Daana Archer isn’t your typical middle school teacher. She remembers her learning experience in middle school as “​one-directional—the teacher was the holder of all information and knowledge, we accepted it and that was the end of it.” But Archer is one of a growing number of middle school educators striving to transform the way students learn.  She knows that learning is social and that her students want to use their creativity to solve real-world problems. And she knows this is especially important given her school's recent shift to virtual instruction.

The Catalyst Virtual Climate Science unit was just the research and project-based curriculum Archer needed in the midst of the pandemic:

“I wanted my students to feel that they could contribute to a solution rather than feeling powerless. Given the new flexibility I now have with remote learning, I wanted to try something new that would allow my students to feel some type of control and choice over their learning, and collaborate with each other to solve a global problem.”

Archer is a 7th grade Science teacher at Leaders of Tomorrow in Bronx, New York and is celebrating her sixth year teaching there. Archer loved science ever since she was young, thinking of it as a way to decode the world around her. She enjoys mixing personal stories of observing animals and nature with her lessons, making sure to include English Language Arts (ELA) topics as she believes writing is a crucial part of communicating STEM concepts. Even art has a place in Archer’s classes—one student decided to send in their atomic model project as a drawing on a platform Archer had never previously heard of.

“Now I have my students teaching me! And I have the students teach each other as well. Remote learning was enlightening for me as a teacher because I realized how tech savvy my students were. They have a huge range of capabilities and I want to give them an opportunity to teach back and share what they know.”

Archer is starting the Catalyst Virtual Climate Science unit, which will take her students through three design challenges to explore the relationship between climate change and severe weather events. Potential design challenges include taking on the role of a famous social media influencer to educate community members about the impact of carbon emissions. Another is coming up with a new invention/idea to provide aid to a selected city experiencing severe weather caused by climate change—like a “Swiss Army Scrunchie” that holds supplies, which is what Boston-based teacher Katie Caster’s students designed to help those affected by the wildfires in Australia.

Archer is particularly excited for Catalyst to expose students to different STEM career pathways and connect them to STEM professionals. “As a minority myself, I see how underrepresented we are in the STEM industry. In low-income neighborhoods, it’s hard to learn about STEM careers, and some students can dismiss science as too hard because it involves continuous observation and thinking. I want to change that.” 

The Citizen Schools Catalyst team developed the Virtual Climate Science unit as a mini version of the full blended learning units launching this Fall and the following Spring, which will allow teachers to bring an engaging experience of in-class instruction combined with independent student learning activities using technology and online platforms. 

Thanks to a generous gift of $60,000 from All Points North Foundation, the Catalyst team was able to implement the Virtual Climate Science unit with four teachers in New York this semester, impacting a total of 25 teachers and 1,200 students for the school year across the country. We received an additional $20,000 to support our NYC students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which was crucial for our campus staff and volunteers to continue programming not only for Catalyst, but also for all our distance learning and student support initiatives. Citizen Schools New York is so appreciative of the incredible support from All Points North Foundation!