Urban Hydrology: A Means of Engaging Urban High School Students in the Geosciences

纽约布罗克波特州立大学学院的研究人员与罗切斯特市学区的教师合作，以城市水文学为主题，采用建构主义方法进行8到10次动手实验，开发了基于项目的学习方式。城市水文学主题既是研究环境问题的科学家感兴趣和关注的主题，也是学生每天都能看到的主题。这种方法有望通过相关主题吸引学生的注意力，并很容易转移到其他城市环境中，并提高不同城市学生在使用以探究式实践科学为重点的地球科学主题方面的技能和成就。整个项目和课程开发工作正在解决三个总体目标：1)让学生参与“做”科学，使他们更好地理解科学的本质；2)让学生更好地理解科学理论建立的现实；3)为学生提供使用现代设备的经验，使他们能够建立自己的强大数据集，培养项目的所有权，并使科学变得有趣。正在收集数据，以评估教师和学生对该项目和新开发的课程材料的反应。

Using a theme of urban hydrology, eight to ten hands-on laboratory experiences that employ a constructivist approach, project-based learning style are being developed by researchers at The College at Brockport State University of New York, in collaboration with teachers from the Rochester (NY) City School District. The urban hydrology theme is both one of interest and concern to scientists investigating environmental issues and one that students see on a daily basis. This approach is expected to capture students' attention using a relevant topic, easily transferred to other urban settings, and increase the skills and achievements of a diverse population of urban students in using inquiry-based hands-on science focused on geoscience topics. The overall project, and curriculum development efforts, are addressing three overarching goals: 1) to engage students in 'doing' science, to better enable them to understand the nature of science, 2) to have students better understand the realities upon which scientific theories are built, and 3) to provide students with experiences using modern equipment that enables them to build their own robust data sets, develop ownership of a project, and make science fun. Data are being collected to evaluate both teacher and student response to the project and newly developed curricular materials.