Salem State College, Universidad de Puerto Rico en Humacao, TERC, and school districts from Massachusetts and Puerto Rico are working together to transform the way life sciences are taught in the two colleges and up to 17 school districts. Using the MSP-Start, they are building a foundation for this transformation by focusing on coastal and forest microbial and community ecology and related conservation to integrate the study of genes to ecosystems. The Atlantic Partnership for the Biological Sciences brings together a diverse group of stakeholders that is leading teachers in professional development to better understand how to make science accessible to a multicultural student population. Through guided experiences in scientific research these teachers are systematically enhancing their understanding of the diversity and unity of biological processes at every level of organization and are translating this learning into pedagogically effective changes in classroom practice.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).