The Community Outreach and Education Program of the MIT CEHS has a strong record of success in K-12 educational outreach activities. In response to reviewer criticism, we plan to build on this foundation of success and transition the outreach activities to include a broader audience. Our philosophy for focusing on K-12 has always been one of long-term benefit, in that, we believe that the task of educating the public about the connections between the environment and health is best served in the long-run by working with the future leaders in their formative years. In a speech entitled, """"""""Science as Patriotism,"""""""" NSF Director Dr. Rita Colwell stressed both, """"""""the primary importance of a scientifically literate citizenry,"""""""" as well as, """"""""the responsibility of the science and engineering community to meet that goal."""""""" Dr. Colwell went on to give this recent example of how misinformation can breed chaos and hysteria: During the anthrax scare many public officials and private citizens believed that the disease was contagious, a misconception that exacerbated public concern and stress. However, perhaps more compelling than this conspicuous illustration are the large and small daily decisions faced by citizens. Increasingly the public must interpret scientific information in order to make good decisions for themselves and for their community. Nowhere is this more important than in the arenas of human and Environmental Health. Rising to responsibility called out by Dr. Colwell, the primary goal of the MIT Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP) is to promote community-level scientific literacy with a variety of programs targeted to students and their teachers in grades four through undergraduate and to the broader community of Eastern Massachusetts through an emerging set of programs involving local museums and educational centers. To achieve this goal the MIT COEP is committed to the following objectives: 1. The development of supplemental materials and activities that augment existing curriculum by reflecting recent advances in environmental health sciences. 2. The provision of support and learning enrichment for Boston-area teachers. 3. The mentorship and training of young scientists on the mechanisms and importance of outreach. 4. The development of family-oriented educational activities presented to the general public through events at local museums.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 970 publications
