STEM RAYS Project Announced

We have just received NSF funding for a new program. Franklin County Research Academies for Young Scientists (STEM RAYS) will provide science research programs for rural grade 4-8 students in after-school and summer programs. The lead partner is UMass, which is just outside Franklin County; the other higher education partner is the only college in this county, Greenfield Community College (GCC). Other partners are the county’s eight school districts plus local businesses and informal science organizations. Principal Investigators are Mort Sternheim (STEM Ed), Allan Feldman (Science Education, UMass) and Brian Adams (GCC).        `

STEM RAYS will connect students and teachers with ongoing interdisciplinary environmental research programs in the region, providing them with authentic science experiences and interactions with scientists, engineers, and college and graduate students from UMass, GCC, and Smith College. Students and teachers will collect and analyze data that will be used by the scientists and engineers in their research projects, focusing on five environmental research themes. The Arsenic Project will be led by Julian Tyson (Chemistry, UMass), Pioneer Valley Watershed Studies by Brian Adams (Environmental Science, GCC) and Jan Rowan, US Fish and Wildlife, Weather RATS by Wayne Burleson (Computer and Electrical Engineering, UMass), Air Quality by Paul Voss (Engineering, Smith College) and David Greenberg (Mohawk Trail Regional HS), and Birds by Cartice Griffin (Natural Resources and Conservation, UMass).  This coupling to active research groups has been demonstrated to provide a richer experience for students than do science “activities” that provide only a classroom-based experience. .

STEM RAYS research involves major concepts in the biological, physical, and earth sciences, as well as significant ideas in engineering and technology. Analyzing, graphing, and interpreting data will aid in developing mathematical skills.  STEM RAYS will support in-school curricula since both are aligned with the Massachusetts Math, Science and Technology/Engineering Framework. Program features include an online resource bank and career awareness/workplace activities.

Project goals for students include increasing their interest is science careers, their knowledge of science content, and the role of science in the world. Teachers will increase their understanding of the process of doing scientific research, their ability to engage and motivate students in science, and their knowledge of science content. STEM RAYS will deepen the partnership among schools, institutions of higher education, informal education centers, and business to support the program and to help sustain it after the grant ends. An educational research program will go beyond the usual project evaluation in studying the impact of STEM RAYS research team model on the students and on the teachers.

The pilot phase beginning in January 2007 will offer after school programs in six elementary schools and science clubs in two middle schools. Following summer workshops for teachers and a science camp for middle school students, full scale implementation in September 2007 will involve 24 teachers and approximately 288 children.     

A unique feature of the project is the opportunity it will afford the students and their teachers to conduct authentic environmental research in close association with campus research communities of STEM faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates. A strong educational research component will assess the effectiveness of the model and its impact on the participants.

STEM RAYS should demonstrate the strongly positive effects of this research team model. The connection of children and teachers to active STEM research groups on campus can be done in many areas, both rural and urban, with proximity to colleges or universities.