| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 15, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 22, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1141281 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
R. Corby Hovis
chovis@nsf.gov (703)292-4625 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $199,477.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $199,477.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1 COLLEGE DR BENNINGTON VT US 05201-6003 (802)440-4382 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
RT 67A Bennington VT US 05201-6003 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | TUES-Type 1 Project |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project is matching academic rigor with experiential, interdisciplinary learning in a sequence of two courses that ground students firmly in their place of study: Bennington, Vermont, and its environs. Former mill towns like Bennington dot the New England landscape. These are not the urban centers at the forefront of sustainable design; but neither are they rural outposts or quickly spreading suburbs. Through analysis of past resource-use regimes and human-environment interactions, students in this project are gaining insight into what a sustainable future could be.
The curriculum is designed mainly for juniors and seniors and for environmental studies students, although it is also appropriate for students concentrating in other disciplines, as well as students interested in learning more about their new college home.
The first course, "The Future of a New England Mill Town," provides the geographic specificity needed for students to understand how social, political, and biophysical processes influence each other. This introductory course highlights core STEM knowledge (from ecology, chemistry, geology, architecture, and psychology) central to sustainability issues, and it also examines how STEM knowledge and approaches are integrated in a larger societal whole through real problems in a tangible, localized setting.
The second course is an advanced projects course that involves individual internships with regional organizations during the college's seven-week, non-residential winter Field Work Term. In this course, students collaboratively design and implement case studies that address issues of sustainability in the Bennington region, drawing on qualitative and quantitative research methods from diverse disciplines. Results from projects are archived and compiled as a resource for partner organizations and as a catalyst for the development of future courses and projects.
While creating locally focused place-based curricula, the investigators are also developing teaching tools that have general applicability in integrating student experience with any locality. Ongoing relationships with local community organizations, K-12 teachers, other colleges in the region, and others with unique knowledge lay the groundwork for future collaborations. The investigators are organizing workshops to collaborate with other colleges and K-12 teachers. Local media are disseminating ideas generated from students' projects.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Project outcomes: The Future of a New England Milltown
Bennington College is a small liberal arts school in the Southwestern corner of Vermont whose student population lives and works in relative isolation form the surrounding community. One goal of this project was to overcome this divide by giving students the skills to understand any “place” by analyzing its geophysical landscape, historical development, social, cultural and economic characteristics. A second goal of the project was to use place-based pedagogy specifically to promote students interest in STEM field, STEM skills and general scientific literacy.
This grant provided the opportunity to explore these issues in a truly interdisciplinary manner by giving faculty the freedom to meet and construct two courses, one introductory and the other project-based, both team taught by a social scientist and a physical scientist. By integrating social science analysis with STEM skills this grant provided the students with a template of how to find out about a “place” from many different perspectives.
Outcomes:
- Students were exposed to the physical landscape by mapping the area, measuring water flow in rivers, walking around the town observing the function of buildings, talking to residents, and attending community functions. Community members gave presentations to the class and nearly every week there was a field trip related to topics discussed in the class. The students visited an organic farm, the site of iron deposits, Bennington’s former mill buildings, a contemporary water energy generation initiative, and other relevant sites.
- The second course in the sequence provided the opportunity for individual student projects concerning both conventional 'environmental' concerns (e.g., GIS-based studies of effects of recent highway development and land-use change on habitat fragmentation) and town-planning questions (e.g., pedestrian-friendliness of Bennington's downtown, development of multi-purpose trails linking Bennington and surrounding neighborhoods and businesses, debates about siting of photovoltaic farms). Some of these projects came directly out of contacts made from field trips or class speakers.
- A direct outcome of our contacts in the community was our ability to follow-up on a local issue of PFOA contamination of local wells in the area, a direct consequence of the Chemfab plant in the town of North Bennington. Three faculty members, following the interdisciplinary model, offered a course describing the chemistry, geology and anthropological issues generated by this contamination. Students collected water samples, went to community meetings, and analyzed patterns of well contamination in the area.
- We have found that creating an interdisciplinary course that integrates STEM skills as well as social science techniques is difficult and takes time. We felt that this investment was worth it as it has already contributed to the design of the subsequent PFOA course.
Impacts on Students:
As measured through pre-post course self-assessments of conceptual knowledge, skills, and attitudes, participants in the Mill Town courses experienced
- A statistically significant increase in their understanding of scientific concepts and overall scientific literacy
- A statistically significant increase in their use of STEM and non-STEM research tools/practices to understand a given issue.
A majority of students also reported
- An improved affective orientation toward the Bennington community
- An intention to alter the quality and/or frequency of the engagement with the community as a result of having taking the course.
Impacts on Faculty:
All faculty associated with the project reported an increased understanding of STEM or non-STEM approaches to understanding issues in the community – that is, perspectives that differed from their own disciplinary backgrounds.
Last Modified: 09/19/2016
Modified by: Janet Foley
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