Brooklyn College of the City University of New York will carry out a project to upgrade the science preparation of elementary teachers. All students at the College, including elementary education majors, are required to complete a core science requirement consisting of four 2- credit science courses surveying the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, and geology. The project will build upon this core to develop five additional courses in science content and pedagogy. The courses will consist of an Interdisciplinary Natural Science Course and two pairs of education methods and science laboratory courses. The Interdisciplinary Course will provide the preservice teacher with a more in-depth learning experience in "pure science" which cuts across the science disciplines involving a variety of topics of interest to the teacher. As an example, an Interdisciplinary Course might investigate the chemical composition of rocks and minerals, the geological structure of the earth, and applications from physics involving energy and wave propagation during earthquakes. The education methods/science laboratory pair courses will link laboratory study of selected interdisciplinary science topics, such as Urban Environmental Chemistry or Biological Energy, with an examination of the various scientific processes of inquiry and of the students' learning processes and attitudes. The project also provide workshops and follow-up programs for teachers who will serve as mentors for students in the program, and the program will be infused with an urban multicultural perspective and bolstered by a support system for women and minority students. Brooklyn College's cost- sharing will be 33% of NSF's contribution.
