The Collaboration for Leadership in Urban Science Teaching, Evaluation, and Research (CLUSTER) is a partnership among The City College of New York (CCNY), the New York Hall of Science, and the City University of New York’s Center for Advanced Study in Education (CASE). CLUSTER will examine a model initiative that integrates the Science Career Ladder (SCL), a sustained program of informal science teaching training and employment at the New York Hall of Science with CCNY’s rigorous science teacher preparation program. The Science Career Ladder is a program of NYSCI in which undergraduates work as Explainers — inquiry-based interpreters — for visitors to the New York Hall of Science. The program has had documented success in bringing underrepresented youth into careers in science and science education. A longitudinal and comparative research study will examine and document how the integration of such a program with a teacher preparation program can effectively build a new, diverse, and more effective supply of urban science teachers. The partnership's outcomes include the following:

1. Generate a new body of research related to the impact of internships in science centers on improving classroom science teaching.
2. Share research results and findings to both formal and informal institutions in a replicable format that will encourage adoption of key elements of the model.
3. Prepare a substantial number of new teachers, representative of the highly diverse communities in which they teach. CLUSTER will strengthen the nation’s ability to attract, motivate, and prepare the next generation of science teachers. It integrates  informal and formal science education sectors, bringing their combined resources to bear on the critical need for well-prepared and diverse science teachers.

For more information, visit the City University's CLUSTER site.