Measuring Vegetation Health NASA
Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Beaudry, College of Education & Human Development
Co-PI: David Silvernail, College of Education & Human Development
Funder: NASA through the Museum of Science, Boston, MA
Project Period: Five year grant
The purpose of the grant is to increase students´ understanding of vegetation, trees and plants, as important indicators of changing environmental conditions. Participants in the grant develop learning activities about how plants and trees respond to a variety of environmental factors, understanding current ways to monitor the response of plants and trees to environmental changes, and how natural and human processes influence environmental conditions. The grant focuses on middle school and high school students.
This project involves a cooperative agreement between the Museum of Science in Boston, MA and the University of Southern Maine. The funding source is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The evaluation of "Monitoring Vegetation Health" will be a mixed methods approach, including both quantitative methods, such as surveys and analysis of test scores, and qualitative, case study methods. Each year of the program will be matched with appropriate evaluation data collection strategies and evaluation products. The early stages of the evaluation will consist of interviews using both individuals and focus groups. Feedback will be given in reports and in presentations. For the workshop and implementation phase of the project, surveys will be used to gather data on teachers´ perceptions and the effects on classroom practice on a large scale. Finally, a study of the impact of the project will focus on teachers´ classroom practices in inquiry-based science and students´ achievement of learning goals on classroom assignments. Qualitative and quantitative data will be analyzed to examine key variables such as rural and urban schools, teachers´ scientific, educational background, and level of implementation. State science and national science standards will be evaluated and comparisons of standards across states (California, Indiana, New Hampshire, Maine, other participating states) will be made.