Interdisciplinary (99). The Bronx Zoo has a strong history of providing environmental science education for K-12 teachers. The zoo exhibits and collections have been used as powerful tools for affecting change in teachers -both in the amount of science they teach and in the way that they teach it. An independent evaluation of an earlier Phase 1 project entitled ""Beyond the Campus"" showed that this informal science institution can successfully partner with local universities to promote pedagogical change and improve the science knowledge of pre-service elementary school teachers. The program provided background in environmental science content while developing the skills and knowledge needed for the prospective teachers to teach science comfortably and in tandem with other required disciplines. In this Phase 2 project, the Bronx Zoo is building on the successful Phase 1 pilot to refine and implement it for use in additional sites, with an emphasis on historically black colleges and universities across the United States. The program''s focus on environmental science and conservation, which draw upon many disciplines, is an ideal vehicle to illustrate methods for integrating science across the curriculum.
Broader Impacts: This project is developing a zoo-based preservice teacher education program in environmental science education for undergraduate students of diverse ethnicities. To help the pre-service teachers develop facility with the standards, as part of their coursework, students in the program are accessing their state and local standards and are being provided with direction in aligning the science lessons and units they create with these documents. The project is determining to what extent this educational collaboration between an informal science institution and universities across the U.S. can build diversity in both formal and informal science education.
Intellectual Merit: This project is designing a national model for informal science institutions to form significant partnerships with universities to improve pre-service teacher preparation. The ""Beyond the Campus"" model involves not only universities, but also a highly valued and nationally recognized research facility and informal science institution -- the Bronx Zoo. The results of this project are informing other informal science institutions about the challenges and effective mechanisms for designing material to serve the needs of preservice teacher education programs.
