Video 1 Bob Goodman discusses an innovative strategy for teaching Math and Science, including a flipped curriculum and social-constructivist pedagogy.

"What we had done is create an onramp to STEM career paths, because we could take kids at any age, and by combining together this Science sequence and the Math sequence that matched it, we can remediate all the problems they had in their past and in one year have them up to be internationally competitive in Math and Science.

So we did this with 9th graders that were below average, we went to other schools, did it with their 9th, 11th, and 12th graders, we believe we could do it with community colleges and four year colleges.

So the kids at any point in their life, if they choose to go down a STEM career path, they can do it. Right now that's not possible for most kids."

Building Onramps to STEM Careers

Bob Goodman, 2006 New Jersey Teacher of the Year, Executive Director of the New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (NJCTL), and a graduate of MIT, has developed groundbreaking strategies for teaching math and science to high needs students.

He has also pioneered new approaches to providing professional development for veteran teachers preparing them to teach physics and chemistry. NJCTL is now the number 1 producer of physics teachers in the United States. NJCTL programs are used in six of the top 12 NJ schools for AP physics participation. NJCTL schools are more than 60% Black/Hispanic and free/reduced lunch; non-NJCTL schools are less than 8%.

The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is an independent not-for-profit foundation, created by the New Jersey Education Association. Its mission is to empower teachers to lead school improvement so that all children have access to a high quality education.

For more information about the NJCTL, visit njctl.org.

Paper: Building Onramps to STEM Careers by Robert Goodman, Ed.D.