EcoScienceWorks is an NSF ITEST project for seventh and eighth grade science teachers and students in Maine. Its major goal is to develop computer-based curriculum for the Maine laptop program that will spur student interest in computer modeling in science.
Field Test - November 2006
During the fall, teachers field tested the EcoScienceWorks curriculum in their classrooms. In the photos below, students in a Maine middle school science class explore what happens to the multiple trophic levels in a Maine lake when a top predator, like pike, is introduced. To help students understand the dynamic changes at the various trophic levels, the teacher has them predict what will happen by becoming a "Human Bar Graph." To test their predictions, students perform the "experiment" in the EcoBeaker: Maine ExplorerTM Lake Invaders lab.
Year 1: EcoScienceWorks teachers and students...
reported satisfaction with the project from the summer session
The project's external evaluator, Dr. Judith L. Johnson of JohnSilver Associates, reported, "Teachers and students alike expressed their comfort with and enthusiasm for the time spent working on and learning about ecology related concepts. More than 50 individuals were involved in this endeavor and overall, the rich interaction that took place was commendable. Moreover, there appeared to be a strong connection among teachers who had been given the task of developing something that would benefit many Maine students over the next years. And, their commitment to teaching was evident when put to the test of actually teaching a small group of soon-to-be 8th graders in an informal setting. Cooperation and respect among all participants prevailed and teachers left the Island with an enthusiasm for teaching this curriculum to classroom students during the upcoming school year."
reported enthusiasm about the curriculum after the fall field testing
Teachers field-tested the curriculum with their students in place of their usual ecology unit and ALL reported satisfaction. Teachers also reported that they plan to use EcoBeaker: Maine ExplorerTM to teach ecology in the future. As one teacher wrote, "I could never go back!"
Survey responses were received from 948 students. This is approximately 45 students per teacher. Thus, most teachers field-tested the curriculum with two separate classroom groups. Overall, students responded that they were interested and challenged and felt they were successful at completing the labs and the field exercises. The survey asked students to evaluate several facets of the curriculum and their level of interest. One question asked if the students felt they learned more from the instructions in the software program or by doing simulated "experiments" during the lab. Interestingly, 75% responded that they learned more from doing the experiments suggesting that students benefited from this major strength of computer simulations.
To learn more about how the EcoScienceWorks curriculum came about, follow these links:
YEAR 1:
YEAR 2:
EcoScienceWorks is a
National Science Foundation (NSF)
ITEST Project
directed by: 
EcoBeakerTM and EcoBeaker HSTM are trademarks of SimBiotic Software