National Science Foundation CCLI--Adaptation and Implementation Grant 0125540 (funded 2001; began project in 2002)
Project Summary
The Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga requests funds to develop, implement, and assess student-driven, hypothesis testing laboratory modules for introductory and upper level courses in our Environmental Science Program. Our project will provide students with field opportunities to conduct hypothesis testing by revising current laboratory curricula and improving field testing instrumentation. The targeted curricula either do not contain student-driven, field investigation components, contain limited field investigations due to lack of equipment, or do not offer a laboratory course due to lack of equipment. Investigative modules will be based on concepts developed by Switzer and Shriner (2000) and Eisen (1998) and successful models for field site investigations implemented at the Florida Institute of Technology, Northern Arizona University, and Middlebury College.
Our primary goal is to provide students with active and cooperative learning techniques to improve their understanding of the hypothesis-testing nature of science. Each module will require students to generate hypotheses for “environmental risk” to one of four common study sites. Individual groups within classes will test hypotheses on-site, analyze their data, present their results to the class, and conduct peer assessments of individual student and group work. Requested equipment will facilitate field investigations and student analysis, interpretation, and presentation of their data. Our assessment plan will determine if the implemented modules demonstrated improvement in student use of problem-solving skills and the scientific method to test hypotheses. The project results will be disseminated by presentation at scientific and education meetings, by web-site and instructor manual supplements, and by two GLOBE summer workshops for regional high school teachers and UTC student science teachers.
QUESTIONS used with students (.xls file)
Presentations
Handouts
Sample Peer Evaluation Forms and Rubrics
Other Student Handouts
Contact Information