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Project Descriptions

LEAP - A Program of Informal Science Education

January 15, 1986 - June 30, 1989 | Public Programs, Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks, Informal/Formal Connections
Plantations, the botanical garden and arboretum of Cornell University, is developing a model program of informal education for elementary (K-5) school children. Project LEAP, Learning About Plants, will integrate the academic resources of Cornell University and the informal setting of its botanic gardens with the teaching of mathematics and science in local elementary schools. The project contains five components: 1) a conceptually-based curriculum of biology, ecology and agriculture which will include some components of SCIS (Science Curriculum Improvement Study) and OBIS (Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies); 2) a teacher training workshop to stimulate curriculum integration and modification; 3) multiple two-year visits between Plantations and local schools providing children with direct experience with plants and animals; 4) a quantitative program of curriculum development and evaluation based on learning theory; and 5) a plan for dissemination of the structure and instructional contents of this program. Because children will experience LEAP over a period of years, the complex and meaningful learning of concepts in science will be achieved in the earliest years of a child's education. Because LEAP is being designed to become a model program applicable to many institutions of informal education, two publications will be produced: a notebook which describes the overall structure of the program, and a handbook for teachers which presents the individual lessons of the curriculum and the theoretical background supporting the choice of curriculum material. The notebook will distinguish those elements of the program peculiar to Cornell and Plantations, and mechanisms through which the program can be adapted to other institutions. The project is being split-funded by the Instructional Materials Development and Informal Science Education Programs.

Funders

NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 8550295
Funding Amount: 485435

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Robert Cook
    Principal Investigator
    Cornell University
  • Discipline: Ecology, forestry, and agriculture | Life science | Mathematics
    Audience: Elementary School Children (6-10) | Educators/Teachers | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Public Programs | Park, Outdoor, and Garden Programs | Professional Development, Conferences, and Networks | Professional Development and Workshops | Informal/Formal Connections | K-12 Programs

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