EnviroTech- About

What is EnviroTech?
EnviroTech is an after-school environmental science and technology club developed for at-risk elementary school students in the Champaign, Illinois community. EnviroTech uses topics in environmental science and technology to engage students in activities designed to improve their literacy skills, science knowledge, and general attitude towards science, all of which are necessary for the students' future success in science courses in middle and high school. The program is a partnership between the Women in Engineering Program, Professor Timothy Strathmann in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Champaign Unit #4 School District.

Background and Significance?
“Not only is reading critical to the learning of science, science is critical to the learning of reading.” says Rowena Douglas of the National Science Teachers Association. A growing number of studies indicate that student performance in reading and science improves when the two topics are integrated. For example, a study of 25 Maryland classes found that 3rd grade students enrolled in a 4-month science-literacy curriculum advanced, on average, 1.5 grade levels in reading comprehension. According to the study’s author, young students have an innate attraction to science, and the topic is so important to them that it motivates the students to read.

Educational research suggests that many students lose interest in science between elementary and middle school. One recent study found that by the 7th grade, half of all children in the U.S. express no interest in science. With young students having such a strong interest in science, why do so many eventually lose interest and not elect to tackle the coursework needed to prepare for college and careers in science and engineering fields? Recent studies suggest that the answer to this question is poor student literacy. Proper understanding of scientific concepts frequently requires handling new vocabulary and written information. This presents a barrier to children with poor reading and language skills. As a result of these deficiencies, many students develop low self-confidence for information-intense subjects, and shy away from science and math despite strong interest in the underlying topics. International comparisons show U.S. students score lowest in language-intensive areas of science, e.g., biology.

Decreased interest and enrollment in advanced high school science and math courses is especially pronounced among minority students. Some reports have traced the under-representation of minority students in math and science to fundamental problems in language proficiency and reading ability. Problems in minority achievement are documented early on in elementary school. For example, according to the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) only 12% of African American 4th graders were proficient in reading and 10% were proficient in math (compared to 39% and 42% respectively for white students). It is logical then that resources and efforts should focus on closing the achievement gap in younger students. Projections by the US Department of Labor indicate that the work force is becoming increasingly diverse. By 2012, African Americans and Hispanics are projected to account for 12.2% and 14.7% of the U.S. labor force, respectively. A failure to address the minority achievement gap at an early age has strong, negative societal, workforce and economic consequences.

Target School
Booker T. Washington School is situated in the heart of Champaign’s low-income northeast neighborhood. BTW currently enrolls 251 students in grades K-5. The student population is 90% minority (43% African American, 42% Hispanics and 5% Asian/Pacific Islander) and 86% of the students are considered to be living in poverty as defined by eligibility for the federal school lunch program. BTW has below average state test ratings when compared to other schools within Champaign and the State of Illinois. BTW was designated as not meeting state-defined adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for years 2003 and 2004, but has met those goals in 2005 and 2006 by a very slim margin.

Curriculum

Academic Assessment
The plan for assessment and evaluation of the EnviroTech program includes four major components:

1. Ongoing informal instructor reflection of program activities
2. Formal program evaluation by UIUC outreach assessment and evaluation experts
3. Surveys of student interests and goals at the beginning and completion of program
4. An evaluation of student scores on state-administered reading and science tests

Informal evaluation of the program’s lessons will be continually conducted. After each lesson, the participating instructors will meet briefly and provide written reflective observations pertaining to the lesson (what worked, what didn’t and areas that could be improved). By continually reflecting, corrective actions can more readily be made.

Outreach Assessment and Evaluation specialists from UIUC’s College of Education will provide a formal formative and summative evaluation of the program. A formative evaluation will be performed after the first 4 weeks of the program, and is designed to validate or ensure that the goals of the instruction are being achieved and to identify areas in which the program can be improved. A summative evaluation will be performed at the end of the first year to determine how well students performed in the tasks and lessons within the program. By looking at the student group, the instructional designer can evaluate the learning materials and learning process.

All students that enter the EnviroTech program will have documented reading and/or science skills that are two grades below their grade level. We will measure the student’s progress using State of Illinois standardized tests. Literacy will be assessed using student scores on the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) non-fiction test, which will be administered at the beginning of each school year and again at the completion of the EnviroTech program. Science skills will be measured using the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) Science Test, which is administered at the completion of 4th grade. Permission to use test scores (without ascribing names) will be sought from parents when students enroll in the program. Scores will be compared against similar students not participating in the program.

Schedule
The program is scheduled for 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm on the following dates: