Richard Lee, leere@muohio.edu
Science Education
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Environmental Science for Elementary School Teachers (ESEST)
The goal of this professional development program is to provide elementary school teachers with the necessary science content knowledge and training to teach their students using inquiry-based approaches that will improve their student’s performance on Ohio's Achievement Test Outcomes. This program, offered in collaboration with Robert McWilliams, Department of Geology, has been taught each summer for the past 13 years (~1070 participants to date) with the support of a series of one-year grants from the Eisenhower or the Improving Teacher Quality Professional Development Programs. Each summer two sessions of a two-week field course are conducted at Miami University's Geology Field Station near Dubois, Wyoming (course announcement).
By its nature, environmental science is ideal for across the curriculum science teaching because it integrates ideas and information from earth science, geology, life sciences, mathematics and many social sciences, and specifically includes a large number of Ohio's Science Academic Content Standards Benchmarks. Based on a nationwide assessment that identified characteristics of high-quality professional development programs (Garet et al., 2001), our program focuses on content knowledge and providing opportunities for collective, active "hands-on" learning by teachers in an immersion-type program of extended duration. A follow-up workshop (17 contact hours, one graduate credit) at Camp Ohio located near Utica, Ohio, for the same 85 participants centers on implementing environmental science across the Ohio elementary school curriculum.
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MAT in the Biological Sciences
In each of the last eight summers, Richard Lee has taught or coordinated up to four courses for in-service teachers in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program in the biological sciences. Typically teachers complete the program in four summers. Additionally, he was active in the development and teaching of a track in the MAT program that provides elementary teachers with a biologically-based course of study. This program was supported by three successive HHMI Undergraduate Biological Sciences Education Program grants to Miami University from 1989-2002.
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Outreach
Outreach is an important component of Richard Lee's NSF-supported Antarctic research program. For three consecutive years, the field team will communicate research progress to elementary and secondary school classes from Palmer Station by website (The Antarctic Connection) and through the publication of hands-on, inquiry-based articles to stimulate interest in an Antarctic biology and scientific research. In addition, Richard Lee is available for speaking engagements.
Other outreach efforts include on-site tours of our laboratory and involvement with Miami University's Science Alliance.
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OPP-0337656, IOB-0416720, and IOB 0416750. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).