Next Gen PET FOLC Project

About

Project title: A model of educational transformation: Developing a community of faculty implementing Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking (Next Gen PET)

Co-PI: Fred Goldberg, San Diego State University.
Funded by: NSF Grant 1626496.
Period: September 2016 – August 2022.

This six-year project established a nationwide community of faculty implementing Next Gen PET.  The Next Gen PET (NGP) set of curriculum materials, developed with support from NSF, the Chevron Foundation and the Bechtel Foundation, consists of a set of modules that align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and is intended mainly for an audience of prospective elementary teachers.  The community of faculty (the Next Gen PET Falculty Online Learning Community [FOLC]) consisted of a leadership team and ten clusters, each of which included a lead faculty member and four or five other implementers.  The whole community documented implementation strategies, challenges, and lessons learned.

Project research focused on how the community of practice can lead to effective educational transformation. Research questions addressed the development and functioning of the community, its support for faculty in responding to known challenges associated with course transformation, the extent to which faculty took up the Next Gen PET materials and core pedagogical practices, and impacts on other faculty. Project evaluation assessed student outcomes in content knowledge and science and engineering practices, and these outcomes were correlated with implementation formats. Impacts on instructor beliefs about teaching and learning were also assessed, as well as their perceived efficacy with the curriculum.

The Next Gen PET FOLC continues to be active, with faculty members formerly part of the project organizing regular online cluster meetings, virtual NGP conferences, and a regular, email newsletter. 

Media

Next Gen PET Classes