About the Eisenhower Project

Resources for Learning Science and Mathematics: The Community as a Classroom

K-12 science and mathematics teachers are being challenged to engage their students in addressing important real-world problems. Among those calling for the utilization of a range of community resources in addressing real-world problems and issues were members of a recent task force at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, which consisted of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay faculty members and K-12 teachers in area schools. Among the skills and competencies identified by the task force as vital for those entering K-12 classrooms is the ability to effectively utilize a wide range of resources, including those that exist in the community, to aid in student learning of science and mathematics. An additional concern that underlies this project is an analysis of the performance in science and mathematics by 8th and 10th grade students on last year's Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination. The large percentage of 8th and 10th grade students performing at the Basic or Minimal levels in both the CESA 7 District and throughout the state of Wisconsin is the cause for this concern, particularly because the percentage continues to increase as students progress through the curriculum. 

The primary objective of this project is to assist in-service and pre-service science and mathematics teachers at the middle and high school levels in the development of skills and resources which will enable them to effectively engage their students in addressing real-world problems and important societal questions and issues. It is an objective that is shared by the leadership in CESA 7, the local educational agency (LEA) for this project. The objectives of this project will be achieved by assembling five project teams that will address specific real-world applications or societal issues of relevance to students in northeast Wisconsin. Each team will consist of at least seven members including a UW-Green Bay faculty/staff member, a UW-Green Bay student, at least one community/ industry representative, and four in-service teachers. The four in-service teachers will consist of a high school mathematics teacher, a high school science teacher, a middle school mathematics teacher and a middle school science teacher. The charge to each team will be to identify and develop instructional materials related to the team's theme that can be used effectively and efficiently in middle and high school classrooms and laboratories. In addition, the instructional materials are to be clearly tied to one or more of the performance standards from Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards. After the instructional materials are tested in classrooms, systematic feedback will be solicited from participating teachers concerning the educational effectiveness of the materials and the curricular context in which they were utilized and tested. A dissemination conference will be held at UW-Green Bay during the summer of 2001 to which CESA 7 teachers will be invited. An additional conference hosted by the Institute for Learning Partnership will be held at UW-Green Bay during the summer of 2002. The conference will provide an opportunity to share the instructional materials developed as part of this project with a wider audience, to discuss the process involved in producing the instructional materials, and to discuss the implications for teaching and learning of science and mathematics at the middle and high school levels.

In short, the vision shared by all involved with this project is that science and mathematics teachers will become catalysts in helping our students understand how the concepts and skills they are learning in these academic subjects prepare them for life in the real world. In turn, it is anticipated that incorporation of real-world applications into science and mathematics instructional activities will provide motivation for learning and lead to enhanced understanding of these academic subjects. 

The Eisenhower project is funded through the United States Department of Education via the Eisenhower Professional Development Program.