Students work on an urban ecology project organized by Boston College.
NSF Lauds Urban Ecology Project
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An urban ecology project launched by Boston College faculty that is succeeding in directing students both to study in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and to consider careers in these critical areas has been deemed an exemplary program by the National Science Foundation -- one of only a handful of programs in the US to receive this distinction.The project also was among those highlighted at a forum for local government, industry, academia and the public to consider ways of strengtheningÊthe national security STEM workforce. Massachusetts Lt. Governor Timothy P. Murray joined science and technology industry leaders, researchers and faculty at the The National Defense Industrial Association/Aerospace Industries Association Joint STEM Workforce Committee Meeting at BC on June 15-16 to discuss the state's need for high-quality STEM education programs to prepare future graduates for the demands of the workforce.
At the conference, BC representatives presented an overview of the urban ecology project that combines hands-on science education with college and career readiness.
BC's Lynch School of Education and Environmental Studies Program, in collaboration with the non-profit Urban Ecology Institute, have been using geospatial and visualization technologies to boost knowledge of the urban environment among high schools students and their teachers. Each of the program's three major components also is usedÊto promote the exploration and consideration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors and careers.
A diverse team of faculty from different BC departments, as well as a focus on science at the neighborhood level, has enabled the programÊto work collaboratively with both the students and the educators.
"Teachers like what we're doing," said Lynch School Associate Professor Mike Barnett, a co-investigator on the five-year-old program, which received $1.4 million in funding from the NSF's Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program. "We try to get students to answer questions that are locally significant to them. Kids in Boston or Washington, DC, may not want to study the Grand Canyon. But they do want to study the ecology of their environment."
In addition to Barnett, the project team includes Professor of Education David Blustein, BC Environmental Studies Program Director Noah Snyder,Êthe Urban Ecology Institute and American Forest, which provides unique ecological-modeling software.
Recently, to strengthen the college preparation aspect of the program, the Lynch School's College Bound program, directed by Catherine Wong, joined as an integral partner in the project. College Bound works with students from Brighton High School and the West Roxbury Education Complex. Students attend an intensive summer program, weekend classes and follow-through with in-school instruction from their high school teachers.
During the first four years, the program conducted a summer institute attended by more than 200 inner city students, 80 teachers, and 15 school counselors, Barnett said. Of the 75 students who have graduated and participated in more than two years of the program, 45 of them went on to major in a STEM field in college.
The program has expanded beyond Boston to other Massachusetts school districts, and also includes teachers in Maryland, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia, Barnett said. These teachers have implemented corresponding curriculum materials during the academic year that have impacted an estimated 8,000 students.