|
Barnard’s
Innovative Environmental Science Curriculum Brownfield Action
To Be Featured as National Model at SENCER Summer Institute
2003
|
|
New
York, N.Y— The innovative environmental science curriculum,
Brownfield Action, developed by Professor Peter Bower
at Barnard College, has been selected as a model of an innovative
science program by the Association of American Colleges and
Universities (AAC&U) with the goal of bringing the course
to other colleges and universities across the country.
The course was selected as a model of the ideals of SENCER
(Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities),
a project funded by the National Science Foundation to improve
science education and civic engagement. SENCER is part of
the Association’s initiative to encourage and sustain
large-scale, institutionalized science education reform.
Bower, who worked in cooperation with Columbia University’s
Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL), which
developed the interactive, digital space for the Brownfield
Action program, has been invited to attend the SENCER
Summer Institute 2003, August 8-12 at Santa Clara University,
as a model developer. In this role, Bower will collaborate
in the design and production of print and electronic materials
of the course for the SENCER model series, which will be distributed
by the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Bower will serve as one of the "faculty" members
at the Institute and assist in the publication of the SENCER
models at the conclusion of the five-year project.
Bower noted that, "Brownfield Action has now reached
the stage of dissemination and distribution and I hope that
we can be equally successful in bringing this curriculum to
universities, colleges, and secondary schools as well as to
the government and corporate sector."
Now in its fourth year, Brownfield Action is the foundation
for the Introduction to Environmental Science course at Barnard,
taught by Bower. The curriculum allows students to learn real-world
lessons about cleaning up environmental disasters through
a digital simulation that takes students through a semester-long
investigation of a contaminated factory site.
By exploring the simulated world contained in Brownfield
Action’s interactive space, students, paired-up as
environmental consulting teams, compete against each other
and assess the contaminated site, using principles of geology,
environmental science, physics, biology, along with historical,
legal and political knowledge gained in the classroom. In
addition to the simulation and lab exercises, the course uses
contemporary readings such as Silent Spring and Civil Action.
According to Bower, Brownfield Action is an enhancement
over traditional lab science courses, giving students ownership
of concepts and information, resulting in significantly improved
and more authentic student reports.
In April 2003, Bower, together with other science faculty
at Barnard and the technical staff from Columbia’s Center
for New Media Teaching and Learning, led an inaugural seminar
aimed at helping other schools adopt the program. The seminar
drew faculty members from Trinity University and Skidmore,
Wellesley, Connecticut, Spelman, Carleton, Lafayette, and
Rhodes Colleges, for an intensive two-day seminar supported
by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Center for Educational
Technologies.
Contact:
Petra Tuomi, 212-854-7907, ptuomi@barnard.edu
|
