The students in an environmental sciences class at Northampton High School in Eastville, Va., learned land navigation and ecology with the help of a new program that links them to the Virginia Coast Reserve Schoolyard LTER program.
"U.Va. is providing equipment to the high school -- from computers to handheld global positioning system (GPS) units -- as well as expertise and training for both the students and their teachers," said Randy Carlson, LTER site manager.
"We instruct the high school students in the proper techniques for making meaningful observations of events occurring in the environment," Carlson said. "The students and their teachers are likewise helping U.Va. research by providing ecological observations that are scientifically useful for determining long-term changes in the environment."
This summer, U.Va. faculty members also taught a graduate course in environmental sciences field methods for science teachers at Northampton. The teachers are able to apply those credits toward a graduate degree and are now better prepared to instruct their students in practical field science methods. "This kind of hands-on work can really charge up the students," said science teacher Tom Bonniwell.
Please find the full text of this article by Fariss Samarrai on the Inside U.Va. website:
http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2001/27/research.html