Research and Publications
Celebrating 20 years of “learning science by doing science"
Since 2004, eight of New York City’s leading cultural institutions — including museums, zoos, and botanical gardens — have worked with the New York City Public Schools to support high-quality research-based science instruction in the city’s elementary and middle schools. Urban Advantage includes the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the New York Botanical Garden, the New York Hall of Science, the Queens Botanical Garden, the Staten Island Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, and the New York City Public Schools, with leadership funding from the New York City Council.
Urban Advantage’s Six Research-based Components
UA is designed to support the science goals of the public-school system and supports grades 3-8. It is founded on six key components designed to support schools, principals, teachers, students and families. Click on each of the six components below to learn more:
what we do
Teacher participants order classroom materials with an annual budget during their first years of participation.
why we do it
Students and Teachers practice phenomena-based science in materials-rich classrooms, enabling deeper exploration of concepts and practices.
Effect on students
Students learn in classrooms that are annually enriched with curriculum-supporting and extending science materials and equipment.
what we do
UA continuously reviews course effectiveness, and the program's impacts on student learning and teacher growth.
why we do it
Through our own internal research, and through partnerships with renowned universities, UA has looked at long-term impacts on student outcomes and teacher retention. Recently, we have begun measuring UA’s effect on teacher social networks.
Effect on students
Students are more likely to learn from seasoned teachers and to have improved test scores. UA Students are more likely to have veteran teachers with more years of experience teaching at their UA school, as UA participation helps schools retain science teachers. UA students are also more likely to take and pass the Living Environment Regents exam and to score higher on state tests.
what we do
Parent Coordinator workshops, family and student events at institutions, and partner attendance at school events.
why we do it
UA’s Family Engagement initiative creates events for families to explore, learn about, and make memories at partner institutions. UA holds annual PC workshops to help plan and execute school community trips and to help PCs gain valuable professional learning experience. Partners also attend school events to support learning and expand access to the whole school community.
Effect on students
Students participate in Scientific Exploration with their families. Students who learned in UA-participating schools have consistently been prompted to seek intergenerational knowledge, to ask curiosity questions, and to make connections, all practices that support solid science practice and family engagement.
what we do
UA creates and encourages opportunities for students and families to explore UA institutions. Teachers and parent coordinators have access for curriculum- and family engagement-supporting trips.
why we do it
Students and Teachers learn to see UA institutions and their staff as extensions of their classrooms. Access and comfort with the institutions support student growth and interest in the sciences, teacher retention, and public school partnership with the local institutions.
Effect on students
Students feel at Home in NYC’s Science-Rich Cultural Institutions. Students that spend any portion of elementary and/or middle school at a UA-participating school will have had experience on school group trips to our institutions and the opportunity to visit with their families for the duration of their education.
what we do
UA's PL focuses on science pedagogy and helps teachers transfer what they learn to their classrooms through immersive experiences with reflection, planning, and participation in communities of practice.
why we do it
Participants form a community of science teachers from across the city. The courses they take concentrate in areas of focus that expand the understanding of what teaching and learning science looks like in a comprehensive, research-informed way.
Effect on students
Students learn from teachers well versed in research-based pedagogical practices and methods. Teachers who complete UA’s PL courses lead classrooms that center student voice and interests, employ current local phenomena, and use reflective practice to ensure students are learning in the best environment possible.
what we do
UA’s Lead Teacher and Fellows Programs aid in the promotion of school-based expert teacher leaders.
why we do it
Participating in UA’s Fellows or Lead Teacher programs enables teachers to delve further into their practice, expertise, and deepen their experience. These teachers become models and leaders in their schools.
Effect on students
Students explore science comprehensively.UA Students are taught by teachers who learn from and work alongside those in the Fellows and Lead Teacher program. This offers teachers the unique opportunity to trust the methods being taught, as they have been tried and tested for efficacy. Students then learn in classrooms that are evidence-based, responsive, and informed.
Learn how UA supports the NYC Public School's science initiatives and the NY State Science standards by clicking here
Since 2008, researchers at the American Museum of Natural History and New York University have studied the impact of Urban Advantage (UA) on students’ achievement in science. Findings are reported in white papers and published in peer-reviewed journal articles.
Frequently Asked Questions about Research on the Urban Advantage Program
What does it take to sustain a productive partnership in education?
Citation:
Hammerness, K., MacPherson A., Macdonald M., Roditi H., and Curtis-Bey L. Kappan, September 2017, Volume 99, # 1, 15-20.
Description:
In 2002, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) approached the New York City Department of Education to offer its assistance in responding to a new policy mandate. Out of concern that too few middle graders were getting a solid foundation in the sciences, city officials had declared that in order to graduate from 8th grade and enroll in high school, every student must complete at least one extensive, multipart scientific investigation. At the time, however, the schools were facing a severe shortage of science teachers overall, much less ones who were prepared to guide students in conducting complex, independent projects. How would the school system make up for this lack of expertise? Perhaps AMNH could help fill the gap.
