TEACHER EFFICACY IN STEM THROUGH AQUAPONICS (TESTA)

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1018269
• Grant No.: 2019-68010-29280
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $149,137.00
• Proposal No.: 2018-06022
• Project Start Date: May 15, 2019
• Project End Date: May 14, 2022
• Grant Year: 2019
• Program Code: [A7501]- Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy

Recipient Organization
TIES - TEACHING INSTITUTE FOR ESSENTIAL SCIENCE, LLC
2108 LAMBERTON RD
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS,OH 44118

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
STEM education is a critical and necessary component in today's education system. Good STEM education practices can promote equality in the workforce and can ensure that today's students are equipped to effectively face tomorrow's technological, economic, and even agricultural challenges. STEM education initiatives and curricula are regularly informed by larger-scope issues such as the National Academy of Engineer's 21st Century Grand Challenges, several of which--including "Provide Access to Clean Water," "Manage the Nitrogen Cycle," and "Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods"--can directly tie to advancements in agriculture and related fields (National Academy of Engineering, 2018). Aquaponics is an environmentally sustainable farming practice that has the potential to spark positive community development in urban areas where health, economic, and environmental issues are common (Bartelme et al., 2018).Teacher Efficacy in STEM Through Aquaponics (TESTA) will integrate aquaponics training and learning into 5th grade science courses in two urban school districts, Tulsa Public Schools in Tulsa, OK (Year 1) and Baltimore City Public Schools in Baltimore, MD (Year 2), through professional development training at local aquaponics and outdoor learning centers. Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) and Symbiotic Aquaponic, together with Great Kids Farm in Baltimore and local STEM Learning Ecosystem communities, will conduct teacher training in aquaponics and guide teachers in the building of their own classroom aquaponics systems. Key project outputs will include expansion of an existing aquaponics curriculum created by TIES, individual, portable aquaponics units for all teachers participating in the PD experience, and Harvard PEAR Dimensions of Success measurement with pre/post surveys.This program will integrate key agricultural players within and across the two host communities to address AFRI Farm Bill Priorities Agricultural Systems and Technology, Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment, and Nutrition and Health, predominantly. Agricultural learning topics can provide an avenue for teachers to creatively address NGSS standards, particularly taking into consideration teachers for whom NGSS integration is difficult (Yergen, 2015). Our proposed alignment of outdoor education, STEM Learning Ecosystems, and aquaponics will deliver a sustainable pathway to integrate aquaponics and similar agricultural practices into urban classrooms. We have already engaged both communities and school districts to support quality STEM in the regions and have positioned community leaders to direct STEM programming. Additionally, the program will take advantage of the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice (SLECOP), a network of 66 communities committed to advancing cross-sector STEM education. Local STEM Learning Ecosystems will be engaged to support long-term sustainability and evaluation.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
402	0210	2020	30%
102	0199	1060	60%
111	0210	1070	10%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
0210 - Water resources; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 1060 - Biology (whole systems); 1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

aquaponics

ngss

pd-step

professional development

stem

Goals / Objectives
Integrate aquaponics training and learning into 5th grade science courses in two urban school districts in Tulsa (Year 1) and Baltimore (Year 2).Create a sustinable pathway to integrate aquaponics and similar agricultural practices into urban classrooms through STEM Learning Ecosystems by leveraging local community partners.Conduct outdoor center professional development to provide on-going support and sustainability of the program.Provide teacher professional development (through outdoor centers) in support of the aquaponics STEM project.Integrate key agricultural players within and across the host communities to address AFRI Farm Bill Priorities Agricultural Systems and Technology, Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Envirionement, and Nutrution and Health.Offer 3-6 week standards-based STEM unit to connect classroom science learning to real world problems in the community and address the National Academy of Engineers Grand Challenge of Managing the Nitrogen Cycle.Evaluate the program through a combination of pre- and post- surveys with outdoor centers and teachers and by utilizing STEM Learning Ecosystems to observe (through Harvard Pear Dimensions of Success) classroom implementation at 5 sites per region/year.

