9555710 Cristini This project extends the PI's prior work with weather data in grades 4-5 to data collection and modeling of the state watershed in grades 6-8. Each year, seventy-five teachers from New Jersey and New York receive training during the summers at Ramapo and continued support throughout the school year. In total, the project reaches over 90 schools in the region and 225 teachers directly. Another 675 teachers are involved through the participating teachers. The goals of the project are to create and support an environment that engages teachers and students in authentic investigations and to support these in a "seamless blending of science, mathematics and technology." The project advances inquiry in middle school grades through long term studies on the Passaic/Hackensack watershed, which extends through northern New Jersey and lower New York state. The studies include the linkages between: (1) remotely sensed images (Landsat, SPOT); (2) student-collected environmental data; and (3) historical data. These linkages are integrated using a Geographical Information System that allows teachers, and subsequently students, to interact with the data for problem solving and prediction. Cost sharing is 44%.
