Students of the Champion LC, 2008
Photo by Holly Wells
The Innovative Role of High School Students in Curriculum Development for High School Students
The learning community model fosters the interaction of people with different skills to promote effective learning by students. Students are usually not included in the process of curriculum development until testing of a predeveloped course, if they are included at all. The ISLS Academy asks high school students directly to be part of the process of developing a curriculum that is exciting, effective and important to the students, their classmates and the community in which they live.
Benefits of Becoming an ISLS Academy Scholar
Each ISLS Academy Scholar will receive
- A $300 stipend,
- 3 credits of high school and college/university credit
- A netbook laptop - technology to be used throughout the Academy;
- Paid participation at the 2010 Learning, Libraries, and Technology conference in Columbus Ohio (registration, meals, and transportation included);
- Paid participation in the ISLS Summer Institute at Hiram College (June 11 - 18); and
- Paid participation in 4 workshops associated with the Academy.
Preparing for Success and Learning in College
Our ISLS Academy is modeled on a highly successful program to aid in the transition of students from high school to college funded by the National Science Foundation at the Shoals Marine Laboratory. Our summer institute immerses students in inquiry based hands-on learning environments where they will be introduced to best practices the application of learning theory and technology to improve student learning. By being a part of an institute where everyone is part of a team designing curricular materials that incorporate these effective learning tools, students will be preparing for success in future science courses.
Technology
Participants will find out about uses of technology in teaching science thorough workshops with learning community activities on effective use of:
- iGoogle,
- Google docs, sites, and groups,
- Blogger,
- Picasa,
- webpage development using HTML,
- Netbooks in science education,
- Photoediting,
- Science information databases, and
- Field science equipment and programs including laser levels, water monitoring equipment and plotting software and,
- Introduction to Moodle and SAKAI, Ohio's Open Source Course Management System, and enrollment of your district in the Open Source Pilot Program for Sakai of the Ohio Learning Network.
Learning
Participants will also be exposed to techniques and tools for promoting effective learning in science including:
- Experimental design planning sheets,
- learning according to disciplines,
- preparing for and taking tests,
- critical thinking and reading of texts,
- writing scientifically,
- effective methods for transmitting scientific discoveries
- teaching and learning styles
The exact materials to be covered in the institute will be determined in part by consultation with the 10 Academy High School teachers during the mid-Spring Pre-Conference workshop.
Visible Products of Participation
Application to colleges and universities will be enhanced by the product of each learning community. Curricular materials will be evidence of individuals' participation in science and science education as a high school student. And learning community materials will be visible on the web. Participating students will also be part of your learning community's submission of a paper at the Learning, Libraries, and Technology Conference (LLT), Ohio's premiere showcase for Learning and Technology each year in Columbus. Last but not least, students make contribution to improving their own community by helping to develop educational materials that focus on improving the water leaving the local watershed on its journey down the Cuyahoga River. This will have a lasting benefit, we hope, long beyond the summer of 2009.