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Information technology has become ubiquitous in the 21st Century. Acquiring the skills and confidence to navigate the computational arena is all but obligatory for educational and professional success. Underrepresentation of women in the wide variety of fields associated with information technology is an authentic concern for both the individual and society as a whole. Various studies have emphasized the importance of stronger representative of marginalized groups to bolster creative thinking and a variety of perspectives. The CCERS STEM + C Program is a long-term hands-on environmental restoration project that has been embedded in the New York City Department of Education public schools. Students work to restore the native oyster population to New York Harbor through both field work and working with large sets of data on the open-access platform. One of the several areas studied throughout this program is the motivation and self-efficacy of the students, especially students who are underrepresented in the STEM and technology fields. Student surveys were initiated by 764 students with 513 participants and non-participants completing the survey. Aimed at eliciting levels of several self-reported factors, the survey included a subscale measuring levels of confidence in technological abilities. Results of the survey indicated that 9th grade female students have a higher level of self-efficacy and motivation than female students in the later high school grade levels. These results are consistent with the waning motivation and interest of female students in technology and STEM found in other studies. 

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration of multiple institutions and organizations led by Pace University and is in collaboration with New York City Public Schools. This large-scale project, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), generated a large amount of data through programming that engaged both teachers and students. This article presents the third part to the study with focus on the Digital Platform and results from the student Symposium presentations. Part 1 focused on Underrepresented Minority (URM) student interest in STEM as motivated by the original project. Part 2 focused on URM student engagement with teachers to support students in teaching science through experiential learning and lessons that connect science to the real world, particularly through science in the New York Harbor. Moreover, the second part of the study focused on teacher engagement in the program, and what the researchers had learned in the process. The third aspect of the study, and primary focus on this paper, had found additional positive results cited by the teachers in the study both using the Digital Platform and after the project outcomes from the student Symposium presentations. 

The role of classroom teachers in the development of a well-designed curriculum is paramount. For this reason, teachers were asked to participate in the use and evaluation of a remote learning environmental restoration curriculum. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the participating teachers increased their content knowledge of STEM concepts and content related to the environmental restoration, specifically in terms of New York Harbor and oyster restoration, by participating in a remote learning curriculum pilot. New York City public school teachers of grades 6 through 12 instructed their students in the remote learning computer science curriculum lessons for one semester. A reflective survey was administered to the teachers at the conclusion of the semester and the findings indicated that 89% of the participating teachers experienced an increase in their knowledge of STEM concepts and content related to harbor and oyster restoration. The study was limited by the element of time and the model can be augmented in future iterations by increasing the length of the study to a full year of school and across several grade levels. 

This qualitative study chronicles one of the fundamental pillars of the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS). The professional development is focused on curricula that are grounded in the community-based environmental restoration of the waterways of New York Harbor. Centered on the restoration of the native oyster population, hundreds of New York City public school teachers take part in this experience with the intent of increasing their own place-based pedagogical content knowledge and skills. Most of the participants teach in school with populations that are underrepresented in post-secondary STEM majors and STEM related careers. Professional learning activities for teachers and community scientists were offered throughout the 2021 calendar year. Professional Learning Activity Surveys were administered and teachers responded to questions about how they participated in CCERS events, the ways in which CCERS participation has impacted their teaching practice, whether they use CCERS activities for student research, and ways CCERS participation impacts student STEM career interest. An intended outcome is to instill a STEM identity in students identifying as URM and to bring STEM career awareness to these students. More than 72% of the teachers in the professional development sessions agreed that the professional learning activities were effective in providing new STEM content knowledge and best practices for teaching. The majority also reported that the sessions enabled them to increase their students’ engagement with STEM and interest in STEM careers. 

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration of multiple institutions and organizations led by Pace University. The NSF project, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), had generated a large amount of data through engagement with teachers and students throughout New York City public schools. This article presents the second part to a large data collection study with focus on Underrepresented Minority (URM) student interest in STEM and engagement with teachers to support them in teaching science through experiential learning and lessons that connect science to the real world, particularly through science in the New York Harbor. The first component of the study focused on URM student interest in STEM. This second component of the study focuses on teacher engagement in the program, and what the researchers had learned in the process. Overall, teachers reported very favorable options on the impact of the BOP-CCERS activities as ways to generate student interest in STEM majors and careers. Teacher participants were generally positive about the amount of support and resources they received as members of the project, as well as the oyster-related knowledge and practices they learned to use with their own students in oyster field research. Data from the study provided evidence that the teacher activities were successful and met the project’s goals to provide support and resources for teachers to engage students in oyster restoration research. 

The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor with New York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported initiative and collaboration of multiple institutions and organizations led by Pace University. The NSF project, Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), had generated a large amount of data through engagement with teachers and students throughout New York City public schools. One purpose of this project is to engage with middle and high school science teachers to assist them in using project-based learning and real-world data collection in their classrooms with their students through harbor restoration initiatives. It was found that Underrepresented Minority (URM) students reported having higher levels of interest in STEM and science than did the non-URM students. While this is a success, it was found that the URM students had lower expectations for success in STEM courses and interest in STEM careers. It was concluded that URM students may need additional support in order to build their confidence and help them to become aware of opportunities in STEM education and careers. 

The aim of this study is to showcase the use of incorporating problem-solving in a multifaceted, long-term investigation. New York Harbor and its estuaries are undergoing a major revitalization due to the efforts of the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Environmental Restoration Project. Comprised of a network of local educational and business partnerships, students who have been historically underrepresented in the S.T.E.M. field are given the opportunity to delve into environmental restoration in their local communities and strategize, analyze and evaluate environmental challenges to achieve success in problem-solving. The restoration of a sustainable environment is reliant upon innovative responses to the challenges posed. Problem-solving allows the students to use advanced thinking ability and it can also be the driving force of change. The project has resulted in a deeper understanding of local environmental restoration efforts and a stronger commitment to actionable plans for the future.