Many collaborations have been formed to develop and test high school instructional materials that portray today’s practice of science. These collaborations include practicing scientists, school districts, science educators, educational evaluators and funding organizations.
“Throughout our ten-year study, whenever we found an effective school or effective department within a school, without exception that school or department has been a part of a collaborative professional learning community.”
Milbrey McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Research on the Context of Teaching
Stanford University
Currently, we are working with educators from schools and districts within all 50 states and multiple countries. Schools that have been involved in our program for the longest include but are not limited to:
WA State:
School Districts: Bellevue, Bremerton, Federal Way, Highline, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Monroe, Port Angeles, Seattle, and Snohomish.
High and Middle Schools: Aberdeen HS, AG West Black Hills HS, Cavelero Mid HS, Glacier Peak HS, Leaders in Learning, Liberty HS, Lynden HS, Olympic HS, Port Angeles HS, and Seattle Academy.
Across the Nation: Blue Valley School District (Kansas), Commack High School (NY), Charles M. Russell HS (Montana), as well as schools in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia/Washington DC.
We have also partnered with many organizations:
- University of WA – Women’s Center Making Connections Program, MESA, GenOM ALVA Program
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- Northwest Association for Biomedical Research
- Harvard Life Science Outreach Program
- McLaughlin Research Institute
- Jackson Laboratory
- Davidson College
- Rainier Scholars
- DigiPen Institute of Technology
- WA Network for Innovative Careers
- NOAA
Please also see our Testimonials and Accomplishments pages for more information.
Program History:
In August of 2004 Dr. Leroy Hood, Co-founder and President of the Institute for Systems Biology, and Dr. Mike Riley, Superintendent of Bellevue Public Schools, formally agreed to move forward with the development of high school instructional materials that would introduce all of Bellevue’s students to emerging practices in science while meeting Washington State’s science instruction standards. Shortly thereafter, a strong collaboration was formed that included practicing scientists, a school district, science educators, educational evaluators and funding organizations. This collaboration has now spread throughout WA State and the nation to include schools in Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania and California.
Two key faculty at the Institute for Systems Biology were involved in the design and development of the modules, Drs. Baliga and Hood. Dr. Baliga and his research group serve as the project’s lead scientists. An example of this collaboration can be seen through the large group assembled to create the Ecological Networks Module.
Original funding for the materials development came from the National Science Foundation, The Stuart Foundation and the Amgen Foundation. Funding continues through the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.