Project Methods
TESTA will address the needs of NGSS training, aquaponics and agricultural science education, and STEM education by providing 5th grade teachers with a STEM Experience program of study created from 5th grade NGSS standards, using aquaponics as the platform for student engagement. TIES has designed STEM Experiences for a range of school districts both in the US and internationally. STEM experiences are issue-oriented, thematic units of study aligned to local programs and resources as well as to NGSS standards. They also provide a way for students to learn and apply problem-solving skills by investigating, asking questions, designing solutions, and sharing findings.TIES will support training of outdoor centers so that they can in turn host PD sessions for 5th grade science teachers from Tulsa Public Schools and Baltimore City Public Schools. Teachers will learn the science and technology behind aquaponics systems and how to engineer (with their students) their own mobile classroom systems, receiving the materials at the PD.The 3-6-week unit will connect classroom science learning to real world problems in the community and address the National Academy of Engineers Grand Challenge of Managing the Nitrogen Cycle. In the unit, students will explore the dynamics of an aquatic ecosystem and how excess nitrogen (from farming, fertilizers, biological factors, etc.) creates unbalanced systems. The digitally-based curriculum will include instructional materials for teachers, interactive readings, hands-on investigations, blended learning applications, and opportunities for students to share results and experiences with other classrooms participating in the program. By the end of the unit, students will have grown their own vegetables and herbs, gained technical skills in designing and operating aquaponics components and systems, and met objectives from each theme from the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes, including: Agriculture and the Environment; Plants and Animals for Food, Fiber & Energy; Food, Health, and Lifestyle; Science, Technology, Engineering & Math; and Culture, Society, Economy & Geography (Spielmaker & Leising, 2013). Students will also have mastered several NGSS standards.The program will also address these elements of all 6 Farm Bill priorities:Plant health and production and plant products: Aquaponics produces higher yield per square foot with fewer inputs than traditional farming.Animal health and production and animal products: Aquaponics produces sustainable fish production with minimal waste products. Plants naturally help to filter the water for the fish.Food safety, nutrition and health: Aquaponics has the most potential in urban farming, providing much-needed respite in areas that lack fresh produce.Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment: By converting fish waste into fertilizer for plants, fewer resources are required to grow healthy plants. Water is also cycled through the plants and back to the fish, reducing the water filtration needs for the fish, and requiring less replenishment of water for both the fish and plants.Agriculture systems and technology: Aquaponics has been used by native cultures dating back thousands of years, and the modern version of aquaponics dates to the 1990s. The technology has continued to grow and now poses new challenges.Agriculture economics: There is great potential for aquaponics to be used as a business opportunity for entrepreneurs in urban areas (Bartelme et al., 2018).Our theory of change model suggests that two implementation sites in regions with thriving STEM Learning Ecosystems and collaborative models among partners will offer a sustainable example of how TESTA can move from a pilot unit to a fully-embedded unit as part of the core curricular offering. Particularly, outdoor education's emphasis on environmental topics is well suited to the NGSS framework, links to foundational