A COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY-BASED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-RIVER FALLS AND A MILWAUKEE HIGH SCHOOL

In the summer of 2001, a long-term program was initiated between the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Harold S. Vincent High School, Milwaukee, WI. This program is sponsored by the Private Industry Council of Wisconsin, with the goal of exposing promising high-school students to Earth and Environmental Science inquiry-based education, and fostering one-on-one interaction between students and university faculty. In late June, a group of 8 Vincent High-School students and two teachers came to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, about 300 miles away, to participate in a 10-day residential program consisting of laboratory and field-based study, classroom discussion, and evening and weekend cultural and educational programs. Among the inquiry-based student exercises were: a field exercise concerning lateral migration of meandering streams; field sampling and laboratory analyses of river water for environmental pollutants and microorganisms; a study of turf production on golf courses; an analysis of forest health and management; and an environmental discovery exercise in a small stream near the UWRF campus. Vincent High School is a public high school with specialty programs in natural resources and agribusiness, and an enrollment of 1550, including 74% students of color. In the spring of 2002, several UWRF faculty will visit Vincent High School to meet with students and staff. Our hope for the second summer program is participation of up to 15 students from grades 9 through 12 as well as several teachers.