The Lynch School of Education and the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College are partnering with the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) to develop, test, evaluate and disseminate a year-long set of urban ecology course materials for use in high school-level capstone science courses. The standards-based materials emphasize locally-relevant field studies and incorporate principles of Universal Design for Learning and Educative Curriculum. Other features include (1) an on-line resource center that links to professional development resources, (2) a student-written urban environment newspaper called "Green Times," and (3) a writing support toolkit. Evaluation and research studies focus on measuring effectiveness of the materials in promoting content understanding, self-efficacy in science and inquiry abilities of students in urban high schools, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)
Application #
0628143
Program Officer
David A. Hanych
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2006-10-01
Budget End
2011-02-28
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$2,084,428
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston College
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Chestnut Hill
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02467