This is a pilot project designed to stimulate greater student interest in history and science in the middle schools by introducing them to major developments in the history of science and technology in their social studies courses. The project will focus on the world history course at grade seven and the United States history course at grade eight. Teachers from four school districts in northern California will take part in this project. To provide the teachers with the necessary knowledge about the history of science and technology, the project will organize summer institutes and school-year workshops. To help them integrate this knowledge into the existing history courses, the project will develop and field test a teachers guide consisting of lesson plans for teaching about the history of science and technology. The four participating school district will provide teachers to help develop the teachers guide, participants for the institutes and workshops, classrooms for field testing the teachers guides, and will adopt the lessons on the history of science and technology as part of their regular curriculum. The teacher lesson plans and videotapes of teachers using the new lessons will be made available to other school districts. The University of California at Berkeley is contributing in cost-sharing an amount that is equal to 25% of the NSF award.
