We know that bringing scientific research into the classroom is often a goal of science teachers, and that it is not a new idea (Brown, Bokor, Crippen, and Koroly 2014; Hanson and Burakowski 2015). The notion of having students engaged in authentic practices of science underlies the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013) and is foundational to the Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council 2021).

The overarching goal of scientist–teacher collaborations is the improvement of PK–16 science education; the specific goal of this project was to have students engaged in meaningful, “real” science as a way to learn about ecological principles. The mechanics of having that happen, however, required careful planning and a strong partnership.

This article describes a successful effort by a college biology professor, college science education professor, and high school science teacher to bring science into the high school classroom. We discuss the steps in assembling a meaningful and productive long-term partnership that can transform the experience of science for high school students, make “real” science more accessible for teachers, and provide meaningful outreach for college professors. At the end, we share a link to data and classroom materials developed by the collaboration.

For the purposes of this article, our definition of a “scientist doing real science” is a faculty member in a university, academic setting that conducts data-based and question-driven research in the lab or field. However, scientists involved in these types of partnerships could include STEM professionals and affiliates in non-academic settings. Scientist–teacher collaborations can have varied goals and organizational structure, but a partnership which enables the students to perform hands-on investigations, as opposed to the teacher or scientist delivering the science is our focus.

Initial steps include finding a partner, choosing a topic, and integrating the material with school goals and standards. Finding a partner with whom to collaborate can be a challenge. As a high school teacher you want to find someone with whom you can build a true partnership, where you both contribute and both gain. Sometimes collaborations develop organically. As a student in college or graduate school, you interacted with lots of science faculty, perhaps even working in a research lab. This might result in a natural pairing as you understand the research and you have an existing relationship. (That’s the basis of the partnership in this project.) You might meet STEM professionals through professional development/professional learning, conferences, or workshops that lead to future partnerships. Your district may be partnered with scientists in colleges or industry.

If you do not have a personal connection to STEM faculty, you will have to make an effort to make some; Figure 1 shares some strategies to make these connections. With technology, you do not need to be geographically close to carry on a partnership, although there are advantages to being nearby.

Next, it is crucial to focus on a particular area or investigation topic. Successful collaborations between scientists and teachers come from a shared passion, goal, or need. From the scientists’ perspective, there may be a need to distribute findings or provide educational outreach as part of their professional obligations. The scientist may be passionate about their field and see a partnership with high school teachers and students as a possible pipeline for recruiting students into the field. The teacher may have had research experiences which ignited their love for science and want to pass that along to their students. For a collaboration to work well and be positioned to overcome challenges, both the scientist and the teacher need to have a reason for participating and a benefit from that participation.

Finally, the collaborative project must align with school/district goals and grade level standards. In this current environment, having real science in the classroom will inherently align with aspects of NGSS standards, making this type of project appealing to administrators. The integration of research-based data within the classroom is one way to help students achieve mastery in the Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) as well as apply real world application of the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) being taught and the connection to the interdisciplinary Crosscutting Concepts (CCC). It’s important, however, that the content and the DCI content, align with the course. We will be sharing how to create and nurture the scientist–teacher collaboration, but at the end of the article we will also be sharing specific project resources so you can replicate this unit in your own setting.

Our scientist–teacher collaboration evolved from a student–faculty experience in graduate school at California State University, Long Beach. While Wendy Hagan was attending CSULB to obtain her master’s degree, she took several of Dr. Christine Whitcraft’s classes including conservation biology, plant ecology, and wetlands ecology. Christine, an associate professor in the Biology department and head of the Wetlands Ecology Lab at the time, had a teaching style that was hands-on and inquiry-based. She integrated case studies, critical thinking, service-learning projects, and real data into her classes in a way that communicated her enthusiasm and passion for science, research, and wetlands.

While enrolled in a master’s in Science Education program at the university, Wendy was able to work in Christine’s lab learning new research methodologies, sampling techniques in the field, and ways to analyze and interpret data. These experiences in the classroom, lab, and field inspired Wendy to construct a similar learning environment within her classroom by integrating environmental education and the NGSS, especially the skills associated with the SEPs (in particular asking questions, analyzing and interpreting data, engaging in arguement from evidence, and obtaining, evaluation and communicating information) and the Nature of Science.

Both Wendy and Christine are interested and enthusiastic about wetlands, restoration and conservation, and science education and research. Wendy wanted to integrate scientific research and methodologies into her classroom, and Christine wanted to understand more about how students learn in a K–12 environment and to interest younger students in wetland ecology. This was the genesis of Project G.R.O.W.—Guided Research On Wetlands—a semester-long series of lessons that led to a culminating project which had high school students asking and answering questions about wetlands using Christine’s data.

