Every year when snows strike, trucks scatter road salt to de-ice highways. This winter, SESP researchers will be preparing middle school teachers to implement an innovative science unit on the impact of road salt on the environment.
The Geographic Data in Education Initiative (GEODE) at SESP recently received a BP Leader Award to develop instructional materials and train Chicago-area teachers for this project. The goal is to engage students in environmental science by investigating how road salt is dispersed and how it affects plants, animals, drinking water, cars and roadways.
In recent years, environmental scientists have been studying the impact of road salt on ecosystems, and in the Chicago area the use of road salt for de-icing has come under question. "The GEODE Initiative places science learning in a meaningful context-within the students' own community," notes SESP assistant professor Daniel Edelson, the project director."Students will tackle a problem that real-world scientists are researching, and they will engage in a topic that directly affects their community," he says. "Additionally, we hope that the program's focus on environmental decision-making will prepare students to be more informed citizens and to understand the tricky balance between satisfying environmental concerns and human needs."
A key tool for the investigation is an award-winning geographic information system called My World GIS, which was developed by Edelson specifically for use in schools. This software for geographic imaging and data analysis will allow students to track salinity in the soil at various places and times.
To recruit and prepare teachers for this project, GEODE will offer professional development workshops focusing on science content, inquiry learning and technology training. These workshops will immerse teachers in the same investigations that their students will pursue. At the end of two days, teachers will have lesson plans in hand and will also have the skills needed for using My World GIS with their students. Follow-up coaching and online support will be available.
This project emphasizes hands-on investigations because the inquiry method has been shown to increase student motivation and science learning. For more than a decade, the GEODE Initiative has been a leader in the development of inquiry-based science curricula and software.
The project was one of seven honored with a BP Leader Award in 2006. It was chosen in the Lifelong Learning for Teachers category, which, according to BP, recognizes "creative programs that provide professional development and training opportunities for teachers that enhance content knowledge, instructional strategies and/or use of technology in the classroom to benefit the quality of K-12 energy, math and/or science education."
A panel of judges including community leaders, education experts and BP employees made the BP Leader Award selection. The panel rates programs based on how well they identify and address specific areas of need; create constructive solutions; provide tools for change; result in substantial, long-term progress; and serve as a model for shared learning.
Since its inception in 1994, the BP Leader Awards program has invested more than $4 million in 99 community-based organizations and schools in the Chicago area. "The need for exemplary energy, science and math education in grades K-12 has never been greater," says Margaret Laney, general manager of government and public affairs at BP America. "In the future, for example, we will look to today's youngest generation for alternative energy sources and aggressive energy conservation. The BP Leader Awards fund programs that help enhance education and interest students in energy, science and math. "
Last Modified: 8/14/09