PARENT SESSION
Oral Session # 18: Ecology Education I: K - 12.
Presiding: J Hanowski
Tuesday, August 5. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, SITCC Meeting Room 104.
Raising ecological awareness in preservice educators and elementary students through a cedar glade curriculum study.
Sadler, Kim1, Smith-Walters, Cindi2, 1 Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN2 Middle Tennesse State University, Murfreesboro, TN
ABSTRACT- The role of college biology faculty in preparing future teachers requires they develop not only knowledge but also a basic understanding of the nature of science. The cedar glade curriculum model was designed to raise ecological awareness in preservice educators and elementary students by teaching the processes of science through field study partnerships. Historically used as junkyards by local people, cedar glades serve as habitat to over 350 plant species, with more than 25 species endemic to the limestone glades. Viewing the cedar glades as a unique ecosystem composed of different plant populations, students select an endemic plant to research. Developmental plant processes are charted during the study; predictions and inferences are made about the plant and other plants in that zone. Within this contextual framework, the cedar glade study was designed to teach the processes of plant ecology in two tiers, by biology faculty teaching preservice educators and preservice educators in turn teaching elementary students through partnerships. Interdisciplinary in scope, the curriculum design integrates math, language, and visual arts. The instructional model involves concept formation (list, group, categorize), interpretation of data (identify relationships, make inferences), and application of principles (predict, explain, hypothesize, support, verify). The integration of these skills develops both the preservice and elementary students ability to use and develop scientific ways of thinking, and in turn enables them to apply what they know to their world beyond the classroom.
Key words: K-12, education, cedar glade