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The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
(WWNFF) and the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) are
collaborating on a program to provide secondary science
teachers with field-oriented learning opportunities and
instructional research in Costa Rica. The institute focuses
upon global climate change as well as the impact of man on
terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The Costa Rica Institute
occurs at three OTS field stations in lowland forest, dry
tropical forest, and mid-elevation rain forest areas, where
participants study fragmentation, isolation and restoration of
ecosystems in the context of global change. Important concepts
that permeate the curriculum at all three sites include
correlation versus causation, interdependence, scale,
synergistic effects, threshold effects, and the policy
implications of a systems view of the natural
world.
Following the time-tested model of "50 questions,"
small groups of teachers will design and implement research
projects related to the central theme at each site. They will
design web pages in order to share their experiences and
learning with colleagues back home. As an integral part of
each day's activities, participants process what they observe
and learn in light of how NSES science standards define the
experience, how the day's activities can be translated into
local issues, how secondary students can engage in similar
research projects, and how through inquiry-based science
teaching all students can achieve higher quality
learning. |
Supported by a grant from the