Environmental Health Science in the Classroom

Abstract

The Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) Center at Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit Michigan, was established in 1993 to study the effects of environmental factors on human health. The EHS Center and its membership form a highly interactive multidisciplinary team of scientists and physicians from several hospitals and research facilities in and around WSU. Because of its diverse array of expertise, the EHS Center is in an optimal position to bring the knowledge of highly contemporary biomedical technologies to the K-12 educational community. The EHS Center has an extremely active Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP) that facilitates the transfer of environmental health information into benefical programs for the educational community. The COEP has offered several programs to the local five-country area around WSU for the past six years. Included in these offerings are a constructivist, inquiry-based hands-on curriculum for grades K-12 (Chemicals in My World TM ), a web-based multimedia interactive curriculum for grades 9-12 (Environmental Cyber Schoolhouse), Saturday Institutes for middle school students; and an apprenticeship program for upper level high school students and teachers. Evaluation of these programs has indicated that they have had significant success in providing venues for information on various environmental health-related topics and biomedical techniques. The COEP will continue to offer programs and opportunities in all areas of environmental health education for students in grades K-12 and for teacher professional development.