The Impact of a Professional Development Program on Teachers' Understandings about Watersheds, Water Quality, and Stream Monitoring

Abstract

Professional development programs should provide teachers with experiences that develop their knowledge and skills to integrate environmental field studies into their school curriculum. This article reports on a professional development model that engaged teachers in designing and conducting local environmental science research projects. An overview of the professional development model is provided and evaluation data are reported, detailing the impact of the professional development model on teachers' understandings about watersheds, water quality, and stream monitoring.

Key Words:

• Key words:
• environmental education
• professional development programs
• stream monitoring
• watersheds
• water quality

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jim McDonald

Daniel P. Shepardson is an associate professor of Science Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Jon Harbor is a professor of Environmental Geo-sciences, Barbara Cooper is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Physics, and Jim McDonald is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana.