SUC2ES2

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DESCRIPTION (Taken from the Applicant's Abstract) The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) - School of Public Health (SPH), in collaboration with the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), will design a translatable model to enhance students' comprehension of, and interest in, environmental health sciences as well as improve student academic performance and workplace readiness life skills through the development and application of integrative curriculum units. This initiative, entitled SUC2ES2, (Students Understanding Critical Connections between the Environment, Society, and Self), is designed to benefit nearly 11,000 students and 180 teachers. SPH/EOHSI will collaborate with the Woodbridge Township School District, New Jersey State Department of Education, environmental health scientists, the Robert B. Davis Mathematics Education Institute and the Center for Program Evaluation and Measurement at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, and the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation to develop, implement, and evaluate three integrative environmental health units. The integrative units will teach health, language arts, math, and science to second, fifth, and eighth grades. ToxRAP (Toxicology, Risk Assessment and Pollution), an award- winning environmental health sciences curriculum series developed by EOHSI with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, will serve as the foundation for this program. Through integrative instruction, teachers and students will examine the relationship between human health and exposure to chemical and physical agents with a risk assessment and risk management framework. Units will be developed by a working group and be in adherence with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) subject-specific and cross-content workplace readiness standards and national standards. After development, each unit will be pilot-tested before district- wide implementation. All aspects of the project will be monitored and documented using process and outcome evaluation methods and qualitative and quantitative data. Grade-level appropriate instruments for assessing environmental health knowledge and attitudes and student mastery of academic subjects will be developed. Standardized student test scores will also be used. Both this model for collaboration as well as the integrative units will be applicable nationwide. Several dissemination mechanisms will be utilized including training teachers through the New Jersey Statewide Systemic Initiative Regional Center at the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University.