“This
year I had the opportunity to explore the world of science
-- I have always had a love of the environment and this has
given me the opportunity to explore it in a very interactive
way.”
- Bennett’s Millpond Project lead teacher
Statement
of purpose:
The National Science Standards speak the language of science
as they extensively outline the goals and objectives for quality
science teaching. The Bennett’s Millpond Project curriculum
seeks to match state and local science standards with the National
Science Standards focusing on a local environmental learning
site. The project design serves to inspire a spirit of inquiry
in teachers as well as students and establishes strong links
to the local community. It is a model of place-based education
with high academic standards, local service learning opportunities,
strong university outreach and extension, and teacher enrichment.
The design
of the Bennett’s Millpond Project curriculum is different
from a standard textbook curriculum because it illustrates two
different levels of classroom application. Students involved
in the research are typically self-directed learners, so the
Guided Research Modules are
a series of lessons that serve as a student guide for acquiring
the necessary background information to begin a research study
of the Millpond. Specific concept lessons
are also being developed as an extension of our work during
our Summer Millpond Academy and from ideas and data gathered
from the individual student research projects. These concept
lessons are tiered to fit the objectives of the middle or
the high school educator. The inquiry-based lessons have been
developed to focus on specific science concepts surrounding
water quality, meteorology, watershed properties and ecology
of our local study site. We invite you to study a “Millpond”
in your community and transfer our sample lessons to fit your
local study area.
The Science
House at North Carolina State University uses many sources of
effective curriculum that incorporate new technologies into
classroom teaching strategies. We wish to acknowledge Vernier
Software & Technology and their related instructional
materials, the GLOBE program,
as well as other reference books, and websites as significant
influences to the development of the Bennett’s Millpond
Project curriculum.