tenets of agricultural education, and also invites the inquiry-based learning model often found in STEM topics (Meals & Washburn, 2015). Additionally the SLECOP is the ideal platform for scaling and amplifying this program across many more communities to reach hundreds of 5th grade science teachers.Given our intention to expand from this initial pilot to larger numbers of teachers in Tulsa Public Schools and Baltimore City Public Schools, and eventually to multiple across the SLECOP, we will create a model that can be easily replicated and sustained by STEM PD providers. The PD host sites will be equipped to positioned to support multiple districts and grades going forward. Also, by working directly with school systems, we will ensure that the aquaponics program is embedded into the district's science scope and sequence. We expect it to become a yearly repeatable science unit that becomes a standard option for teachers in the district. This also provides the opportunity for school districts to support any materials needed after the grant period has ended. In addition, through the network afforded by the SLECOP, the program will have the opportunity and capacity to reach 66 regional sites in the US, both through cross-ecosystem collaboration as well as opportunities to share best practices at the SLECOP's twice annual national convenings.We will use the Harvard PEAR Dimensions of Success tool for evaluation. We will also create a series of pre- and post-surveys. Timeline and recipients of each evaluation and survey tool are summarized below:STEM Pedagogy and Aquaponics Pre-Survey: TIES will administer to Symbiotic staff in 2019 Q3, and again to Great Kids Farm Staff in 2020 Q3.STEM Pedagogy and Practices Pre-Survey: Symbiotic will administer to Tulsa Public Schools 5th grade teachers participating in PD in 2019 Q4. Great Kids Farm Staff will administer to Baltimore City Public Schools 5th grade teachers participating in PD in 2020 Q4.Teacher PD Evaluation: Symbiotic will administer to Tulsa Public Schools 5th grade teachers participating in PD in 2019 Q4. Great Kids Farm Staff will administer to Baltimore City Public Schools 5th grade teachers participating in PD in 2020 Q4.STEM Pedagogy and Aquaponics Post-Survey. TIES will administer to Symbiotic staff in 2019 Q4, and again to Great Kids Farm Staff in 2020 Q4.Harvard PEAR DoS: TRSA will conduct 5 classroom observations in Tulsa Public Schools in 2020 Q1. Bmore STEM will conduct 5 classroom observations in Baltimore City Public Schools in 2020 Q4.STEM Pedagogy and Practices Post-Survey: TIES will administer to Tulsa Public Schools 5th grade teachers participating in PD in 2020 Q3. TIES will administer to Baltimore City Public Schools 5th grade teachers participating in PD in 2021 Q1.TRSA and Bmore STEM ecosystems will provide trained DoS evaluators to observe and report on a random selection of 5 teachers who participated in the training. We will focus primarily on the "STEM Practices and Knowledge" to evaluate the quality of the program. Additionally, TIES will prepare and distribute a pre/post survey to record changes in teachers' day-to-day practices as a result of receiving and implementing the aquaponics professional development. TIES will modify this survey for Outdoor Center staff. Likert-scale questions will focus on STEM practices related to outdoor education centers and their changing pedagogy related to STEM and Aquaponics. Additionally, TIES will develop a survey for Outdoor Center staff on the PD they received from TIES and Symbiotic, and for the teachers attending PD from the Outdoor Centers related to the quality of the training they received.An important component of the evaluation will be to maintain objectivity and avoid bias. We have accounted for this with the creation of an advisory board, which will provide oversight, and also by having the Ecosystem communities conduct the DoS observations and evaluations.

Progress 05/15/19 to 04/18/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the period of this grant was twenty teachers in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area and twenty teachers in the Syracuse, New York area, the students they teach (at least 400), and at least one staff member at a science/outdoor center in Tulsa and Syracuse. The actual audience reached throughout the length of the grant was thirty teachers in the Tulsa area, twenty-seven teachers in the Syracuse area, over 1,425 students, and at least four staff members total at the science/outdoor centers. TIES trained science/outdoor center staff to deliver training to teachers (either in-person or virtually). They received a kit of teaching materials and an aquaponics system (sometimes shared between classrooms) along with the aquaponics teacher guide and student workbook. Changes/Problems:COVID almost dessimated this project. It was intended to be a hands-on, in-person experience for students with field trips and opportunities to collaborate with industry partners. The program was set to launch and teachers were trained just days before the world shut down. We had to turn the curriculum (which took a year of development) into a virtual experience in a matter of a few weeks. This required more time than expected of TIES cosultants. Ultimately, everything changed in the education world and that affected this program as well. Partners we had secured (specifically in Baltimore) bailed out when they were faced with challenge of COVID. Finding school districts to partner on something new in COVID-times was virtually impossible. The only reason this grant turned out to be a success is from the sheer will and determination of our science/outdoor center partners in Tulsa and Syracuse. Instead of traditional training sessions, they worked teacher by teacher to ensure that every aquaponics system was being utilized and teachers were trained. Additionally, we had to vastly reduce our evaluation plans. Our original plans required in-person observations which became impossible due to COVID. Also, many teachers quit teaching altogether or moved to other schools/districts during COVID, so our pre/post survey data was not able to be well-correlated one-to-one. Despite these changes and setbacks, we were able to exceed our goals for numbers of teachers and students reached with the program and it continues to be in use in both locations. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Symbiotic Aquaponic provded professional support for the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park staff as they installed a full-scale aquaponics system at their facility and designed a field trip for students related to aquaponics. TIES and Symbiotic Aquaponic designed a professional development session and co-taught this with the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park in Tulsa. TIES trained Terra Science staff in Syracuse on the program who, in turn, trained twenty-seven teachers in the program. In all,fifty-seven teachers have received training in the program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Mid-project results were shared at the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice Convening in San Antonio, TX on March 2-4, 2020. Ninety percent of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the session was relevant and something they could implement in their communities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Integrate aquaponics training and learning into 5th grade science courses in two urban school districts in Tulsa (Year 1) and Baltimore (Year 2). Despite COVID setbacks and schools being closed for extended periods of time, TIES was able to meet and exceed goals for the numbers of teachers and students reached with this program. Over three years, thirty teachers in the Tulsa area and twenty-seven teachers in the Syracuse area (changed from Baltimore due to COVID) have engaged in this program reaching more than 1,400 students. According to the evaluation data, approximately 75% of teachers taught most of the aquaponics curriculum to their classes and a majority also tentatively plan to use the program in coming years. Create a sustainable pathway to integrate aquaponics and similar agricultural practices into urban classrooms through STEM Learning Ecosystems by leveraging local community partners. The role of sustainability with this program became critical as travel and access to schools was cut off during COVID. It was the dedication of the science and outdoor center partners in each region (Tulsa and Syracuse) that allowed for the success of the program. The sustainability model that TIES created meant that the program could continue even without direct in-person support from TIES professionals. In Tulsa, the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park went above and beyond during COVID to move aquaponics systems to teachers' homes and garages so that they could continue to teach the unit