Beyond the Campus: A Model for Integrating Informal Science Expertise into the Preparation of Preservice Science Teachers

跨学科(99)。布朗克斯动物园在为K-12教师提供环境科学教育方面有着悠久的历史。动物园的展品和藏品已经被用作影响教师改变的有力工具——无论是在他们教授科学的数量上，还是在他们教授科学的方式上。对早期第一阶段项目“超越校园”的独立评估表明，这个非正式的科学机构可以成功地与当地大学合作，促进教学变革，提高职前小学教师的科学知识。该计划提供了环境科学内容的背景，同时发展了未来教师所需的技能和知识，使他们能够轻松地教授科学并与其他所需学科相结合。在这个第二阶段的项目中，布朗克斯动物园在第一阶段试点成功的基础上，对其进行改进和实施，以用于其他地点，重点是美国各地历史上的黑人学院和大学。该计划的重点是环境科学和保护，它借鉴了许多学科，是一个理想的载体，说明如何将科学整合到课程中。更广泛的影响：本项目正在为不同种族的本科生开发一个以动物园为基础的环境科学教育职前教师教育计划。为了帮助职前教师开发符合标准的设施，作为他们课程作业的一部分，该项目的学生正在使用他们的州和地方标准，并为他们提供指导，使他们根据这些文件创建的科学课程和单元保持一致。该项目正在确定在何种程度上非正式科学机构和美国各地大学之间的教育合作可以在正式和非正式科学教育中建立多样性。智力优势：该项目正在为非正式科学机构设计一个国家模式，与大学建立重要的伙伴关系，以改善职前教师的培养。“超越校园”模式不仅涉及大学，还涉及一个高度重视和国家认可的研究机构和非正式科学机构——布朗克斯动物园。这个项目的结果告诉了其他非正式的科学机构关于设计满足职前教师教育项目需要的材料的挑战和有效机制。

Interdisciplinary (99). The Bronx Zoo has a strong history of providing environmental science education for K-12 teachers. The zoo exhibits and collections have been used as powerful tools for affecting change in teachers -both in the amount of science they teach and in the way that they teach it. An independent evaluation of an earlier Phase 1 project entitled "Beyond the Campus" showed that this informal science institution can successfully partner with local universities to promote pedagogical change and improve the science knowledge of pre-service elementary school teachers. The program provided background in environmental science content while developing the skills and knowledge needed for the prospective teachers to teach science comfortably and in tandem with other required disciplines. In this Phase 2 project, the Bronx Zoo is building on the successful Phase 1 pilot to refine and implement it for use in additional sites, with an emphasis on historically black colleges and universities across the United States. The program''s focus on environmental science and conservation, which draw upon many disciplines, is an ideal vehicle to illustrate methods for integrating science across the curriculum.Broader Impacts: This project is developing a zoo-based preservice teacher education program in environmental science education for undergraduate students of diverse ethnicities. To help the pre-service teachers develop facility with the standards, as part of their coursework, students in the program are accessing their state and local standards and are being provided with direction in aligning the science lessons and units they create with these documents. The project is determining to what extent this educational collaboration between an informal science institution and universities across the U.S. can build diversity in both formal and informal science education.Intellectual Merit: This project is designing a national model for informal science institutions to form significant partnerships with universities to improve pre-service teacher preparation. The "Beyond the Campus" model involves not only universities, but also a highly valued and nationally recognized research facility and informal science institution -- the Bronx Zoo. The results of this project are informing other informal science institutions about the challenges and effective mechanisms for designing material to serve the needs of preservice teacher education programs.