Active investigation of students engaging in problem solving in natural settings has consistently been shown to greatly benefit their learning process. They gain skills and knowledge, while increasing their interest, aspirations, and motivation to learn more. But how can we provide these rich opportunities in densely populated urban areas where resources and access to natural environments are limited? The Curriculum + Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS) project has developed and begun testing an educational model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation's largest urban school system. Middle school students study the New York Harbor estuary and the extensive watershed that empties into it, while conducting field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats. This project builds on the existing Billion Oyster Project, and is being implemented across different settings by a broad partnership of institutions and community stakeholders, including Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, the Columbia UniversityLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Harbor Foundation, the New York Aquarium, the River Project, the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, and Good Shepherd Services. Keywords: community, curriculum, New York Harbor, restoration science, middle school, STEM-C
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Curriculum and Community Enterprise for New York Harbor Restoration in New York City Public Schools
Abstract Active investigation of students engaging in problem solving in natural settings has consistently been shown to greatly benefit their learning process. They gain skills and knowledge, while increasing their interest, aspirations, and motivation to learn more. But how can we provide these rich opportunities in densely populated urban areas where resources and access to natural areas are limited? The Curriculum + Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS) project has developed and begun testing an educational model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation's largest urban school system. Middle school students study the New York Harbor estuary and the extensive watershed that empties into it, while conducting field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats. This project builds on the existing Billion Oyster Project, and is being implemented across different settings by a broad partnership of institutions and community stakeholders, including Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Harbor Foundation, the New York Aquarium, the River Project, the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science, and Good Shepherd Services.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1440869
- PAR ID:
- 10020756
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Psychology research
- Volume:
- 6
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 2159-5542
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 466-472
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Research consistently shows that children who have opportunities to actively investigate natural settings and engage in problem-based learning greatly benefit from the experiences. They gain skills, interests, knowledge, aspirations, and motivation to learn more. But how can we provide these rich opportunities in densely populated urban areas where resources and access to natural areas are limited? This project will develop and test a model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation's largest urban school system. Middle school students will study New York harbor and the extensive watershed that empties into it, and they will conduct field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats. The project builds on the existing Billion Oyster Project, and will be implemented by a broad partnership of institutions and community resources, including Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Harbor Foundation, the New York Aquarium, and others. The project focuses on an important concept in the geological, environmental, and biological sciences that typically receives inadequate attention in schools: watersheds. This project builds on and extends the Billion Oyster Project of the New York Harbor School. The project model includes five interrelated components: A teacher education curriculum, a student learning curriculum, a digital platform for project resources, an aquarium exhibit, and an afterschool STEM mentoring program. It targets middle-school students in low-income neighborhoods with high populations of English language learners and students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields and education pathways. The project will directly involve over forty schools, eighty teachers, and 8,640 students over a period of three years. A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods research plan will be used to assess the individual and collective effectiveness of the five project components. Regression analyses will be used to identify effective program aspects and assess the individual effectiveness of participation in various combinations of the five program components. Social network mapping will be used to further asses the overall "curriculum plus community" model.more » « less
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The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor withNew York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS) seeks to integrate harbor restoration activities with science teachers inorder to provide their students with experiential learning through environmental impact in New York City with thevision that public school students in New York City can benefit from environmental science and experiential learningwork through authentic research, data collection, and experimentation. The purpose is to engage science teachers withexperiential learning opportunities in the New York Harbor that helps them create engaging lessons for their ownstudents. It was found that teachers responded most positively to workshops that included hands-on activities,specifically the oyster restoration station trainings, classroom oyster tank setups and activities with scientists. Teachersreported that the BOP-CCERS program prepared them to support student learning of the program content and scientificresearch activities. Students who engage in real-world science are more likely to see the relevance of science and seethemselves working toward a career pathway in STEM.more » « less
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The Billion Oyster Project and Curriculum and Community Enterprise for the Restoration of New York Harbor withNew York City Public Schools (BOP-CCERS)(NSF DRL 1440869/PI Lauren Birney) program is a National ScienceFoundation (NSF) supported initiative through collaboration by multiple institutions and organizations led by PaceUniversity. Partners on this initiatitve include Columbia Lamont Doherty, the New York Aquairum, the New YorkHarbor Foundation, the New York Academy of Sciences, the River Project, Good Shepher Services, SmartstartEvaluation and Research, the University Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Fearless Solutions. Inthis study, teachers from one cohort were paired with teachers from a succeeding cohort in order to facilitate amentoring process between the two cohorts. This allows for teacher ambassardors to have a support structurethroughout the program, seek integral feedback, modify teaching techniques, integrate project research and establishlong term partnerships within the project team.more » « less
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