Connections
A collaboration with five Boston Public Middle Schools, Boston, Massachusetts.
Overview
The EcoTarium in engaged in a three-year program at five of Boston's Public Middle Schools working with teachers to integrate guided, open-ended inquiry teaching methods and computer technologies into lessons in alignment with Boston's Citywide Learning Standards and Curriculum Frameworks.
Summary
The EcoTarium, in partnership with
the Boston Public Schools Science Department, Center for Leadership
Development, and Office of Instructional Technology, is currently
working with middle school science and technology teachers from five
Boston schools to provide professional development on the integration
of computer technologies into the inquiry-based science curriculum in
alignment with the Boston Citywide Learning Standards.
An important goal of this three-year project is to build a community of teachers from the five middle schools to promote systemic reform. By the end of Year Three, participants are expected to have developed, revised, implemented and documented a model inquiry-based classroom lesson unit in alignment with the Boston CLS; taken leadership roles within their own schools; and effected widespread changes in their teaching practices and use of computers as classroom tools.
History
Connections is a three-year
project which began in June of 1997. During Year One of this project,
teachers participated in a five-day summer institute; two full-day
workshops; and six after-school workshops. In this time we have seen
teachers work with colleagues from their own school as well as with
colleagues at other participating schools. We plan to continue to
support these inter-school, intra-school, and cross-grade
collaborations by including additional science and technology
teachers, especially bilingual and special education
teachers.
See the Massachusetts DOE
profile for
the
Boston Public Schools,
Curley Middle
School,
King Middle
School,
Mann Community
School,
Thompson
Middle School,
or
Umana-Barnes
Middle School