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The UA joined with the Navajo Nation Office of Dinè Science, Math and Technology to develop web training for teachers' professional development.

By Rebecca Ruiz-McGill, University Communications
November 21, 2008

A collaborative effort put forth by The University of Arizona's College of Science, the Navajo Nation Office of Diné Science, Math and Technology, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and the Piñon Unified School District to train teachers in one of Arizona's most underserved regions has been completed.

Project PRISE, Promoting Inquiry in Science Education, was designed to target 60 kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers and provide them science-content professional development training in the form of modules to develop the skills needed to effectively teach physical and life science on and around the Navajo and Hopi Nations.

The PRISE program came together as the result of mutual interest and need. UA assistant professor of chemistry Oliver Monti, who hails from Switzerland and obtained his doctorate in Oxford, England, wanted to do something meaningful to help the state of education in Arizona.

He wondered how students would be able to pass the state-mandated Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards Exam to graduate when their teachers were unfamiliar with the science fundamentals requirement.

The Navajo and Hopi populations fall under the category of English as a second language communities Monti said. "Because of that designation teachers in the community concentrate on reading, writing and math, leaving science as a secondary emphasis." This hinders their ability to meet educational requirements Monti said, adding that both nations are located in remote areas of the state, which further limits their ability to attain the professional development they need. 

"It had come to my attention that many teachers working with underserved populations were simply not prepared or equipped to prepare their students to pass the state-mandated AIMS test in science," Monti said.

He became aware of the high turnover rate and teacher recruitment challenges the Navajo Nation was experiencing in large part due to its remoteness from Arizona city centers.

"I contacted the UA Science and Math Education Center and they were able to connect me with the Office of Diné Science, Math and Technology and from there the plan took off," Monti said.

The UA Center connected Monti with the office's education specialist, Allan Blacksheep. The office is responsible for initiating school reform in science, math and technology by assisting schools on or near the Navajo Nation to dramatically improve science, mathematics and technology education in Navajo schools.

Blacksheep had already approached the UA as part of the office's effort to involve all three state universities in helping to improve the quality of math and science content knowledge for teachers on and around the reservation..

Monti, with input from the Navajo Nation, was awarded a Department of Education grant and worked with Blacksheep on content and how the training would be implemented.

"The program not only would support the professional development of teachers in the field of science but would also work with teachers to provide leadership training, instruction training and provide training in Navajo and Hopi culture with an aim at cultural integration and higher student achievement," Blacksheep said.

The result was the development of an institutional model consisting of 12 training modules to be taught over a 12-month period both in person and via the Internet. Teachers in the program agreed to rigorous training one weekend per month.

In addition to writing and teaching several of the modules, Monti coordinated the module trainings with UA colleagues, who provided educational expertise in methodologies of inquiry, observation and experimentation, and provided science talks and activities based on their areas of expertise.

For example, Monti enlisted the help of Herman Gordon, associate professor of molecular and cellular biology and anatomy, who discussed research on the science behind diabetes, which afflicts large numbers of the Navajo and Hopi populations. Stephen Pompea, adjunct associate professor of astronomy, provided information on the nature of the scientific process and Anna Dornhaus, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, explored the basic tenets of evolution by natural selection and its application to growing corn, a staple food for the Navajo and Hopi populations.

Lessons took place in Piñon Unified School District  facilities. The teachers gained three units of UA credit in physical or life science, 140 professional development hours, the ability to connect science with other academic areas such as social studies, countless resources and an increased knowledge of science content.

"After beginning the program we realized how important it was to build up the distance-learning component so that the teachers could use online resources to reinforce what they had learned and to provide feedback on how the students reacted to the teacher's PRISE training," Monti said.

The program lives on thanks to the distance learning Web site Desire to Learn as well as a dedicated project Web site, www.prise.arizona.edu, created to support the teachers' efforts and to serve as another resource tools for schools and teachers.

Blacksheep said the teachers involved in the training were tested and the data show that the teachers' understanding of the content grew and other data showed that their students' understanding grew as well and showed improvement.

Blacksheep looks forward to a continuation of the program with the aid of another grant to enhance the training effort and to continue partnering with the Hopi Nation in professional development activities.