This teacher enhancement project is designed to prepare 80 intermediate grade/middle school teachers, from schools in Illinois and Kentucky, to incorporate social issues in the teaching of science through a case study approach to ecological and geological phenomena. Middle school teachers from 40 school districts have already participated in the program and have begun to implement the case study approach to science in their classrooms. This project will extend the approach to intermediate grade teachers and provide time for articulation between the two levels of the school system. The proposal writers have definitively described the differences in approach to be used at each level and have well developed plans for articulation of the two approaches in the schools. Principals of the schools from which the teachers come will also be involved and there will be an outreach to involve the communities in which the schools are located. The intermediate teachers will be involved in a four week summer program which will upgrade their knowledge of ecology and geology and introduce the case study approach to the study of social issues in these fields. Each will be required to develop an original case study to teach during the academic year. At the end of the workshop, the middle school teachers who have participated in the past two summers will join the intermediate teachers and work on articulation issues involved between the two levels. Extensive follow-up from college staff and a resource teacher, provided by the project, will assist in the academic year implementation of the project. A two day conference will be held in the spring. Personnel from regional environmental/ecological organizations will serve as consultants to the teachers and staff. The project staff is qualified to conduct the program, given its background in science as well as in the case study methods. Both institutions involved have a history of working closely with teachers in the region to foster and improve science education at the precollege level. Local school districts were involved in the planning of the proposal and are supportive of the activity.
