Sustaining the Maine ScienceCorps: Collaborative Research Experiences

CSE is conducting the formative and summative evaluation of the Maine ScienceCorps, a project of the biosciences community at the University of Southern Maine and the Education Division of the Foundation for Blood Research, which works with university professors, teaching fellows, and over 30 teachers across the state. Teachers and researchers bring authentic lab experiences aligned with Maine’s science standards—involving nucleic acids, proteins, microbes, viruses, human disease, and immune responses—to over 2,500 students. The evaluation uses interviews, focus groups, surveys, and other methods to document and describe the impact of the project on the participating fellows and on the University of Southern Maine, where this initiative is intended to be institutionalized.