Abstract
Economically disadvantaged and underrepresented high school students in many urban, rural, and small suburban communities don’t have access to Advanced Placement® (AP®) courses. Lacking opportunity to access rigorous physics courses in high school, these demographic groups are hard pressed to compete in physical science related STEM fields and academic programs with their peers from more affluent communities. Project Accelerate, a National Science Foundation funded project, is a partnership program between Boston University (BU) and high schools to bring a College Board accredited AP® Physics 1 course to schools not offering this opportunity. Preliminary results indicate that students participating in Project Accelerate do as well or better than their peers enrolled in traditional classroom based AP® Physics 1 classes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Landivar, L.C.: Disparities in STEM employment by sex, race, and hispanic origin. National Census Report (2013). https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2013/acs/acs-24.html. Last accessed 30 Sept 2017
ACT: Understanding the Underserved Leaner (2014). https://www.act.org/stemcondition/14/pdf/STEM-Underserved-Learner.pdf. Last accessed 30 Sept 2017
Scott, T.P., Homer, T., Yi-Hsuan, L.: Assessment of advanced placement participation and university academic success in the first semester: controlling for selected high school academic abilities. J. Coll. Admiss. 208, 26–30 (2010)
Klopfenstein, K., Thomas, M.K.: The advanced placement performance advantage: fact or fiction. Texas Christian University and Mississippi State University, American Economic Association Annual Meeting Papers (2005)
Sadler, P.M., Tai. R.H.: Advanced placement exam scores as a predictor of performance in introductory college biology, chemistry and physics courses. Sci. Educ. 16(2), 1–19 (2007)
Klopfenstein, K.: Recommendations for maintaining the quality of advanced placement programs. Am. Second. Educ. 39–48 (2003)
Handwerk, P., Tognatta, N., Coley, R., Gitomer, D.H.: Educational Testing Service. https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PIC-ACCESS.pdf (2008). Last accessed 30 Sept 2017
Robinson, M., et al.: AP mathematics and science courses as a gateway to careers in engineering. In: Frontiers in Education IEEE (2003)
College Board: https://www.collegeboard.org/california-partnership/ap-expansion (2015). Last accessed 30 Sept 2017
College Board: AP Web Site. What is an AP Test Score and What Does it Mean? https://apscore.collegeboard.org/scores/about-ap-scores/. Last accessed 30 Sept 2017
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., Jones, K.: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: a Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. U.S. Department of Education. www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf (2010). Last accessed 30 Sept 2017
Delialioglu, O., Yildirim, Z.: Design and development of a technology enhanced hybrid instruction based on MOLTA model: Its effectiveness in comparison to traditional instruction. Comput. Educ. 51(1), 474–483 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2007.06.006
Sanders, D.W., Morrison-Shetlar, A.I.: Student attitudes toward web-enhanced instruction in an introductory biology course. J. Res. Comput. Educ. 33(3), 251–261 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1080/08886504.2001.10782313
Gunter, G.A.: Making a difference: using emerging technologies and teaching strategies to restructure an undergraduate technology course for pre-service teachers. Educ. Media Int. 38(1), 13–20 (2001)
Tuckman, B.W.: Evaluating ADAPT: a hybrid instructional model combining web-based and classroom concepts. Comput. Educ. 3, 261–269 (2002)
Acknowledgements
The pilot program was funded by the Digital Learning Initiative program at Boston University. Project Accelerate is currently funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (NSF DRL #1720914). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Greenman, M.D. (2019). Project Accelerate: Closing the Access Gap to Physical Science Careers and Academic Programs. In: McLoughlin, E., van Kampen, P. (eds) Concepts, Strategies and Models to Enhance Physics Teaching and Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18137-6_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18137-6_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18136-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18137-6
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)