virtually. Then when schools opened, they moved systems again. During subsequent school years, as teachers still faced unknowns, were moved to different schools, or decided to leave teaching altogether, the Outdoor Classroom shuffled systems again and recruited new teachers to participate in the program, ensuring that every unit was being utilized every year. Without this sustainability model, it is likely that with a traditional "one and done" training model, systems would have fallen to disuse in the chaos of COVID. Similarly, the Terra Science center in Syracuse was able to train teachers locally while TIES consultants were still on a travel freeze. Conduct outdoor center professional development to provide on-going support and sustainability of the program. Symbiotic Aquaponic industry professionals and TIES worked closely with the staff at the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park in Tulsa to provide background and resources in aquaponics so that they were equipped to provide support for teachers, including field trips to the Outdoor Classroom related to aquaponics, technical assistance with systems, and professional development.Their enthusiastic support and interest in aquaponics led them to purchase their own full-scale aquaponics system, demonstrating their commitment to supporting this program well into the future. Due to COVID, TIES had to train Terra Science in Syracuse through virtual means. However, they have successfully trained twenty-seven teachers on their own after just one virtual training session. Provide teacher professional development (through outdoor centers) in support of the aquaponics STEM project. The Tulsa teacher professional develop session was created an co-taught with the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park and Symbiotic Aquaponic industry partners on February 22, 2020, just days before the world shut down. As a result, TIES created a virtual curriculum and teachers' guide along with a virtual professional learning community to support teachers in the virtual implementation of the program. Terra Science in Syracuse trained teachers virtually, in small groups, and one-on-one when large group training sessions were not possible. Overall, thirty Tulsa teachers and twenty-seven Syracuse teachers have been trained in the curriculum. According to the evaluation data, all teachers who received training reported that the training they received was adequate enough to get them started in the curriculum, despite COVID challenges. Integrate key agricultural players within and across the host communities to address AFRI Farm Bill Priorities Agricultural Systems and Technology, Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment, and Nutrition and Health. The industry partner, Symbiotic Aquaponic, engaged university faculty in the program, with some attending the teacher professional development session to learn more about it. Connections to Farm Bill Priorities were identified in the curriculum's Teacher Guide. Offer 3-6 week standards-based STEM unit to connect classroom science learning to real world problems in the community and address the National Academy of Engineers Grand Challenge of Managing the Nitrogen Cycle. The curriculum entitled "Something's Fishy with the Nitrogen Cycle" was completed and offers up to nine weeks of material targeted for 5th grade science teachers with some integrated lessons related to math and language arts. The curriculum includes an 80 page teacher's guide, student workbook, and teacher materials kit (in addition to the portable classroom aquaponics system. As part of the unit, students use the real-world problem-solving and the engineering design process to create a solid waste filtration system for their classroom aquaponics system. Teachers were trained in this unit just a couple of weeks before the world shut down, and TIES pivoted quickly to create another all-virtual aquaponics curriculum with a teacher's guide that they could use while students were at home. To date, over 250 students have logged in to this curriculum from home. According to the evaluation data, over 80% of teachers rated the curriculum as being "high quality" matching or exceeding the quality of other curricula they have used. All teachers who used the program reported that students were engaged in the curriculum/system. Evaluate the program through a combination of pre- and post- surveys with outdoor centers and teachers and by utilizing STEM Learning Ecosystems to observe (through Harvard Pear Dimensions of Success) classroom implementation at 5 sites per region/year. Teachers completed a pre and post survey. Teachers self-reported that students were engaged and excited while using the program and that it increased their ability to provide hands-on, problem-based experiences with their students. Due to COVID restrictions and visitors not being allowed in schools, it was not possible to complete the Harvard PEAR Dimensions of Success evaluation with STEM Ecosystem partners.

