Read how these Indiana schools are examples of best practices in action as they promote learning in their classrooms.
When students in Shannon Hudson’s 7th grade science classes at Tuttle Middle School of Crawfordsville Community School Corp. indicated that they were not aware of the water pollution in their community’s Sugar Creek, Ms. Hudson recognized an opportunity for students to learn about their community while educating others. She posed this question to her class: “How did Sugar Creek become polluted, and what is or is not being done to help clean it up?” With the help of a PRISM Summer Project Development Grant, Ms. Hudson, her science classes, and Jay Blackman, a Purdue University graduate student and technology expert, developed an interactive CD-Rom, Beyond the Delicate Banks: Protecting Our Sugar Creek Watershed, to educate their community, and they made it available for other communities which might have similar concerns.
Sugar Creek, once a very useful and beautiful stream that spans 14 counties in Indiana, had been stripped of its resources and contaminated by commercialization and industry over the years. “Students were shocked,” explains Shannon. “They wanted answers.” Several classes of students began accumulating and researching information to share in the areas of:
A digital story about Sugar Creek is told through pictures and information the students researched and wrote for the CD-Rom along with video interviews of a local university professor, a museum curator, and an agronomist. Also available is a Teacher’s CD that shares exceptional resources, such as a Teacher’s Guide, Water-Testing Tutorial, Waste Water Plant Simulations and Quizzes. Shannon notes, “Teach them young and plant the seed. They become aware of how to live their lives and preserve things for future generations.”
Troy Mitchell, G.I.S. (Geographical Information System) Coordinator for the City of Crawfordsville, has partnered with the Tuttle Middle School students to take the CD-Rom project a step further. The city is developing a nature park for environmental studies with educational trails and areas for visitors to study all types of environmental aspects of the community. The availability of water testing equipment, use of a G.P.S. (Global Positioning System) to record and map tree and foliage information, and a community museum with an interactive website will provide information about the environmental resources located there and ways to preserve them for future use.
The project provided an educational experience for the students, but also encouraged a community interest. Not only has the community become aware of the problems, they are seeking solutions. As these students learned about their environment, they also learned how to communicate as they presented what they had learned at various conferences and to Indiana legislators. Mr. Mitchell explains, “They have found that they can make a difference and that what they do serves a purpose.”
For more information about the Sugar Creek Watershed Project or to request a free copy of the interactive CD-Rom contact:
This article appeared in the ETC...and More! volume 2, number 2 newsletter and is published by the Buddy
Project
(Corporation for Educational Technology), in
collaboration with the Hoosier
Educational Computer
Coordinators (HECC),
Indiana Computer Educators (ICE),
the Indiana Department of Education, and Promoting Achievement through Technology and INstruction for all Students (PATINS).
Visit our BTLC Partner Web Site!
The Buddy Teaching and Learning Center site, www.btlc.org, is the place to find and register for quality professional development and technology training opportunities offered by the team of Buddy facilitators who are all experienced Indiana teachers and administrators.
Seventh grade science classes at Tuttle Middle School helped develop the interactive CD-Rom, Beyond the Delicate Banks: Protecting Our Sugar Creek Watershed, to educate theirs and other communities about water pollution.
This map shows the future site of a community nature park for environmental studies in Crawfordsville, resulting from students and a community working together for a purpose.
