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LAWRENCE -- Do people in Olathe have a higher risk for asthma-related illnesses than people in Parsons?
Schoolchildren throughout the state soon will be able to find out, thanks to a pair of grants awarded to the Center for Science Education at the University of Kansas.
A $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation will enable researchers at KU to train K-12 science educators on Geographic Information Systems, which are informational systems capable of combining data referenced by spatial or geographical coordinates. In addition to the NSF grant, the project is supported by a $200,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation.
After receiving initial training at KU, the K-12 educators will be able to develop projects using GIS through Internet browsers.
Among the first projects they will tackle is determining the air quality in different regions of the state.
By using GIS to collect and analyze a wide variety of data from satellite maps, weather data on ozone levels and airborne particle counts -- such as latex particle counts from road traffic -- students in Olathe can determine whether there is a higher risk for asthma-related cases in their area, compared with data gathered by students in, say, Parsons.
"It's very exciting to have the opportunity to take these technologies and bring together students separated by great distances to share data," said Joseph Heppert, professor of chemistry at KU and director of the Center for Science Education.
Not only will the project help connect classrooms throughout the state, Heppert said, it also could help spark interest in the sciences.
"It seems like common sense, but students get more excited about science when they can relate it to their own lives and their own communities," he said. "This also will help prepare students to use the tools that real scientists use -- data collection, archiving and analysis using computer databases."
Heppert said a pilot program using the GIS technologies already has begun in some northeast Kansas schools. The pilot program is just finishing the materials-preparation phase, and the classroom projects will begin over the next six months, he said.
Through additional funding, the project will spread to classrooms in all parts of the state and tackle other issues, such as water quality, he said.
"This couldn't have happened without Dr. Steven Case, a GIS expert in the Center for Science Education, and the collaboration of a very large number of people: K-12 teachers, science and engineering specialists, education specialists and educational technology specialists," Heppert said. "I think having the opportunity to improve science education for K-12 students and making it more exciting and engaging for students are among the most important things we can do right now."
The KU Center for Science Education was established in fall 2000 in response to a recommendation from the Task Force on Science Education, appointed by KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. The center is an interdisciplinary collaborative venture intended to improve science education at KU and throughout Kansas and to contribute to scholarship in science education on a national and international level.
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