Publications

Progress 05/15/20 to 05/14/21

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached during this grant period was twenty 5th grade teachers in the Tulsa area. Shortly after they were trained, COVID shut down schools. During this grant period 13 teachers taught the TESTA curriculum (either virtually or in-person) and 181 students engaged in the program. TIES and Symbiotic continued to engage with the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward park to collaborate on how to support teachers in the program through the challenges of COVID. Changes/Problems:Due to schools being closed because of COVID, we had to delay the complete launch of the Tulsa cohort and delay for a year the launch of the Syracuse cohort. We received a one year extension of the grant to complete the work. We also could not follow-through as planned with some of our evaluation methods because they required in-person observations at schools which were not able to be performed due to COVID restrictions. It is unclear if we will be able to complete in-school evaluations in the future so we are planning to use digital surveys as an alternative evaluation method. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Woodward Park Outdoor Classroom has provided ongoing support to teachers participating in the program in Tulsa. They have provided technical support (setting up and trouble-shooting systems), providing "on-call" professional development support on an as-needed basis, and creating virtual professional development videos to retrain and refresh teachers on the program as many teachers had to delay the start of their unit due to COVID. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will launch in Syracuse, New York in the fall of 2021. We will provide professional development to the outdoor center partner there and virtual professional development in the program for 20 teachers in the Syracuse area. We will compile evaluation data from both the Tulsa and Syracuse sites.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Teacher Efficacy in STEM Through Aquaponics (TESTA) integrates aquaponics training and learning into 5th grade science courses in two urban school districts, beginning with Tulsa Public Schools in Tulsa, OK, through professional development training at local outdoor learning centers. TIES Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) and Symbiotic Aquaponic, together with urban outdoor centers and local STEM learning Ecosystem communities, is conducting teacher training in aquaponics and guiding teachers in the building of their classroom aquaponics systems. Key project outputs include expansion of an existing aquaponics curriculum created by TIES, individual portable aquaponics suits for all teachers participating in the PD experience, and measurement. In Year one, a six week curriculum unit on STEM and Aquaponics was created, including a teachers guide and student workbook. Our partners, Symbiotic Aquaponic purchased materials to make aquaponics systems for both districts. A full day professional development session was designed to train teachers in the curriculum and aquaponics system. Twenty 5th grade teachers in the Tulsa area were recruited and attended the training on February 22, 2020. After schools were closed due to COVID, a virtual version of the aquaponics curriculum was designed and distributed. In Year two, the twenty systems were installed in Tulsa. Sixteen were installed in teachers' classrooms or homes (due to COVID) and four systems were installed at the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park, the outdoor center partner in Tulsa. Another 21 systems for the second district launch are currently being assembled. At the close of Year Two, thirteen teachers have fully engaged in the aquaponics curriculum with students, either virtually or in-person. This reached 221 students virtually and 183 students in-person. Due to the constraints of COVID, we received a no-cost extension for a third year. Goals: Integrate aquaponics training and learning into 5th grade science courses in two urban school districts in Tulsa (Year 1) and Baltimore (Year 2). Year One goals were accomplished. Due to COVID, we received a one year extension for the launch in the second district. We also submitted a change request which was granted to change the second urban district to Syracuse, New York due to changes in staff and leadership in Baltimore. Plans are in place to launch the program with 20 5th grade teachers in the Syracuse area in the fall of 2021. Create a sustainable pathway to integrate aquaponics and similar agricultural practices into urban classrooms through STEM Learning Ecosystems by leveraging local community partners. The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) and the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park are supporting the grant by providing expertise and resources. Both organizations have been critical partners in ensuring teacher participation in the program by moving aquaponics systems between schools and homes as COVID created many changes, providing technical and educational support for teachers implementing the program, creating virtual summer professional development on the program (using their own resources), housing and delivering fish for the systems to teachers, and creating field experiences for students related to the program. Given the challenges of COVID, the community partners proved critical in the sustainability and continuity of the program. Conduct outdoor center professional development to provide on-going support and sustainability of the program. The Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park was trained in the program in Year One and has required little more support from TIES and Symbiotic to provide on-going support for teachers in Tulsa implementing the program. They have designed field experiences for students, provided technical assistance on the systems for teachers, and created virtual professional development to keep teachers refreshed on the program as COVID created delays. An outdoor center in Syracuse has been identified - Terra Science - and they are already enthusiastically engaging in helping to identify schools to participate in the program there. They will receive training in the fall of 2021 to support teachers in that area. Provide teacher professional development (through outdoor centers) in support of the aquaponics STEM project. This was completed in Tulsa in Year 1 and is scheduled for the fall of 2021 in Syracuse. Integrate key agricultural players within and across the host communities to address AFRI Farm Bill Priorities Agricultural Systems and Technology, Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment, and Nutrition and Health. Connections to Farm Bill Priorities are identified in the curriculum's Teachers Guide completed in Year 1. Offer 3-6 week standards-based STEM unit to connect classroom science learning to real world problems in the community and address the National Academy of Engineers Grand Challenge of Managing the Nitrogen Cycle. The curriculumwas completed in Year One. Evaluate the program through a combination of pre- and post- surveys with outdoor centers and teachers and by utilizing STEM Learning Ecosystems to observe (through Harvard Pear Dimensions of Success) classroom implementation at 5 sites per region/year. Pre-Surveys were completed in Year One. Post-Surveys are scheduled to be released by the fall of 2021 for the Tulsa teacher cohort. Harvard PEAR DoS evaluations were not able to be completed due to COVID as it requires in-person observations and schools are limiting the number of visitors in schools.