The scientist–teacher collaboration initially led to the development of a semester-long, cumulative research-based project for each high school student in ninth grade honors biology. Over a single semester, students generated research questions, collected appropriate data in the field, analyzed and interpreted data, created and explained graphs, and communicated their findings in a formal presentation to their peers and mentors (Figure 2). While the projects were individual, students worked in collaborative teams to discuss the design, evaluation, and overall presentation of their research. In order to build the necessary skills required for the completion of this project, a sequence of lessons and activities were specifically designed to the high school students’ strengths and weaknesses. The project has subsequently been repeated in various forms in college-prep, honors, International Baccalaureate, and Advanced Placement level courses. The project has been successful at all levels.

Christine shared her data with Wendy for use by the students via numerous Skype visits, readings, and a field trip to Christine’s research site. This helped students understand the habitat and potential interactions between biotic and abiotic features of the habitat, making them better able to develop researchable questions. Christine had to share a manageable data set which required time on her part. It is worth noting that this effort doesn’t fall neatly into the typical expectations for tenure and promotion, which is why it is important that there be some added value to the scientist for their participation.

As with any partnership or collaboration, there will be challenges and benefits. Figure 3 lists some of these. None of the challenges are insurmountable, and we believe the benefits far outweigh the effort required to overcome them.

The reason to work through the challenges is the enhanced learning experience for students. This project provided an authentic, science-learning experience that was truly representative of how science is done (Nature of Science). Students in Wendy’s classes realized that science does not always “find the answer,” and that “science doesn’t always have neat results,” while discovering the collaborative aspect of scientific inquiry. Almost all of the students mentioned that they felt this project was challenging but they also thought it was a valuable learning experience.

Beyond learning about wetland and scientific practices, many students also felt empowered and inspired to pursue a career in science. One student commented that “science was hard and the research itself was intense and rigorous.” She is now pursuing a degree in environmental science. Another student wanted to become a biologist, just like Christine, and is pursuing her biology degree at a four-year institution. These are two instances of how interaction with a scientist in formative years affected college and career choices. We have not tracked the students to know how many others have made similar decisions.

While not an intentional choice at the outset, the three people involved in this project were all women. Many students noticed that and commented on how that expanded their view of science and their own sense of identity as a scientist. Most students mentioned how they really enjoyed working with a scientist, using authentic data and going out in the field to explore the wetlands. Overall, students appreciated the opportunity to act, write, and communicate like a scientist.

Through the scientist-teacher collaboration, Wendy was not only able to integrate real data collected from a local ecosystem and the SEPs into her classroom, but she also grew as a teacher and gained more experience as a research scientist/field biologist. Working with Christine provided the necessary support and guidance needed to make the classroom and this project content-rich and SEP/skill-rich specific to current scientific research and methodologies.

While there are data sets available on the internet, many of these can be hard for teachers to find, navigate, and interpret. This also makes it difficult for students to use and segregate the data. Through the partnership, Christine made the raw data easier to access in terms of organization and graphical interpretation. Moving forward, the work done on the dataset with Christine means that Wendy can continue to use these data for this project and to modify them for future purposes and audiences. While you can’t expect Christine to come visit your classroom, you can access her data and Wendy’s lesons at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1h0cckpbblxCLMVRUS5kbFfB0sRQTiVHo?usp=sharing.

This particular collaboration has been successful and resilient, lasting through many iterations of Project G.R.O.W. Wendy has implemented it in her classroom six times, and students have gained better understanding of the nature of science, greater interest in science, a sense of pride and accomplishment, and a greater understanding of ecology in the real world (Hagan 2014).Both Wendy and Christine have benefited professionally from the partnership as well. This initial partnership focused on integrating SEPs and the Nature of Science into a high school classroom. Since Project G.R.O.W.’s development, Wendy and Christine have designed other curriculum and learning sequences centered on the three dimensions of the NGSS for middle and high school classrooms and informal institutions. They are continuing the collaboration and fostering professional development for science educators across the state. This project and the collaboration are sustainable—the hard work of creating a dataset appropriate for high school students, structuring the assignment, and supplemental learning experiences has already been done. The effort will continue to help develop scientific literacy in the next generation and years to come. Although finding the right person with whom to partner can be challenging, it is possible and well worth the effort!

While it is important that your scientist–teacher partnership model science as science is done, we know that the content must to be aligned with standards and the appropriate content for the class. This article focuses on the development and care of the scientist–teacher partnership as opposed to the ecosystem and habitat content of Project G.R.O.W. (the content of our partnership). Because we know readers will be interested in the specific science resources developed for the unit (assignments, rubrics, and scaffolding to help students to successfully work with the data and develop written and oral presentations, raw data, etc.) we have included a link to resources developed during this collaboration. The shared folder includes the datasets, lessons in the unit (with links to NGSS), benchmarks, rubrics, reflections, and samples of student work so that you can replicate this project in your own classroom: https://tinyurl.com/ydb9s5r3.

Wendy L. Hagan (wewald00@hotmail.com) teaches biology and environmental science at Granada Hills Charter High School in Granada Hills, California. Christine Whitcraft (christine.whitcraft@csulb.edu) is a professor of Biological Sciences and Laura Henriques (laura.henriques@csulb.edu) is a professor of Science Education, both at California State University, Long Beach in Long Beach California.