College of Education and Human Development Professors and Researchers Partner with Teachers to Develop Students' Critical and Scientific Thinking Skills 

This summer, educators from Philadelphia and New Jersey gathered at the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School for an enriching professional development program funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The LR-MEL Summer Institute held in June marked the second of four planned summer sessions aimed at enhancing teacher skills and curriculum implementation. 

Temple's Principal Investigator Janelle Bailey commented, "This collaboration with teachers is key to advancing science education. The teacher feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we're excited about these strategies' impact in classrooms." 

The institute focused on two innovative curricular scaffolds: lateral reading (LR), a technique for evaluating the credibility of online sources, and the model-evidence link (MEL) diagram, which helps in evaluating competing explanations in Earth and environmental science topics. Teachers participated in these activities as both students and educators, preparing them to implement these methods in their classrooms. Additionally, a select group of teachers will collaborate with the project team to research these materials' effectiveness in the upcoming academic year. 

The initiative brought together experienced educators, including two master teachers. One of them, Andrea Johnson, is a 2021 graduate of the College of Education and Human Development's masters of education in secondary education - science program and is the MS STEM department chair at Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School (PPACS). 

This year's participants included three current CEHD students (two from the Temple Teacher Residency (TTR) program and one doctoral student) and one TTR alum. The partnership with PPACS, a host school for TTR, further strengthened ties with CEHD, which boasts alumni like Noelle Luccioni, '14, '19, serving as the middle school chief academic officer. 

The goal is for the educators to bring these techniques back to their classrooms, fostering critical thinking and analytical skills in their students. 

"As a Master Teacher on the MEL project, it has been wonderful seeing how these materials change the way my students think about science. I have seen students dive deep into their critical thinking skills and use reasoning to decide outcomes within the MEL diagrams. I have also seen students who usually do not participate get excited about sharing their opinions and backing those opinions up with reason," said Johnson. 

"I always look forward to the MEL summer institute, where I can see how other educators interpret the MEL diagrams and plan to use them in their classrooms. I love sharing ideas with other educators and finding creative ways to differentiate the MEL diagrams," added Johnson. 

"All 2024 workshop attendees said they would recommend the professional learning opportunity to a colleague and recommend both lateral reading and MEL activities to other teachers to use in their classrooms. In their comments, teachers were exceptionally positive about the materials and the summer training. Teachers shared how valuable the activities would be to help students take responsibility for their learning and move beyond memorization to critically evaluate evidence," reported Sanlyn Buxner, project evaluator from the Planetary Science Institute. 

The NSF-funded project (#2201015), conducted in collaboration with the University of Maryland, University of North Georgia, University of Southern California, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and Planetary Science Institute, is part of a broader effort to enhance science education. The project website offers more details on these innovative teaching strategies. 

The workshop's success underscores the importance of continuous professional development for teachers and the impact of collaborative efforts between educational institutions. As the project progresses, the insights gained from these sessions will undoubtedly contribute to advancing science education. 

For further information or to get involved in future workshops, visit the project website or contact Janelle Bailey. Your support and engagement can help shape the future of science education and inspire the next generation of critical thinkers.