Publications

Progress 05/15/19 to 05/14/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached during this grant period was twenty 5th grade teachers in the Tulsa area. These teachers attended a one-day professional development session where they received access to the teacher's guide and student workbook. They received a kit of materials needed to teach the lessons and made arrangements for the delivery of their portable aquaponics systems. Additionally, TIES and Symbiotic Aquaponic worked with staff at the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park to co-teach the professional development session. Changes/Problems:COVID-19 has led to major changes in the teaching and evaluation of the aquaponics unit. Teachers are using virtual platforms to teach what they can from the unit, but because students do not have access to the teacher kit or aquaponics system, they are not receiving the full experience. In-classroom evaluations are also not able to be completed in Year One as intended due to school closures. Additionally, there has been a change in leadership for two of our Baltimore partners - Baltimore City Public Schools and Great Kids Farm. Our champions at those locations who signed letters of committment to participate in the grant are no longer there. Their new goals are no longer aligned to the goals of our grant and we had challenges gaining support from current staff to ensure the grant will be implemented effectively and to fidelity. This has made it necessary for us to identify another urban school district and outdoor center partner. We have commitments from Syracuse City School District in New York, the East Syracuse- Minnoa STEM Ecosystem, and TerraScience to partner with us as our urban school district, STEM Ecosystem, and outdoor center partners, respectively. We are submitting a formal change letter to the grant officer to inform them of these changes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Symbiotic Aquaponic has provided professional support for the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park staff as they installed a full scale aquaponics system at their facility and designed a field trip for students related to aquaponics. TIES and Symbiotic Aquaponic designed a profressional development session and co-taught this with the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park on Feb. 22. 2020. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Preliminary products and resulsts were shared at the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice Convening in San Antonio, TX on Marc 2-4, 2020. Ninety percent of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the session was relevant and something they could implement in their communities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Much of our future work depends on the outcome of COVID-19 school closures. If schools are back in session as normal in the fall, we exepect that teachers will teach the unit and TRSA will be able to evaluate the program as intended. We also plan to implement the program with another twenty teachers in a new urban school district in the fall.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Teacher Efficacy in STEM Through Aquaponics (TESTA) integrates aquaponics training and learning into 5th grade science courses in two urban school districts, beginning with Tulsa Public Schools in Tulsa, OK, through professional development training at local outdoor learning centers. TIES Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) and Symbiotic Aquaponic, together with urban outdoor centers and local STEM Learning Ecosystem communities, is conducting teacher training in aquaponics and guiding teachers in the building of their own classroom aquaponics systems. Key project outputs include expansion of an existing aquaponics curriculum created by TIES, individual, portable aquaponics units for all teachers participating in the PD experience, and Harvard PEAR Dimensions of Success measurement with pre/post surveys. To date, a six week curriculum unit on STEM and Aquaponics has been created including a teachers guide and student workbook. Our partners, Symbiotic Aquaponic purchased materials to make kits for both districts and has completed and released 20 for Tulsa teachers with an additional twenty systems in progress of being built. Twenty teacher kits have been assembled and distributed, providing all curricular materials for teaching the unit. A full day professional development session was designed to train teachers in the curriculum and aquaponics system. Twenty 5th grade teachers in the Tulsa area were recruited and attended the training on February 22nd. Before COVID-19 shut down schools, they intended to teach the unit this Spring and members of the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance were scheduled to evaluate the program. As a result, TIES created online support tools for a quick launch to support teachers in their virtual teaching responsibilities. Many teachers have moved their aquaponics systems to their homes and are using Zoom to share experiences with their students through video. Goals Integrate aquaponics training and learning into 5th grade science courses in two urban school districts in Tulsa (Year 1) and Baltimore (Year 2). This year one goal was accomplished. Twenty teachers were trained in the curriculum. Teachers had just begun teaching the unit when COVID-19 caused school closures. Despite this, many teachers are continuing to teach the curriculum to the best of their abilities virtually. We created a virtual version of the curriculum and so far over 120 studetns have logged in. We are aslo helping to support teachers in this through an online virtual STEM and Aquaponics Professional Learning Community for the teachers we trained. 