CUNY Doctoral Students Expand Access to Advanced Placement Physics in Urban High Schools

The CUNY GK-12 Fellows Program addresses the need to increase the participation of low-income and underrepresented minority students in high-school-level Advanced Placement (AP) courses in mathematics and sciences, particularly in urban schools. The project provides a unique opportunity for doctoral science and math students to work with AP teachers and students in public high schools in the Bronx, NY. The project has demonstrated that doctoral science students can be a valuable resource to both teachers and students and that their presence in the classroom can greatly enhance instruction at this level. Participation in the program also enhances the fellows' communication and teaching skills and deepens their awareness of issues in urban science and math education. We present the results of our work in Advanced Placement Physics during the project's first three years.