National Science Foundation Awards Major Grant to Dr. Gillian Roehrig

Gillian Roehrig, PhD was recently awarded a $2,992,228 Robert Noyce Track 3 grant from the National Science Foundation - Developing Teacher Leaders’ Capacity to Promote Equitable Teaching and Learning in Secondary Science Classrooms. The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts. This grant leadership team includes Dr. Anita Schuchardt (Department of Biology Teaching and Learning), Dr. Betsy Stretch (Saint Paul Public Schools), Dr. Abraham Lo (BSCS Science Learning), and Dr. Sarah Hick (Hamline University).

The project aims to serve the national need of developing science teacher leaders in high-need middle and high schools. Specifically, the project will support 18 science teacher leaders in the Saint Paul Public Schools district to improve access to high quality science education for all students. Teacher leaders will engage in professional learning to support student learning by exploring culturally meaningful phenomena and real-world problems using a five-dimensional (5D) vision for science learning that makes explicit student interest and identity as co-equal dimensions with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts to support meaningful and equitable learning opportunities for all students. 

This project aims to improve science education in Saint Paul Public Schools as teachers implement new equitable teaching strategies in their classrooms. In addition, the project will disseminate learning about equitable science teaching to teachers throughout Minnesota.