Epidemiology and the Energy Balance Equation

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad, long-term objectives of this project are to: 1) create a curriculum, called Epidemiology and the Energy Balance Equation, that develops middle school students' understanding of the science of epidemiology by exploring patterns of physical activity and diet and their health consequences; 2) prepare teachers to teach the curriculum by conducting professional development workshops; 3) evaluate the curriculum by determining the degree to which it is associated with improved scientific literacy, abilities in scientific inquiry, understanding of epidemiology, and knowledge of the physical activity and diet and their health consequences, and increased interest in science and careers in public health; and 4) disseminate the curriculum by having it taught by science, mathematics, and health teachers, in both middle and high school, and in a variety of venues. The curriculum will be created based on "backward design" curriculum development principles that call for first identifying epidemiology's "enduring understandings," then developing "authentic assessments" that will determine when students have grasped those understandings, and lastly, using the enduring understandings and authentic assessments as design specifications, for planning the learning experiences that will constitute the Epidemiology and the Energy Balance Equation curriculum. A Field-Testing Team, consisting of 10 pairs of science teachers from five different school districts, will prepare them to teach the curriculum by participating in a three-week, professional development workshop, during which each school-district pair of teachers will pilot-test the entire curriculum with groups of 10 students. The curriculum will field-test the curriculum in after-school Epidemiology and Public Health Clubs that are led by the Field-Testing Team teachers. During the field-test, using a pre-test / post-test, experimental / control group study design, we will test the hypotheses that exposure to the curriculum will improve scientific literacy, abilities in scientific inquiry, understanding of epidemiology, and knowledge of the physical activity and diet and their health consequences, and increase interest in science and careers in public health. Based on the above experiences, the curriculum will be revised, posted on an Epidemiology and the Energy Balance Equation web site, and disseminate it by leveraging government regulation, presenting at professional meetings, conducting professional development workshops, and adapting the curriculum for use by specific audiences. We will create a curriculum based on "backward design" curriculum development principles, called Epidemiology and the Energy Balance Equation, which develops middle school students' understanding of the science of epidemiology by exploring patterns of physical activity and diet and their health consequences. We will establish a Field-Testing Team, consisting of 10 pairs of science teachers, who are members on the Montclair State University Network for Educational Renewal, and prepare them to teach the curriculum in a three-week, professional development workshop, during which each pair of teachers will pilot-test the entire curriculum with groups of 10 students from Montclair State University Academically Gifted and Talented Youth Program. We will field-test the curriculum in after-school Epidemiology and Public Health Clubs that are led by the Field-Testing Team teachers. During the field-test, using a pre-test / post-test, experimental / control group study design, we will test the hypotheses that exposure to the curriculum will improve scientific literacy, abilities in scientific inquiry, understanding of epidemiology, and knowledge of the physical activity and diet and their health consequences, and increase interest in science and careers in public health. Based on the above experiences, we will revise the curriculum, post it on an Epidemiology and the Energy Balance Equation web site, and disseminate it by leveraging government regulation, presenting at professional meetings, conducting professional development workshops, and adapting the curriculum for use by specific audiences.