The Rural School Science and Information Technology project serves rural teachers and students with a curriculum that focuses on applying three increasingly complex information technology applications (Geographic Information Systems, modeling/simulation and game development) to environmental sciences. Sixty teachers will receive summer training and continued support when they return to their classroom. Approximately 700 students over the three year period will attend a one-week summer camp and/or participate in after school clubs where teachers will develop curriculum as they master their IT skills. The curriculum is aligned with the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements as well as national technology standards.
INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The RSSIT project moves secondary science teaching beyond the use of GIS in the classroom to encompass innovative ways of looking at and manipulating scientific data. While a number of schools use GIS for mapping, few take the materials to a higher level through the modeling of real-world data and simulations based on that data. Placing real-world inquiry into a game development context is almost unheard of in the secondary context, despite the interest of many secondary students in computer games and the fact that many high quality games create plausible virtual worlds.
BROADER IMPACTS: The combination of training, access to sophisticated software and support for implementation provides an environment for successful classroom implementation and eventual dissemination. The assessment process advances teaching and learning by providing clear learning targets along with published criteria against which the teachers can measure their mastery of content and skills.
