about local ecosystems and
demonstrating how scientific knowledge, technology,
and skills can help to solve environmental problems in
the laboratory. Moreover, within this goal of engaging
students in scientific investigations, faculty and staff
modeled and discussed a problem-based approach to
teaching that they intended for the high school students to emulate when they taught the middle school
students in the fall program.
The high school students responded favorably to
such a goal in the design and delivery of their investigations in the fall. All of the student teaching groups
engaged the middle school students in investigations
that required active participation in the form of conducting chemical demonstrations, mapping the campus using a hand-held GPS, collecting and analyzing
samples from the various aquatic ecosystems on campus, and seining, observing, and identifying marine
species from the Great South Bay. The middle school
students were equally as excited and motivated by
their experiences in the program as was illustrated in
the summary of program evaluations in Table IV.
There are a few program limitations that need to
be addressed, namely the lack of minority mentors, a
greater emphasis on student determined projects, and
a means by which to influence science curriculum and
teaching in the students home school districts.
The lack of minority mentors for these students
was an obvious issue in the staffing of the program
in that only one of the district teachers and two student assistants were ethnic minorities. This demographic only further exemplifies the need for more
minorities in teaching, and science teaching, in particular. An attempt to remedy this dilemma was sought
in the 2003 Summer Science Experience Program.
Presently, the program coordinator and two of the six
district teachers are African American and one other
district teacher is Hispanic.
While one of the program goals was to engage
students in authentic science experiences, the program design and certain constraints on the part of faculty and staff prevented the investigations from being
student-driven in terms of who was posing the questions and setting the agenda for the investigations. In
this sense, the investigations were faculty determined
and many of the questions and problems that students
explored were faculty and teacher initiated. However,
students questions and interests were taken into consideration within the context of most of the investi-

Toolin
gations. For example, during the microcosm investigation, students expressed a keen interest in dissecting some of the freshwater and marine organisms.
While not originally part of the facultys investigative
plan, he easily adapted his agenda and allowed the
students to dissect certain species and utilize video
technology to project images of the organisms onto
a TV screen. In all the investigations, student questions were encouraged and questioning as a form of
inquiry was modeled by all of the program faculty and
teachers.
In planning the 2003 Summer Science Experience Program we invited the high school students
(now seniors) to return as teachers of the new cohort and to create their own camp. The high school
seniors were given the charge of adapting the old
investigations or creating entirely new investigations
to be conducted with the second cohort of high
school juniors that will attend the program in August
2003. Curriculum plans are currently under design
by the returning high school seniors (approximately
15 returning students) and the participating district
teachers.
Finally, we are cognizant of the gap that exists between the science investigations that students
experience in the Summer Science Experience and
Teacher Mentoring Program as compared to their
home school science experiences coupled with the apparent lack of sophisticated equipment and technology (i.e., GPS and video microscopes) absent from
most of the participating school districts. We believe
that programs such as St. Johns University Summer
Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program
not only supplement the Regents science curriculum
that is mandated for all public school districts in New
York State but also enhance the school curriculum
and opens new doors and possibilities into science
and science teaching for these students. In addition,
as part of St. Johns University Institute for Minority Teacher Training and Development, in August
2003, we will embark on a series of professional development workshops for science teachers from the
six participating districts that will emphasize the scientific and pedagogical approaches modeled in this
program.

IMPLICATIONS
Clearly, there are many successful programs
and institutions across the United States that are

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attempting to close the diversity gap in science and
science teaching as evidenced by private and publicly funded initiatives such as the Alliance for Minority Participation, the Partnership for Excellence in
Teacher Education, the Teacher Opportunity Corps,
and a host of diversity in education programs established at many colleges and universities nationally.
Through St. Johns University Summer Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program, our goal
was to not to simply add to this body of literature but
to suggest that our attention as a community of scientists and science educators be turned to the academic
and career needs of underrepresented high school and
middle school students. By inviting these students into
their own process of learning and teaching science,
where they posed and investigated scientific questions
about the local environment, and explored pedagogical philosophies and practices, the students developed
a sense of worth, confidence, enthusiasm, and motivation that propelled them well beyond the expectations
of the program. So much so, that 15 high school seniors (60%) are returning as paid teacher-mentors for
the new cohort of high school students who will attend
the program this summer.
This paper reports on the first year of St. Johns
Universitys Institute for Minority Teacher Training
and Development, and more specifically on the Summer Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program. In considering the spectrum of solutions to the
issue of under representation of African Americans
and Hispanics in science and science teaching, the programs primary goal is to reach a younger and broader
population of students, engage them in meaningful
learning experiences and on-going dialogue about science and science teaching as career possibilities, and
to follow them through high school and ultimately into
college as they explore career paths. Ongoing minority student mentoring and science professional development programs such as the one described in this
research and subsequent evaluations and reports will
continue to contribute to a range of solutions in the
near future.
APPENDIX A: SAMPLES OF INVETIGATIVE
LESSON PLAN OUTLINES
Group 1Water Quality Testing Investigation
Objectives
To see why water wasnt life sustaining

467
To measure pollutants through a variety of
tests
Investigation
Preparation
Water collection from three different sites
Label containers and buckets
Obtain freshwater and estuary kits
Motivation/Attention Grabber
Let students find dead fish
Walk students through the three eco sites on
campus
Collect water samples for testing
Perform tests (pH, D.O., Salinity, Temperature) from estuary and freshwater test kits
(Tainting one sample)
Assessment
Have kids conclude from where the problem
water came from
Group 2Seining Investigation
Objectives
Learn to seine
Identify marine life
Discuss history behind seining and demonstrate different techniques of fishing with
nets
Investigation
Attention Grabber
Conduct a seashore scavenger hunt with students
Record collection with digital camera
Activity
Seining
Identify marine life using marine identification
book
Complete scavenger hunt
Research examples of different types of seining
in groups
Conduct mini research presentation
Assessment
PowerPoint review using digital pictures
Jeopardy game as final assessment

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Toolin

APPENDIX B: ST. JOHNS UNIVERSITY SUMMER SCIENCE EXPERIENCE H.S. STUDENT 2002
EVALUATION FORM
Please rate the following:
Low 1
2
3
4
5 High
How interesting was the program
Quality of supplemental materials
Were the instructions on the use of laboratory and instruments and procedures clearly explained
Take a moment to reflect on your experiences in the program thus far. Have the activities motivated you
towards pursuing a career in either science or teaching?

Have your experiences during the camp altered your conception on what it means to be a good teacher?
Explain.

If you were to become a science teacher how would you engage your students? What techniques would you
use?

What part of the program was most exciting for you?

Has any part of the program frustrated you?

Please list some things you learned from this program.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Do you have any suggestions to improve this program?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Funding for the St. Johns University Institute for Minority Teacher Training and Development and the Summer Science Experience and
Teacher Mentoring Program has been provided by
the U.S. Department of Education with the assis-

tance and support of Representative Steve Israel

(2nd Congressional District), New York State Senator
Caesar Trunzo (3rd Senate District), and Suffolk
County Legislator Ginny Fields (9th Legislative
District).

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