Wednesday, August 5, 2009: 10:30 AM
San Miguel, Albuquerque Convention Center
Monica M. Elser, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Background/Question/Methods We have been offering summer internships on urban ecology for Phoenix-area middle and high school teachers since 1999. These internships have focused on the urban ecology research carried out by scientists in association with the Central Arizona—Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Project. We have tried several different models and will share our experience in moving from a two-week program based at Arizona State University to a one-week program based within a local school district.
Results/Conclusions
Our research has shown that teachers have a better understanding of the urban ecosystem and some basic sampling protocols and experimental design. We have found that teachers incorporate some, but typically not all, of the ideas learned in the summer programs into their classrooms. We will discuss why have developed particular materials to help teachers incorporate aspects of the CAP LTER urban ecological research project into their curriculum.
