Igniting Streams of Learning in Science (ISLS) represents an effort to enact global change through education reform. The traditional model of science education that focuses on standarized testing, learning from a book and doing cookie-cutter laboratory activites has not served our young people well. In fact, it has driven many bright individuals with diverse beliefs and backgrounds away from science, leaving behind only a small subsection of our society to participate in scientific endeavors.
As a result, our society is facing some of the greatest challenges ever encountered in human history. We have begun to ignore the environment and our impact - from global warming and climate change, to peak oil, to the destruction of natural habitats, to the eroding of sustainable practices that have served humanity well for centuries. One hope to counteract these crises is to engage as many young people as possible in real science that empowers them to contribute to the global scientific community while they're still in high school.
Through participation in ISLS, these students learn what it means to be a real scientist by performing actual experiments related to their local environment and then submitting those data to the appropriate governing agencies. They also take back what they've learned to their home school to develop a learning object that can impact their local environment and community. Thus, the initial effort of education reform is spread throughout schools and communities as students take real ownership of their own learning.