The Bronx Zoo and Fordham University Collaborate
By Lauren Shapiro
The walrus waved its fin and the zookeeper tossed another fish, delighting onlookers. In the Bronx Zoo Education Building, across from the sea lion pool, six graduate students were checking on water quality for the seals, and other creatures. These students are earning a Master of Science degree in Adolescent Science Education under the joint program of Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education and The Wildlife Conservation Society.
Handing out PDAs, instructor Thomas Frankie informs “this computer generates a graph telling you what the temperature did over 5 minutes, and will predict the temperature.”
A student inquires, “should you still teach your children how to use an old fashioned thermometer?” Mr. Frankie answers “you have to consider lab safety; an old thermometer has mercury in it; but on standardized tests, students are required to read a standardized thermometer.” Explaining why, he continues, “Some of the frustrations our field scientists have is that graduate students come and they’re so reliant on GPS that they have no idea how to use a compass. What if the location doesn’t support GPS or the screen is too bright because of the sun, or the battery doesn’t last? Digital technology screws up all the time. That’s one reason we learn long division. But, if I divide 287 by 5 and get the answer on a calculator what does that mean? Long division allows you to construct the concept of how and why doing that works.”
The group trooped out to the Bronx River, which runs through the zoo, and took water readings at various locations. Afterwards, returning to classroom, they studied the data and analyzed how they would present it to classes. They discussed how to merge the graphs to compare correlations between rain events, sunny days, and water readings. “The standards require that the kids can read a graph,” says Mr. Frankie “and doing this shows them where the graphs came from.”
“See one, Do one, Teach one” is what distinguishes this program from other M.S. Ed programs according to James Hennessy, Dean of Fordham’s GSE agrees “ Concerns have been expressed for a long time about the quality of education for science teachers. There’s too much pedagogy and not enough understanding of science.”
Jennell Ives, WCS Director of Professional Development says “We bring the hands-on experience of learning in depth conservation biology and life science.” For example, the students are observing “class visits from schools, camps, and volunteer groups. They watch teens at the zoo, taking courses, and learn differences between formal and informal education; they see techniques we use here and how the students respond.”
She adds that “We’re expanding the program for teachers who are interested in working at informal center like a zoo and don’t need certification or for working teachers who want to further their studies. We translate what our scientists do, the research about our animals and what it takes to do conservation. We offer undergraduate courses at Brooklyn College and at 14 historically black schools across the country. The goal is to get minorities involved in science and conservation which is often perceived as a white field and it’s not.” The WCS also partners with schools online, “they have to go out and do things at their local zoo/nature center and bring pictures and talk about what they’ve done—and there are simulations.”
The overriding concern of everyone at the zoo, expressed on the webpage (wcs.org), and in petitions at every exhibit, is the proposal to cut funding by 100%; which brings us back to the walrus. What if he waves his fin and there’s no fish?#