The urban advantage: Do informal science collaborations improve teacher retention?
Citation:
Weinstein, M.G. & Shiferaw, M. (2017b). The urban advantage: Do informal science collaborations improve teacher retention? Institute for Education and Social Policy Working Paper. New York University.
Description:
The main finding of this analysis is that UA participation increases teacher retention. UA science teachers are, on average, three percentage points more likely than non-UA science teachers to remain teaching at their school the following year. This impact is substantially higher for teachers with 3-5 years of teaching experience (16 percentage points).
The urban advantage: The impact of informal science collaborations on student achievement
Citation:
Weinstein, M.G. & Shiferaw, M. (2017a). The urban advantage: The impact of informal science collaborations on student achievement. Institute for Education and Social Policy Working Paper. New York University.
Description:
This analysis uses unique student-teacher linkage data that allowed researchers to identify students taught by a UA teacher. The comparison group consists of schools that are not participating in UA in that year. Researchers use Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to obtain a matched set of treatment and control schools that have the same propensity to participate in UA. The main finding reported is that having a UA teacher improves students’ scores on the intermediate-level science test. Using models comparing students with and without a UA teacher in the same school, they find that the program increases scores on the 8th grade ILS exam by 0.08 standard deviations (moves participating students from 64th to 67th percentile of the distribution). PSM results are attenuated (0.03 standard deviations).
A day at the museum: The impact of field trips on middle school science achievement.
Citation:
Whitesell, E.R. (2016). A day at the museum: The impact of field trips on middle school science achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(7), 1036–1054.
Description:
This analysis, published in the premier journal in science education the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, uses 6 years of student-level data to estimate impact of field trip visits to informal science institutions by UA students. The study finds small positive effects of exposure to field trips on students’ science test scores and proficiency. Effects were largest for Hispanic students and those who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch.
To view full article, please contact [email protected].
Rolling out and scaling up: What happens when a program is no longer new
Citation:
Weinstein, M. & Whitesell, E. R. (2015). Rolling out and scaling up: What happens when a program is no longer new. A paper prepared for the XXIV Meeting of the Economics of Education Association.
Description:
This analysis uses a longitudinal data set that spans 2005-2014. This data set includes individual student characteristics linked to school, but not teacher. They found that the effects of UA on students’ achievement is greatest for schools in the second-to-lowest quartile. There are small difference in effect between schools with low, medium, and high concentrations of UA teachers—higher concentration of UA teachers are associated with higher achievement. There is an effect of longer time in UA on proficiency but not z-score. There is a significant effect of repeated exposure. Students that experience two years of UA are 6 percentage points more likely to be proficient on the eighth grade test than students in non-UA schools. However, participation for a single year is not associated with a significant difference in achievement.
Museum, zoos, and gardens: How formal-informal partnerships can impact urban students’ performance in science
Citation:
Weinstein, M., Whitesell, E.R., & Schwartz, A.E. (2014). Museum, zoos, and gardens: How formal-informal partnerships can impact urban students’ performance in science. Evaluation Review, 38(6), 514-545.
Description:
The main findings from this evaluation paper include: (1) attending a UA school increases students’ performance on the Intermediate Level Science (ILS) exam by approximately 0.05 standard deviations, (2) effects were larger for black students, special education students and male students, and (3) small positive effects on the likelihood that a student takes a science Regents exam in the eighth or ninth grade, but no effect on the probability of scoring proficient on the exam.
Successful schools: How school-level factors influence success with Urban Advantage
Citation:
Weinstein, M., Whitesell, E. R., Leardo, M. (2014). Successful schools: How school-level factors influence success with Urban Advantage. IESP Report, NYU Steinhardt.
Description:
This analysis uses fixed-effects model to estimate school effects. This paper also identifies 9 school case studies and examines what promotes uptake of UA practices at these schools? In addition, they isolated the unique contribution of schools to science achievement, above and beyond school participation in UA and student characteristics. They find that UA schools do not, on average, have higher school effects than non-UA schools, suggesting that positive impacts of UA reflect program effects and not overall school quality. The case study analysis identifies collaboration as an important theme-schools that had higher collaboration reported more success with UA.
Urban Advantage Interim Report
Citation:
Weinstein, M., Debraggio, E., Schwartz, A. E., Leos-Urbel, J., Nazar, L. (2010). Urban Advantage Interim Report. IESP Report, NYU Wagner.
Description:
The main findings from this evaluation paper include: (1) attending a UA school increases students’ performance on the Intermediate Level Science (ILS) exam by approximately 0.05 standard deviations, (2) effects were larger for black students, special education students and male students, and (3) small positive effects on the likelihood that a student takes a science Regents exam in the eighth or ninth grade, but no effect on the probability of scoring proficient on the exam.
