Environmental Health 'Science Take Out' Kits: Tools for teaching exposure science in the classroom - and beyond

摘要

In 2014, the COEC partnered with Science Take-Out on an NIEHS-funded Phase I STTR grant, "Science Take-Out Kits for Environmental Health Education" (1 R41 ES023706-01). This project developed a series of hands-on environmental health science kits for use in formal (middle/high school) and informal educational settings. Science Take-Out is a University of Rochester start-up company that was created in 2008 to disseminate educational materials developed by the UR's Life Sciences Learning Center. Science Take-Out kits are fully assembled "labs in bags" that require no teacher prep and no additional lab equipment. They provide teachers with a convenient and cost-effective way to infuse engaging hands-on wet lab and manipulative modeling activities into their existing curriculums. The COEC and Science Take-Out staff first generated 21 different environmental health kit ideas, and then used survey responses from 432 teachers to narrow these to a list of nine prototype kits based on important environmental health concepts, connections to teachers' existing curriculums, and relevance to students' lives. Each of these prototype kits was reviewed by a focus group of area secondary school teachers, whose feedback was used to refine the kits and select the top eight kits for pilot testing. Kit topics include: antimicrobials, pesticides, breast cancer, lead, lung disease, healthy homes, skin cancer, and water quality. Almost 700 teachers from throughout the US volunteered to pilot test the kits; of these, 32 were selected to conduct pilot testing starting in February, 2015. The pilot testing results were incorporated in the final editing of the new environmental health kits, which are now in production. At each stage of review, the COEC provided feedback on accessibility and community relevance of materials. Over the past year, we have worked with outreach programs around the country to pilot several of these kits in informal community education settings. STO and the COEC plan to continue to adapt these kits to produce versions appropriate for diverse community settings and audiences.