Pilot Teachers Needed for Urban Ecology Curriculum
San Diego State is looking for high school science teachers to pilot a newly developed course in Urban Ecology for the upcoming school year. The materials can be used in an elective upper level science course, environmental science or an AP environmental science course.
WHO: High School Science Teachers, preferably teaching an elective upper level science course, environmental science or an AP environmental science course
WHAT: Pilot at least 4 of 8 modules (each module is 2-4 weeks long)
SUPPORT: Stipends up to $3650 available based on attendance of PDs and number of modules implemented.
COLLABORATE: Be part of a team of pilot teachers from Boston, Providence, Phoenix, Hartford and Chicago
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CURRICULUM: The materials include 8 modules with topics such as climate change, biodiversity, garbage, and public health. Each module has students conduct scientific investigations at a local study site (usually their school yard) and use their data to create action plans to improve their neighborhood. Further details are outlined below. If you are interested in participating please contact:
Meredith Houle
Assistant Professor of Science Education
San Diego State University
meredith.houle@gmail.com
508-280-6235 (cell phone, before 8/27)
619-594-3378 (office phone, after 8/27)
Urban Ecology: A new frontier for curriculum
We have been charged by the National Science Foundation to develop and implement a year long, standards-based, course in urban ecology. This course is designed to be a capstone high school course for students who are taking an advanced science course or enrolled in a traditional environmental science. We have chosen urban ecology because it is an emerging field of scientific research that promotes stewardship of healthy ecosystems and provides a coherent theme that is locally relevant, connected to students’ lives, while providing opportunities for research on how to improve their neighborhood through scientific investigations.
What resources will we provide you?
We are currently seeking teachers who teach environmental science or similar courses to pilot the curriculum materials. You will be provided with the curriculum materials, classroom resources (e.g. bioacoustics materials, laptops) and support from the project team at Boston College and the Urban Ecology Institute. You will also become part of a community of teachers across the nation using the curriculum materials and providing us with feedback to increase the quality of the curriculum. As a pilot teacher, you will also receive a stipend of $325/module used in your classroom. We will also be hosting professional development workshops for the modules. For each day of a professional development workshop that you attend, there will be a stipend of $150/day. A teacher who enacts all of the modules, attends all seven days of workshops, and fulfills the responsibilities listed below will receive a total stipend of $3650.
What are your responsibilities?
You will be expected to:
* distribute and collect consent forms from your students before the curriculum begins
* give a two-day pretest and a two-day posttest to your students at the beginning and end of the year
* complete a curriculum implementation survey for each module
* allow our evaluation team to observe and videotape your class when you use the curriculum
When are the modules being piloted?
During the 2008-2009 school year, we are looking for teachers to pilot all eight modules. Ideally, teachers would pilot the entire curriculum, though we are also interested in working with teachers who can only pilot half the curriculum (e.g. one semester elective).
When are the professional development workshops?
We will conduct five different professional development workshops during the 2008-2009 school year. The first workshop will focus on an Introduction to Urban Ecology, the Action Plan, Module 1 and Module 2. The other workshops will be one-day workshops. Dates TBA.
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