Health and Biomedical Sciences

Rockman et al Cooperative has extensive experience evaluating health and biomedical science initiatives in formal and informal K-12 settings. REA is actively involved in evaluations for the the National Institute of Health (NIH) Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program, as well as biology projects within the National Science Foundation’s STEM Education Directorate. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your project’s evaluation needs and to provide you with more information about our tailored services. Please Contact Us to schedule a free 30-minute Q&A session with one of our SEPA evaluators.

Selected Projects Include

  • Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

    Fred Hutch

    The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (Fred Hutch) received a Science Education Partnership Award from the NIH for its Frontiers in Cancer Research (Frontiers) program, for which REA served as the external evaluator. REA conducted a classroom study of the Intro to Cancer unit, which was designated a “Quality Example of NGSS Design” by the NextGenScience Peer Review Panel in Spring 2023. The unit uses a storyline-approach to support students in understanding cell growth, the cell cycle, and cancer through the experiences of Hina Marsey, an 11-year-old girl with a rare form of leukemia. In addition to surveying students and teachers on their experiences with the unit, REA analyzed classroom discussion transcripts of student argumentation around issues of health inequities and justice. REA is collaborating with Fred Hutch on several papers related to this work for publication.

  • Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

    Jackson Laboratory

    The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) has received two Science Education Partnership Awards from the NIH for its Teaching the Genome Generation (TtGG) projects. Both projects provide professional development and curriculum resources to high school teachers. The first grant offered in-person short courses on molecular genetics, laboratory procedures, bioinformatics, and bioethics. It also loaned laboratory equipment to New England teachers. The second grant is creating online professional development and curriculum in genetic data analysis, including cancer genetics and sequence comparison. REA has been evaluating TtGG’s implementation and impact on teachers and students. With JAX, REA co-authored an article about the professional development in the Journal of STEM Outreach.

  • Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash

    Texas Biomed

    The Texas Biomedical Research Institute recieved an NIH Science Education Partnership Award for the Teacher Enrichment Initiative (TEI). The TEI is working to promote a biomedical workforce pipeline by engaging secondary teachers in the Teachers as Researchers (TAR) program. TAR aims to increase data literacy skills and leverage teachers’ pedagogical skills to create and integrate Classroom To Career Connections (C2C2) activities and supplemental narratives into existing classroom curriculum. The program provides data literacy professional development for teachers as they collect student data from the C2C2 activities and supplemental narratives. Teacher cohorts participate in a Community of Practice (CoP), applying their data literacy skills to evaluate C2C2 activities to assess student knowledge of infectious diseases and biomedical careers. Within the CoP, teachers will evaluate data driven evidence to inform their teaching practices.

  • Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash

    NH CREATES

    The University of New Hampshire was awarded a NIH Science Education Partnership Award for the NH CREATES program. NH CREATES aims to develop a skilled workforce in regenerative medicine and biofacbiration (RM&B), a growing need in the state of New Hampshire. Middle and high school teachers participate in a two-week Summer Institute where they cultivate interest and expertise in RM&B, create lessons using project-based learning (PBL) standards, and collaborate with other teachers, university faculty and staff, and industry partners. REA is conducting an external evaluation focused on the implementation and impacts of the NH CREATES program.

  • Photo courtesy of NWABR via CC licensing.

    Coastal Marine Biolabs

    Coastal Marine Biolabs’ NeuroLab 2.0 project has developed a multidisciplinary, storyline-based high school curriculum unit about a complex movement disorder, congenital mirror movement disorder (CMM). Over the ten lesson sequence, students generate questions, analyze and interpret data, and construct and revise explanatory models. The project seeks to expand access to investigative research experiences for students by training teachers on the new curriculum. REA is conducting a small-scale classroom study to evaluate the efficacy of the NeuroLab 2.0 unit on students’ science knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. Evaluators are also studying teachers’ implementation of the materials.