PROJECT ALLIANCES
Overview
Project Alliance, 1994-1998, is a multi-state school/university/community partnership created to support teams of middle school teachers in developing integrated environmental science and technology programs for their schools and then disseminating the team teaching/planning process. It is conducted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and George Mason University with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Goals and Objectives
The program is designed to:
- increase teachers’ content knowledge of environmental science and computer technologies;
- guide teams as they produce, pilot, and revise curriculum units that integrate science, mathematics, technology, and other disciplines with appropriate teaching and assessment strategies; and
- support teachers in disseminating the processes of integrated curriculum development and team teaching.
Program
The concept of teachers working together to share expertise and enhance student learning through integrated curricula is at the core of the program. An administrator from each school and a scientist partner recruited by AAAS attend the summer program and continue to support each team during the academic year.
Sixty teachers, comprising eighteen school teams, have participated in Project Alliance for two years each, beginning in 1994. Teams have come to GMU from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The Year I summer program covers six weeks during which teachers study and analyze environmental events, learn computer technologies, and develop integrated curriculum units which they then implement in their schools during the academic year. The teams return for the Year II summer to discuss the unit pilot, and develop a plan to disseminate the team teaching/planning process in the following academic year, to teachers and administrators in their district/county. Project Alliance staff conduct site visits during both school years.
Research Findings
An online monograph, Project Alliance: Enhancing Science and Technology Instruction in the Middle Grades through Interdisciplinary Team Planning and Teaching, includes case studies and research findings.
Among the changes that teachers and researchers report are:
- Increased confidence in teaching environmental science concepts
- Increased use of hands-on, inquiry-based teaching strategies
- Higher levels of student motivation during Project Alliance unit activities
- Increased use of computer technology by teachers and students
- Greater confidence in using field experiences to expand student learning
- Greater student and teacher interaction with working scientists