1. PRESENTATION TITLE HERE AUTHOR’S NAME HERE WGU-AMNH PARTNERSHIP PILOT PROGRAM: YEAR 1 RESULTS Suzanne T. Metlay, Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, UT Sarah E. Hudon-Miller, Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, UT David Randle, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY Geological Society of America Annual Meeting Baltimore, MD 3 November 2015 Session T86: Research on Teaching and Student Learning in the K–12 Earth Science Classroom

2. OVERVIEW WGU-AMNH Partnership Pilot Program: 1 st year successful AMNH Seminars on Science overview WGU Teachers College: Secondary Science Education  Geosciences Education & Chemistry Education degree programs October 2014 – September 2015: headcount growth Struggles and Solutions  Learning how to partner more effectively Benefits to students:  Peer Learning  Content mastery/competency  Lesson Plans ready to implement in classroom Future Growth at WGU

3. AMNH SEMINARS ON SCIENCE OVERVIEW AMNH Seminars on Science founded in 1998: Online graduate-level teacher professional development Experienced classroom educators team with working scientists to facilitate each course 13 different courses in Life, Earth, and Physical Sciences 6 weeks of online instruction (+ 1 week to complete final project = 5 lesson plans) designed to increase science content knowledge and ability to teach a given subject

4. WGU INVOLVEMENT IN SEMINARS ON SCIENCE 2004: WGU initially partnered as part of SoS Phase Two to provide online science education to students enrolled in universities across the United States > 200 WGU students enrolled during 2004-2014 but completion and participations levels were low Registration was voluntary and optional; WGU students did not need to pass 2014: Expectations and supports changed Registration required in selected Seminars on Science, now considered essential courses at WGU WGU students required to pass with “Meets Standards” or “Exceeds Standards” 2014: Expectations and supports changed Registration required in selected Seminars on Science, now considered essential courses at WGU WGU students required to pass with “Meets Standards” or “Exceeds Standards”

5. WGU STUDENT POPULATION 6 State Affiliates: Indiana Missouri Nevada Tennessee Texas Washington 6 State Affiliates: Indiana Missouri Nevada Tennessee Texas Washington ~10% students are active duty, spouses, or veterans WGU Teachers College Current enrollment: ~14,000 students in all programs (undergrad + graduate) WGU Teachers College Current enrollment: ~14,000 students in all programs (undergrad + graduate)

6. WGU TEACHERS COLLEGE: SECONDARY SCIENCE Teacher licensure in all 50 states and District of Columbia 100% of WGU graduates who applied for teaching licenses were successful in FY2014

7. WGU CHEMISTRY EDUCATION PROGRAM AMNH Seminar on Science: Climate Change now required for all WGU students in Chemistry Education WGU is a leader in U.S. conferrals of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemistry Education AMNH Seminar on Science: Climate Change now required for all WGU students in Chemistry Education WGU is a leader in U.S. conferrals of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemistry Education

8. WGU GEOSCIENCES EDUCATION PROGRAM According to internal WGU report prepared by Eduventures, 50% of Master’s degree conferrals in Earth Sciences Education are made by WGU… and now AMNH Seminar on Science: Ocean Systems is a required course for these students According to internal WGU report prepared by Eduventures, 50% of Master’s degree conferrals in Earth Sciences Education are made by WGU… and now AMNH Seminar on Science: Ocean Systems is a required course for these students

9. WGU STUDENT ENROLLMENTS BY COURSE Growth of student enrollment from Fall II Session 2014 to Fall I Session 2015 > 85% students who completed each course also passed it  100% pass rate is goal: more common than not Students are allowed to re-take each course a 2 nd time at WGU expense  3 rd attempt is an out-of-pocket expense – not yet tried Students in Fall I + Fall II Sessions 2015 are still engaged in coursework Pass rates available by mid-December 2015

10. PARTNERING EFFECTIVELY – AMNH VIEW AMNH accommodations to WGU: Faster turnaround times than usual for academia Weekly grade reports to WGU Roster adjustments after closing dates Excellent communication and responsiveness Changes to AMNH approach: Adding more staff to assist students at risk Providing more support for students new to lesson plans

