USING DATA TO DETERMINE PROGRAM IMPACT AND THE CONTINUED NEED FOR EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS (Invited Presentation)

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City (NYC) is home to the only museum-based teacher residency program in the world. The Richard Gilder Graduate School’s Earth Science Residency Program (ESRP), launched in 2011, was designed to address the shortage of Earth science teachers in high-needs schools in New York State (NYS). Annually, approximately fifteen teachers graduate with a Master of Arts in Teaching and commit to teaching in high-needs public schools for three years. Our goal is to recruit diverse (racially, linguistically, life and professional experiences, etc.) Earth and space science majors (geology, oceanography, astrophysics, meteorology, paleontology, etc.) into the teaching profession in order to improve access to Earth science courses, student interest in the Earth sciences, and teacher quality. By collecting and monitoring program data such as demographics on applicants, matriculated teacher candidates, and graduates, and teacher retention including current employment status and location, we are able to track our progress towards preparing and retaining a more diverse Earth science teacher population. By accessing data from the NYS Education Department (NYSED), including student demographics and educational status, and from the NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE), including teacher demographics, student demographics, teacher-student linkage, student educational files (achievement on state exams, access to Earth science courses, access to the NYS Earth science exam), and NYCDOE-employed teacher data, we assess the impact on student learning and equitable access to Earth science education by using statistical models including regression analysis and identifying comparison groups. An analysis of ten years of this data combined with additional NYSED data (Earth science teacher demographics, teacher certification status, teacher employment data, etc.) highlights the continued need for well-qualified Earth science teachers in NYS.