University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey School of Public Health

SUC₂ES₂ (Students Understanding Critical Connections between the Environment, Society and Self)

Laura Hemminger, MPH, CHES
hemminlb@umdnj.edu

Grades Levels: Second-, fifth- and seventh-grades
Subjects Addressed:
Elementary School: science, health, math and language arts
Middle School: communication and social studies

Project Description

Chick Chock™, the Johnson Family and the Sanchez Household – they are all experiencing health problems and need help to determine whether the cause of their health problems are related to the environment. Second-, fifth- and seventh-grade students in the Woodbridge Township School District (NJ) are investigating these health problems through the innovative SUC2ES2 (Students Understanding Critical Connections between the Environment, Society and Self) initiative. Students are engaging in exciting and challenging science, health, math and language arts activities over the course of 8-10 weeks to gain knowledge and skills about the environment and how the environment can affect health, improve their attitudes toward science and the environment and develop problem solving and decision making skills. Working as scientists, students collect, organize and carefully examine real-world information through experiments, case studies, games, simulations, role plays and storybooks to help solve Chick Chock™’s, the Johnson Family’s and the Sanchez Household’s health problems and the case studies encountered in the initiative’s three curriculum guides’ lessons.

Since 2000, educators and scientists from the school district, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public Health/Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (project managers), the New Jersey State Department of Education, the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University and Rider University, have worked together to develop, implement and evaluate three curriculum guides for second-, fifth- and seventh-grades. SUC2ES2 is made possible with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health.

Using an innovative curriculum development model, teachers, scientists and education specialists worked collaboratively to develop three curriculum guides. These curriculum guides expand upon an existing award-winning curriculum series entitled ToxRAP™ (Toxicology, Risk Assessment and Pollution) and use environmental health sciences as an integrative context to improve student academic performance. Teachers who participated in the curriculum development process participated in hands-on workshops to familiarize them with the grade-level specific ToxRAP™ module, as well as curriculum integration strategies. Curriculum development occurred over 1.5 years, including all-day and after-school sessions during the school year followed by a writing summit in the summer. Scientists from UMDNJ were involved throughout the development process, to ensure scientific accuracy and to address teacher/student questions and concerns. As a result of participating, curriculum development teachers increased their capacity to design and use integrated curricula in the classroom.

Curriculum guides were pilot-tested in select district classrooms and then revised prior to district-wide implementation. Curriculum development teachers facilitated workshops to train their fellow teachers on the interdisciplinary curriculum guides. To date, all three curriculum guides are being implemented in all 16 district elementary schools and five middle schools.

A critical component to the SUC₂ES₂ initiative is the implementation of a comprehensive evaluation of the activities including the curriculum development model. One outcome being examined is the effectiveness of the curriculum to increase environmental health literacy and improve science attitudes among students. To date, student pre- and post-tests have been conducted in intervention and comparison schools at each of the district’s three grade levels. Student pre- and post-test scores are currently being analyzed; preliminary results for second- and fifth-grades show significant improvement in student learning.

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Project Highlights

United States Children’s Environmental Health Excellence Award, April 2006
The SUC₂ES₂ initiative is an extension of the ToxRAP™ Education Program. The overall goal of the ToxRAP™ Education Program is to empower K-9th grade students, their parents and teachers to make informed decisions about environmental health problems. The program began in 1994 with the development of a three-part curriculum series that involved scientists, health educators and classroom teachers. The program now includes expanded curriculum guides (SUC2ES2), a middle school supplement and website activities that support parental involvement. In recognition of its commitment to protecting children from environmental health hazards, the ToxRAP™ Education Program including SUC2ES2 received the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency’s 2006 Children’s Environmental Health Excellence Award. The program was one of only 14 across the country to receive this year’s award.

Student Impacts
Preliminary results for second- and fifth-grades show significant improvement in student learning. For example, second-grade classrooms in the 2002-03 school year implementing the curriculum guide improved on the overall pre-/post-test scores significantly more than comparison classrooms (F=4.15, p=.048). Overall, students improved their scores by 9.66 points (out of 28) in the schools that had the curriculum. The increase was slightly better (10.88 points) in the second year of implementation in the 2003-04 school year. Use of the curriculum guide also showed similar test improvements across race, sex and lunch status (a measure of economic resources). The amount of improvement in intervention schools showed no significant differences between pre and post-tests when examined for these demographic variables (race: F=.166, p=.919), (sex: F=.687, p=.409) or (lunch status: F=.072, p=.789).

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Project Materials

Elementary School (K-4)
Keyword	Description	Project	Grade Level
Asthma	ToxRAP: The Case of the Green Feathers (http://www.toxrap.org/k3_modulePg.html) The goal of the SUC2ES2 (Students Understanding Critical Connections between the Environment, Society and Self) is to empower students in the second grade to improve their science knowledge, skills and attitudes so that they can make informed decisions about the environment and their health. Students become health hazard detectives and through a series of hands-on, inquiry-based, authentic activities, investigate effects of pollen on human health. Over the course of 10 weeks, students learn how to apply environmental health sciences using the ToxRAPTM (Toxicology, Risk Assessment and Pollution) Map and Framework to real world problems using data, experiments, stories, poems, books, puzzles, games, simulations, case studies and math activities. Keywords: Toxicology, risk assessment, risk management, exposure assessment, inquiry-base, applied science, integrated, authentic, environmental health, pollen, allergies, asthma Subjects: Reading, Writing, Communication, Mathematics, Science, Social studies, Health & fitness, Art	SUC2ES2	2

Middle School (5-8)
Keyword	Description	Project	Grade Level
Air - Indoor air	ToxRAP: What is Wrong with the Johnson Family? (http://www.toxrap.org/36_modulePg.html) The goal of the SUC2ES2 (Students Understanding Critical Connections between the Environment, Society and Self) is to empower students in the fifth grade to improve their science knowledge, skills and attitudes so that they can make informed decisions about the environment and their health. Students become health hazard investigators and through a series of hands-on, inquiry-based, authentic activities, investigate effects of an indoor pollutant on human health. Over the course of 10 weeks, students learn how to apply environmental health sciences using the ToxRAPTM (Toxicology, Risk Assessment and Pollution) Map and Framework to real world problems using data, experiments, stories, puzzles, games, simulations, case studies and math activities. Keywords: Toxicology, risk assessment, risk management, exposure assessment, inquiry-base, applied science, integrated, authentic, environmental health, carbon monoxide, indoor air quality Subjects: Reading, Writing, Communication, Mathematics, Science, Social studies, Health & fitness, Art	SUC2ES2	5
Lead	ToxRAP: Mystery Illness Strikes the Sanchez Household (http://www.toxrap.org/69_modulePg.html) The goal of the SUC2ES2 (Students Understanding Critical Connections between the Environment, Society and Self) is to empower students in the seventh grade to improve their science knowledge, skills and attitudes so that they can make informed decisions about the environment and their health. Students become health hazard scientists and through a series of hands-on, inquiry-based, authentic activities, investigate effects of an indoor pollutant on human health. Over the course of 10 weeks, students learn how to apply environmental health sciences using the ToxRAPTM (Toxicology, Risk Assessment and Pollution) Map and Framework to real world problems using data, experiments, puzzles, games, simulations, case studies and math activities. Keywords: Toxicology, risk assessment, risk management, exposure assessment, inquiry-base, applied science, integrated, authentic, environmental health, lead paint hazards, indoor air quality Subjects: Reading, Writing, Communication, Mathematics, Science, Social studies, Health & fitness	SUC2ES2	7

Full listing of integrated materials: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/scied/integrated/index.cfm

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