Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Education (MSEd)

First Advisor

Marian Howard

Abstract

Students are naturally inquisitive scientists, and successful interdisciplinary curricula access this curiosity by shaping academic studies around students' needs as scientists. Therefore, students are scientists who need opportunities to study and observe the world around them. This curriculum, "Birds of New England and Costa Rica: A Science-Based Interdisciplinary Curriculum," is based on children's abilities to observe and question by studying the immediate environment of the students and relating it to another environment. In this way, students compare and contrast relationships in order to construct their own knowledge about birds in New England and in Costa Rica. Through this study, students question and delve into the adaptations of organisms which have enabled these species to thrive in their specific niches. By treating students as peer scientists, teachers are able to engage students so that students' enthusiasm provides internal motivation to children, which encourages them to question and learn more deeply.

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Childhood general education (Program of study)

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