1. PRESENTATION
TITLE HERE
AUTHOR’S NAME HERE
WGU-AMNH PARTNERSHIP
PILOT PROGRAM: YEAR 1
RESULTS
Suzanne T. Metlay, Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, UT
Sarah E. Hudon-Miller, Western Governors University, Salt Lake City,
UT
David Randle, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY
Geological Society of America Annual Meeting
Baltimore, MD
3 November 2015
Session T86: Research on Teaching and Student Learning in the K–12 Earth
Science Classroom

2. OVERVIEW
WGU-AMNH Partnership Pilot Program: 1st year successful
AMNH Seminars on Science overview
WGU Teachers College: Secondary Science Education
Geosciences Education & Chemistry Education degree
programs
October 2014 – September 2015: headcount growth
Struggles and Solutions
Learning how to partner more effectively
 Benefits to students:
Peer Learning
Content mastery/competency
Lesson Plans ready to implement in classroom
 Future Growth at WGU

3. AMNH SEMINARS ON SCIENCE
OVERVIEWAMNH Seminars on Science founded in 1998:
 Online graduate-level teacher professional development
 Experienced classroom educators team with working scientists to facilitate each
course
 13 different courses in Life, Earth, and Physical Sciences
 6 weeks of online instruction (+ 1 week to complete final project = 5 lesson
plans) designed to increase science content knowledge and ability to teach a
given subject

4. WGU INVOLVEMENT IN SEMINARS ON
SCIENCE2004: WGU initially partnered as part of SoS Phase Two to provide online
science education to students enrolled in universities across the United States
 > 200 WGU students enrolled during 2004-2014 but
completion and participations levels were low
 Registration was voluntary and optional; WGU students did not need to
pass
2014: Expectations and supports changed
 Registration required in selected Seminars on Science, now considered
essential courses at WGU
 WGU students required to pass with “Meets Standards” or “Exceeds Standa

5. WGU STUDENT POPULATION
6 State Affiliates:
Indiana
Missouri
Nevada
Tennessee
Texas
Washington
~10% students are
active duty,
spouses, or
veterans
WGU Teachers College
Current enrollment: ~14,000 students
in all programs (undergrad + graduate)

6. WGU TEACHERS COLLEGE: SECONDARY
SCIENCE Teacher licensure in all 50 states and District of Columbia
 100% of WGU graduates who applied for teaching licenses were successful in
FY2014

7. WGU CHEMISTRY EDUCATION
PROGRAM
AMNH Seminar on Science: Climate
Change
now required for all WGU students in
Chemistry Education
WGU is a leader in U.S. conferrals of
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in
Chemistry Education

8. WGU GEOSCIENCES EDUCATION
PROGRAM
According to internal WGU report prepared
by Eduventures,
50% of Master’s degree conferrals in
Earth Sciences Education are made by
WGU…
and now AMNH Seminar on Science:
Ocean Systems is a required course for
these students

9. WGU STUDENT ENROLLMENTS BY
COURSE
Growth of student enrollment from Fall II Session 2014 to Fall I Session
2015
 > 85% students who completed each course also passed it
 100% pass rate is goal: more common than not
 Students are allowed to re-take each course a 2nd time at WGU expense
 3rd attempt is an out-of-pocket expense – not yet tried
 Students in Fall I + Fall II Sessions 2015 are still engaged in coursework
 Pass rates available by mid-December 2015

10. PARTNERING EFFECTIVELY – AMNH
VIEWAMNH accommodations to WGU:
 Faster turnaround times than usual for academia
 Weekly grade reports to WGU
 Roster adjustments after closing dates
 Excellent communication and responsiveness
Changes to AMNH approach:
 Adding more staff to assist students at risk
 Providing more support for students new to lesson
plans

