The title of this program is "Boston Harbor Marine Research Program for Teachers." Twenty well-prepared junior high school teachers will carry out marine research in Boston Harbor, focusing on a topic relevant to its pollution. Teachers will use a research vessel, oceanographic equipment and laboratory provided by Project Oceanology, a marine education center, and the University of Massachusetts/Boston. With the guidance of oceanographers and science educators, teachers will gain first-hand experience doing scientific research and will strengthen their understanding of the nature of science. The program will also help teachers translate their experience into teaching methods and transfer it to their own classrooms to engage their students in scientific inquiry. The program includes experimental design, laboratory investigations and field studies, data collection and analysis, presentation of results, and the design and testing of student research programs. During 1993 and 1994, teachers will implement and test student applications of this program in a special summer session for minority and under-represented students at UMass/Boston and in programs in their schools. Student programming will be designed and developed with the mutual support of their colleagues and the supervision of program staff. The program duration is 3 years, from Nov. 1, 1991 to Sept. 30, 1994. Non-NSF cost sharing is over 19% of the amount requested from NSF.
