Drawn to Science Education: Studying Science Teaching and Learning through Drawings

About

Children participating in an informal science education program.The Drawn to Science website is part of Project Nexus, a National Science Foundation supported project in the Teacher Professional Continuum Program (ESI, 0455752). The full title of the project is The Maryland Upper Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher Professional Continuum Model.

For a detailed discussion of Project Nexus please view our project poster (PDF).


Informal science instructor holding an owl. Project Nexus promotes quality science education by developing and testing an exemplary model that will prepare, support and sustain upper elementary and middle level specialist science teachers. Project NEXUS teachers participate in a baccalaureate program that features transformative, undergraduate science content courses, transformative science method courses, supported internship experiments with adolescent students in informal education contexts, field placements in urban professional development schools and ongoing innovative educational experiences.

Image of Project Nexus members at confernce poster session.

Collaborators in the project include institutions from Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCU), Historically White Colleges/Universities (PWCU), and an Informal Science Education Program (ISEP).

The purpose of Project Nexus is to develop and test a science teacher professional development model that prepares, supports and sustains upper elementary and middle level specialist science teachers. Priority is placed on the recruitment and professional development of a diverse teaching force.

Project Nexus Team

Dr. J. Randy McGinnis
Principal Investigator, Project Nexus
Professor, Science Education, University of Maryland, College Park
President, National Association for Research in Science Teaching
Immediate Past Editor, Journal of Research in Science Teaching,

Dr. Spencer Benson
Co-Principal Investigator, Project Nexus
Director Center for Teaching Excellence
Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, UMD, College Park

Dr. Scott Dantley
Co-Principal Investigator, Project Nexus
Associate Vice President of Planning and Assessment, Coppin State University

Dr. Gili Marbach-Ad
Senior Personnel, Project Nexus
Director, University of Maryland Teaching and Learning Center


Dr. Phyllis Katz
Project Nexus Research Associate
Originator, Executive Director (1980-2002), and Director of Research and Special Projects (2002-2005) for Hands On Science Outreach (HOSO)

Dr. Kelly Riedinger
Project Nexus Research Associate
Assistant Professor, Watson School of Education, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Dr. Wayne Breslyn
Project Nexus Post Doctoral Scholar
Science Teacher, Montgomery County Public Schools, MD

Dr. Mark Guy
Project Nexus Internal Evaluator
Associate Professor, University of North Dakota

Dr. Michael Fain
Research Consultant, Coppin State University


Advisory Board

Dr. Elsa Bailey, Ms. Susan Denvir, Dr. Pamela Fraser-Abder,
Dr. Deborah Roberts-Harris, Dr. Phillip Sokolove

Former Project Nexus Graduate Assistants Amy Dai, Emily Hestness, Lori Jusiewicz,
Rebecca Pease, Kelly Schalk


Participating Organizations

University of Maryland Coppin State University National Science Foundation Hands on Science Outreach
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