11. PARTNERING EFFECTIVELY – WGU VIEW WGU accommodations to AMNH: New protocols for enrollment, activity, reporting Minimal faculty involvement; support role only Increased financial investment; no cost to students Peer Learning Students report that online discussions are most time-consuming but most rewarding aspect of Seminars on Science External structure WGU students are accustomed to self-paced courses  Scheduled webinars, synchronous cohorts, and pacing guides are optional at WGU AMNH Seminars on Science are held to a strict weekly schedule Benefits to Students

12. POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO STUDENTS - PRAXIS Content mastery/competency Preliminary data supports anecdotal reports Praxis exam scores for students who successfully complete Seminars on Science may be higher in relevant test sections Students self-report greater comfort with specific content covered in the course Same students are pictured in each graph. Correlation is weak and not statistically significant.

13. POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO STUDENTS – LESSON PLANS Lesson Plans ready to implement in classroom Students modify and use lesson plans developed during Seminars on Science for:  Teacher Work Sample (WGU Graduate programs)  Demonstration Teaching (WGU Undergraduate programs)  Classroom use not associated with WGU degree requirements  Enrichment (afterschool programs, etc.)

14. FUTURE GROWTH 2016: Seminars on Science added to WGU degree programs in Physics Education and Biology Education: ~75% of students obtaining their science education degrees at WGU will take a Seminar on Science as a required course  WGU students encouraged to enroll in other Seminars on Science as optional add-ons

15. POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS Data based on student capstone work collected and analyzed in addition to anecdotal evidence of classroom implementation of lesson plans developed during Seminars on Science  Teacher Work Sample presentations (graduate)  Demonstration Teaching portfolios (undergraduate)  Praxis exam score reports scrutinized for demonstrable effects Possible tailored Seminar on Science course content/structure in response to WGU program needs, if enrollments are high enough

16. CONTACT US David Randle, Ph.D. Senior Manager of Professional Development Faculty, Master of Arts in Teaching, Richard Gilder Graduate School American Museum of Natural History 212-496-3540 drandle@amnh.org www.amnh.org/learn/ Sarah Hudon-Miller, PhD Teacher Education: Chemistry Western Governors University 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 801-924-4629 sarah.hudonmiller@wgu.edu sarah.hudonmiller@wgu.edu chemistry@wgu.edu Suzanne T. Metlay, Ph.D. Teacher Education: Geosciences Western Governors University 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700 Salt Lake City, UT 84107 385-428-4961 suzanne.metlay@wgu.edu geosciences@wgu.edu

17. REFERENCES American Museum of Natural History (n.d.). Seminars on Science: A Leader in Online Science Education. Retrieved from AMNH website at http://www.amnh.org/learn/About/Historyhttp://www.amnh.org/learn/About/History Inverness Research (2007). Summary Results from the Independent Evaluation of the Seminars on Science. Retrieved from the Inverness Research Inc. website at http://inverness-research.org/amnh-sos/; report summary athttp://inverness-research.org/amnh-sos/ http://inverness-research.org/amnh-sos/evaluationsPDF/2007-03_AMNH-EVAL-Summary-2pgExecSum.pdf National Council on Teacher Quality (2014). Teacher Prep Review 2014 Report. Retrieved from NCTQ website at http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Teacher_Prep_Review_2014_Report http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Teacher_Prep_Review_2014_Report National Council on Teacher Quality (2015). Nation’s Top 25 ‘Best Value’ Colleges of Education Announced by National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from NCTQ website at http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Best_Value_Campaign_Press_Release_with_Link http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Best_Value_Campaign_Press_Release_with_Link Personal communication (4 Nov 2014) about 2013 data analyzed in Eduventures report from WGU Teachers College Dean Phil Schmidt to Rob Duncan. "Western Governors University Leads the U.S. in STEM Teaching Grads" (2014). Retrieved from WGU website at http://www.wgu.edu/about_WGU/WGU_leads_in_STEM_1-6-14 http://www.wgu.edu/about_WGU/WGU_leads_in_STEM_1-6-14 Western Governors University (2015). Someone’s Been Talking About Us. Teacher’s College enrollment and licensure statistics retrieved from internal newsletter, We’ve Got Updates, issue 10052015, number 53, page 4.