Boston College will partner with scientists, science educators, guidance counselors and public school teachers and students to develop, evaluate and disseminate IT materials for integration into existing field-based urban ecology modules (such as the Ecoscenario module in FOSS and the bioacoustics module in Active Physics) for grades 7-12 in six schools within the Boston Public School district. The goal is to use information technology to engage 100-400 students and approximately 100 teachers in real-life, field-based, local investigations in urban ecology. Because the majority of students in the district are minority or economically disadvantaged and low performing, the project could eventually impact thousands of students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM careers and have reduced access to emerging information technologies. The project's design is research-based and meets documented IT and STEM needs of underserved populations.
