Some very lucky middle school students in New York City are learning science and mathematics in a whole new way. Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), they’ve also been the first to test out a new mobile application to track how their efforts improve their local ecosystem.  

Last spring, 17 teachers from 13 middle schools met monthly with scientists to develop a new project based curriculum. Teachers created lesson plans and contributed their ideas and knowledge to a shared digital repository, which will eventually become widely available.

This fall that project-based science and mathematics curriculum has enabled many of New York City’s middle school students to conduct their own environmental field research in New York Harbor. Science lessons focus on marine ecology, water chemistry, and ocean engineering. The mathematics component, aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, includes linear equations, geometric functions, statistics, and computer programming.

The Billion Oyster Project

Students will participate in hands-on activities with the Billion Oyster Project, a 20-year initiative to restore native oyster populations to New York Harbor. Middle school students, in particular, lose interest in school when they don’t see clear connections between the lessons and their lives and community. This curriculum empowers students to actively work toward restoring their local environment.

Three years ago, Superstorm Sandy flooded homes and businesses near New York Harbor with a toxic sludge from the polluted waters. A large and thriving oyster population would have mitigated some of the damage by filtering the water, diminishing wave intensity, and reducing erosion. The new restoration science lessons and activities will not only build students’ skills and knowledge, but also give them opportunities to see how their own actions can have tangible benefits on the world around them.

The newly developed educational software allows teachers to take students out to several locations around New York Harbor and collect data and record observations on their local waterways and estuaries. As students grow oysters in New York Harbor, the mobile application will enable them to record survival and growth rates, identify multiple creatures (e.g. crabs and small fish) within the ecosystem, and monitor water quality. The interface will consolidate data from all users, allowing students to see what the environment looks like on a broader scale and track any changes that their efforts may have influenced.

A Partnership for Restoration

Over time, the overarching project is developing a new educational partnership model we call Curriculum + Community Engagement for Restoration Science. Partners include Pace University, New York City Department of Education, Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, New York Academy of Sciences, New York Harbor Foundation and Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, University of Maryland, New York Aquarium, The River Project, SmartStart E.C.S., and Good Shepherd Services.

The partnership will develop a replicable model of “restoration-based education” for other settings, species, and community partners. The model is based on principles of Problem Based Learning and Project Based Science, and on research indicating school lessons and student experiences are more meaningful and effective when linked to a local environmental restoration project of significance to the community.

For more information, please contact:

• Dr. Lauren Birney, Director of the STEM Center Collaboratory at Pace University
• Samuel Janis, New York Harbor Foundation’s Program Manager for the Billion Oyster Project

Also see the project’s website

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