The
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (WWNFF) and the Princeton
Environmental Institute (PEI) are collaborating on a program
to provide secondary science teachers with instructional research experiences.
National
Science Education Standards (NSES) are examined related to the
following exploratory topics:
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Feedbacks and their consequences
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Causes and consequences of biodiversity loss
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Climate and environmental change
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Ecosystems processes, functions and utility
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Resource uses, conflicts, and alternatives
The 2000 institute
began with
an examination of an environmental system common to many locales:
a watershed. This investigation involved field work, research, analysis,
testing, comparison of results and reports of findings. The institute
continued with content lectures and discussions with eminent professors
and researchers from Princeton, Rutgers, and entities across the
country. Participants worked with researchers in a laboratory
or field setting while studying topics such as tree biodiversity,
impacts of CO2, environmentally responsible development, and weather
modeling. Each mentor group recorded their research and findings
in a web format. These web resources are used by teachers and students
in the U.S. and around the world.
As an integral
part of each day's activities, WWNFF faculty and teacher-participants processed
what they observed and learned in light of NSES, how
the 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.
  
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Supported
by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