11. PARTNERING EFFECTIVELY – WGU
VIEWWGU accommodations to AMNH:
 New protocols for enrollment, activity, reporting
 Minimal faculty involvement; support role only
 Increased financial investment; no cost to students
Peer Learning
 Students report that online discussions are most time-
consuming but
most rewarding aspect of Seminars on Science
External structure
 WGU students are accustomed to self-paced courses
 Scheduled webinars, synchronous cohorts, and pacing
guides are optional at WGU
 AMNH Seminars on Science are held to a strict weekly
Benefits to Students

12. POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO STUDENTS -
PRAXISContent mastery/competency
 Preliminary data supports anecdotal reports
 Praxis exam scores for students who successfully complete Seminars on
Science may be higher in relevant test sections
 Students self-report greater comfort with specific content covered in the
course
Same students are pictured in each graph. Correlation is weak and not statistically
significant.

13. POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO STUDENTS
– LESSON PLANS
Lesson Plans ready to implement in classroom
Students modify and use lesson plans developed during
Seminars on Science for:
 Teacher Work Sample (WGU Graduate programs)
 Demonstration Teaching (WGU Undergraduate programs)
 Classroom use not associated with WGU degree
requirements
 Enrichment (afterschool programs, etc.)

14. FUTURE GROWTH
2016: Seminars on Science added to WGU degree
programs in Physics Education and Biology Education:
 ~75% of students obtaining their science education degrees at
WGU will take a Seminar on Science as a required course
 WGU students encouraged to enroll in other Seminars on Science
as optional add-ons

15. POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
Data based on student capstone work collected and
analyzed
in addition to anecdotal evidence of classroom
implementation of lesson plans developed during Seminars
on Science
 Teacher Work Sample presentations (graduate)
 Demonstration Teaching portfolios (undergraduate)
 Praxis exam score reports scrutinized for demonstrable effects
Possible tailored Seminar on Science course
content/structure in response to WGU program needs, if
enrollments are high enough

16. CONTACT US
David Randle, Ph.D.
Senior Manager of Professional Development
Faculty, Master of Arts in Teaching, Richard Gilder Graduate
School
American Museum of Natural History
212-496-3540
drandle@amnh.org
www.amnh.org/learn/
Sarah Hudon-Miller, PhD
Teacher Education: Chemistry
Western Governors University
4001 South 700 East, Suite 700
Salt Lake City, UT 84107
801-924-4629
sarah.hudonmiller@wgu.edu
chemistry@wgu.edu
Suzanne T. Metlay, Ph.D.
Teacher Education: Geosciences
Western Governors University
4001 South 700 East, Suite 700
Salt Lake City, UT 84107
385-428-4961
suzanne.metlay@wgu.edu
geosciences@wgu.edu

17. REFERENCES
American Museum of Natural History (n.d.). Seminars on Science: A Leader in Online Science Education.
Retrieved from AMNH website at http://www.amnh.org/learn/About/History
Inverness Research (2007). Summary Results from the Independent Evaluation of the Seminars on
Science. Retrieved from the Inverness Research Inc. website at http://inverness-research.org/amnh-sos/;
report summary at
http://inverness-research.org/amnh-sos/evaluationsPDF/2007-03_AMNH-EVAL-Summary-
2pgExecSum.pdf
National Council on Teacher Quality (2014). Teacher Prep Review 2014 Report. Retrieved from NCTQ
website at http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Teacher_Prep_Review_2014_Report
National Council on Teacher Quality (2015). Nation’s Top 25 ‘Best Value’ Colleges of Education
Announced by National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from NCTQ website at
http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Best_Value_Campaign_Press_Release_with_Link
Personal communication (4 Nov 2014) about 2013 data analyzed in Eduventures report from WGU
Teachers College Dean Phil Schmidt to Rob Duncan.
"Western Governors University Leads the U.S. in STEM Teaching Grads" (2014). Retrieved from WGU
website at http://www.wgu.edu/about_WGU/WGU_leads_in_STEM_1-6-14
Western Governors University (2015). Someone’s Been Talking About Us. Teacher’s College enrollment
and licensure statistics retrieved from internal newsletter, We’ve Got Updates, issue 10052015, number
53, page 4.