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In today’s society, there is an increasing need to understand the impact of environmental exposures on human health. The Community Outreach & Education Program (COEP) of the Center for Research on Environmental Disease at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center develops and conducts programs to enhance K-12 science education, improve scientific literacy and increase public appreciation of research into the causes and prevention of environmental diseases, including cancer. An important goal of these educational programs is to provide scientifically accurate information that allows teachers and their students to make informed decisions about the environment and their health. To accomplish this goal, the COEP conducts a number of projects aimed at providing broad based support of the K-12 community through development of innovative classroom lesson and activity plans, novel curricula, professional development programs for teachers and career development opportunities for students. The Summer Institute is one of the COEP’s most important endeavors and is supported by several grants, including: (1) the MIDAS Project, funded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the NIH, (2) the CENTIPEDe Project, funded by the HHMI Precollege Education Program and, (3) the EXPORT Project, funded by the Center for Research on Minority Health of the NIH.
The MIDAS (Models of Implementation and Dissemination of environmental health and science Across Subjects) Project features a fully integrated implementation and dissemination model that uses environment as an integrating context (EIC) and incorporates environmental health and science (EHS) themes across the existing K-12 curriculum. The implementation model includes integration of new EHS education modules at both primary and secondary educational levels. Classroom activities are thematically coordinated through age-appropriate research and educational themes and enriched with a seminar series, a field experience program and student projects. All activities and modules are thematically interwoven into the existing curricular framework and are designed to exceed statewide scholastic requirements. The underlying conceptual basis is to provide a self-sustaining, integrated curriculum that utilizes existing local and accessible resources and infrastructure to provide classroom lessons connected to real world, inquiry-based learning experiences.
The Summer Institute serves as a curricular foundation for the integrated K-12 implementation model of EHS education by introducing new educational modules and materials and training teachers in their use. This professional development paradigm for improving environmental health and science education is used to disseminate new and innovative curricular materials developed by several of the nation's leading science research institutions.
In 2008, the COEP was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grant to fund the CENTIPEDe (Community Education Networks To Integrate Prevention of Environmental Disease) Project. The Project employs a “multipodal” approach to developing a comprehensive program to enhance EHS and disease prevention education, to promote scientific literacy and to stimulate community interest in biomedical research. CENTIPEDe is a partnership with the small rural town of Smithville, Texas, where our campus is located. Through this partnership, the Project seeks to tailor public health and science educational programs to meet the specific needs of rural residents, students and teachers in Central Texas. The unique location of our research facility allows us to work collaboratively to develop an exportable community education program that enhances public understanding of current research discoveries and encourages involvement in K-12 education.
As part of its focus on rural communities, the CENTIPEDe Project added a new Rural Schools Initiative (RSI) workshop at the Summer Institute. RSI introduces innovative, low cost field experiences that provide high quality, inquiry based, “real-world” learning for K-12 students at accessible venues in or near rural communities. The first RSI in 2008 included field experiences at the San Marcos Surface Water and Waste Water Treatment Plants, Aquarena Springs (a wetlands educational center) and the Texas Disposal System Landfill and Composting Facility.
In 2009, RSI will expand to include 2 days of activities. The first day will feature representatives from a variety of rural health, technical and technological employers. Rural science/technology employers will discuss the educational requirements for positions at their facilities and inform teachers about technical employment opportunities for rural students. The teachers will also have the opportunity to visit these facilities and investigate them as possible field experience venues for their students. Inquiry based lesson and activity plans, based on the skills needed for these positions, are provided at the workshop.
The Summer Institute is also supported by the EXPORT (Center of Excellence in Partnerships for community Outreach Research on health disparities and Training) Project, funded by the National Center on Minority Health & Health Disparities of the NIH. A major goal of Project EXPORT is to create educational programs for underrepresented minorities that increase awareness of and preparation for scientific, research and health-related careers. Project EXPORT creates an education, training and mentoring pipeline for minority students spanning from K-12 through undergraduate education to post-graduate science and nursing programs. EXPORT also supports recruitment and training of postdoctoral fellows in community-based participatory research and environmental health studies. As the Summer Institute is designed to address the needs of rural, underserved, minority and economically disadvantaged students, Project Export provides travel grants for teachers from Title 1 schools and supports development of new workshops that are responsive to the needs of teachers and students in these school districts.
Summer Institute, a component of the MIDAS Project, is supported by a