2. Create a sustainable pathway to integrate aquaponics and similar agricultural practices into urban classrooms through STEM Learning Ecosystems by leveraging local community partners. The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) and the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park are supporting the grant by providing expertise and resources. TRSA is providing evaluation services as well as support for communicating to teachers and the public about the grant. The Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park is partnering with us to be the professional development provider for the curriculum. They are also using their own resources to design an aquaponics-themed field trip to Woodward Park for all teachers who participate in the professional development session. The Outdoor Classroom has purchased a full-scale aquaponics system from our grant partner Symbiotic Aquaponic to provide additional support for the grant in terms of the field trip for students and providing habitat for the teachers' fish until they are ready to add them to their classroom systems. TIES and Symbiotic presented this unit at the international convening of the STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice on March 2-4, 2020 in San Antonio, TX. Approximately thirty conference participants attended the session and showed interest in potentially bringing this type of program to their communities. 3. Conduct outdoor center professional development to provide on-going support and sustainability of the program. Symbiotic and TIES have been working closely with staff at the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park to provide them background and resources in aquaponics so that they are equipped to provide support for teachers and lead field trips and additional professional development opportunities for teachers. Their enthusiastic support and interest in aquaponics has led to them purchasing their own full-scale aquaponics system, demonstrating their commitment to supporting this program well into the future. 4. Provide teacher professional development (through outdoor centers) in support of the aquaponics STEM project. The teacher professional development session was created and co-taught with the outdoor center on February 22, 2020. Additionally, TIES is coordinating a virtual Professional Learning Community to support teachers in the virtual implementation of the curriculum while students are learning from home due to COVID-19. 5. Integrate key agricultural players within and across the host communities to address AFRI Farm Bill Priorities Agricultural Systems and Technology, Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment, and Nutrition and Health. Symbiotic Aquaponic is engaging university faculty involved with agriculture in our program, with some attending the professional development session for teachers to learn more about it. Connections to Farm Bill Priorities are identified in the curriculum's Teachers Guide. 6. Offer 3-6 week standards-based STEM unit to connect classroom science learning to real world problems in the community and address the National Academy of Engineers Grand Challenge of Managing the Nitrogen Cycle. The curriculum entitled "Something's Fishy With the Nitrogen Cycle" is complete and offers up to 9 weeks of material for 5th grade science teachers, including some integrated lessons in math and English. The curriculum includes an 80 page Teacher's Guide, student workbook, and teacher materials kit (in addition to the portable classroom aquaponics system.) The real-world task students must solve in the unit is how to design a solid waste filter system for their classroom aquaponics system. Due to COVID-19, some of the portable classroom aquaponics systems were not able to get delivered. Some teachers took home their units to share with their students virtually. When our shelter-in-place rule has been lifted for our city, we will finish delivering systems to teachers' homes. The expectation is that teachers will move the systems back to their schools in the fall and teach the unit as designed for next year's class. 7. Evaluate the program through a combination of pre- and post- surveys with outdoor centers and teachers and by utilizing STEM Learning Ecosystems to observe (through Harvard Pear Dimensions of Success) classroom implementation at 5 sites per region/year. Teachers completed a pre-survey prior to teaching the unit. The survey results showed that a majority of teachers report that their students do not engage in projects with the community or STEM professionals. Since these are essential elements of the aquaponics unit, we expect to see an increase in this kind of engagement during the post-survey. Teachers also completed an evaluation of the professional development experience which received all 5's (out of 5 on a likert scale). The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) had committed to conducting classroom observations this Spring, but this can no longer take place due to school closures related to COVID-19. We expect that when schools resume in the fall, teachers will complete the unit as designed and evaluation can take place as intended.

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