Watershed-Integrated Sciences Partnership (WISP) between UMassBoston and Local School Districts

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PROJECT SUMMARY Teacher-Fellow teams in seven Middle Schools (Harbor, McCormack, Woodrow Wilson, Lewis, and Gavin Middle Schools in the Boston Public Schools; Pierce Middle School in the Milton Public Schools; Dedham Middle School in the Dedham Public Schools) located within the Neponset River watershed are adapting existing instructional materials such as FOSS kits to use a study of the local watershed as a unifying theme for middle school science. Data is being gathered from the school playground, the students' backyards and the larger community surrounding the participating schools. Inter-school information exchange enables the students at each school to relate their situation to the larger picture and the community of schools can collaborate to gain a sense of conditions within the entire watershed. Quantitative examples and activities are being emphasized in order to hone students' mathematics skills, reinforce the existing mathematics curriculum, and demonstrate mathematics' relevance to science and everyday life. Fellows receive a Summer Teacher Training workshop in pedagogy, state and national frameworks, and effective classroom management. Each Fellow is then teamed with a middle school Teacher in a weeklong Summer Environmental Science Content Institute that uses specific examples and hands-on activities within the watershed to strengthen the Teachers' and Fellows' science content knowledge and concept understanding. In addition to their classroom duties, Fellows are required to take a specially developed course, Teaching Environmental Sciences and Technology. (TEST), that provides continuing pedagogical and content training. Five daylong workshops are held for all Fellows and Teachers during the school year to exchange information and experiences and provide additional content and pedagogical material. A 1-credit spring seminar is used as a base to allow one cohort of Fellows to pass on their experiences and knowledge to the next. Special events such as canoe trips, river cleanups, Boston Harbor cruises, and citizen science activities help foster a sense of connectedness across municipal boundaries. WISP will be evaluated internally by a science pedagogy faculty member and externally by the Educational Development Center, Inc. of Newton, MA. The broader benefits of the program accrue to the Fellows, the teachers, the middle school students and the institutions involved. The Fellows are developing the interest, skills, and commitment necessary to be actively engaged in K-12 education throughout their scientific careers. Teachers are gaining environmental science content knowledge and enhancing their ability to teach science curricula and to reflect on their teaching practices. Middle school students are gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation for science and mathematics. A set of school districts diverse in size, ethnicity and socio-economics and the University of Massachusetts, Boston are developing a shared learning community focused on common needs and shared resources. Title: A Watershed-Integrated Sciences Partnership (WISP) Institution: The University of Massachusetts--Boston PI/co-PI: Robert F. Chen, William E. Robinson, Michael Shiaris, Clara Jennings, and Marilyn Decker, Partner School Districts: Boston Public, Milton Public, Dedham PublicFunding: $1,497,458 total for 3 yearsNumber of Fellows/year: 10 Graduate and 3-5 Undergraduate Grade Band: Middle School Setting: Urban, suburbanDisciplines: Geosciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Sciences