CEHHS Participates in the DACTM/MDSTA Fall Conference

Elizabeth Morden

WARREN, MI - Elizabeth Morden staffed the College of Education, Health and Human Services (CEHHS) table at the 2016 Fall Conference for the Metropolitan Detroit Science Teachers Association (MDSTA) and the Detroit Area Council of Teachers of Mathematics (DACTM) on Saturday, November. 5, 2016.

The event was held at Cousino High School in Warren, MI. Liz greeted many area teachers and shared information on CEHHS graduate and doctoral programs. Several alumni stopped by the table to catch up on new program offerings including the STEM2 certificates.

LEO instructor Jeff Bouwman presented with David Bydlowski and Andy Henry, both from Wayne RESA on GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment ) Program in the Middle School Classroom.

David Bydlowski and CEHHS LEO Jeff Bouwman

 Jeff has been using GLOBE's activities which address scientific topics related to the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and soil/pedosphere with his middle school science students in the Gibraltar School District.

CEHHS Science-Ed Research from Detroit Community Reaches National Conferences

CEHHS faculty member Dr. Chris Burke's partnership with Ms. Lazarowicz, an elementary science teacher at Neinas Elementary School, started in Fall 2012. Dr. Burke met Ms. Lazarowicz while she was presenting about her use of the outdoor classroom and school garden at the South East Michigan Stewardship (SEMIS) Community Forum. Following this visit Dr. Burke arranged for his EXPS 220 class to come to the school and work with her students to do experiments in the outdoor classroom.  

Neinas Elementary School is a community-centered school located in South West Detroit. The student body reflects the local community and is 78% Hispanic 10% White and 10% African American. The school has multiple strong community partnerships including E & L SuperMercado (the local supermarket) & Greening of Detroit. These partnerships helped support the development of the school’s outdoor classroom. Since this initial visit in Fall 2012, eight of Burke's EXPS classes (five sections of EXPS 220 and three sections of EDD 485) have collaborated with Ms. Lazarowicz’s students. Burke's students have studied native Michigan plants, and rain gardens culminating in the installation of a rain garden at Neinas in the outdoor classroom. They have also studied irrigation systems and structures culminating in the building of roof top garden planters. This past year Dr. Burke's EXPS 220 / EDD 485 students started studying structures that will help inform the planning and building of an Earthship.  

Dr. Burke's work at Neinas has been a productive and valuable part of his teaching at the College of Education, Health, and Human Services by providing a place for UM- Dearborn students to engage in Academic Service Learning and collaborate with elementary students on long term school projects. It has also been a valuable part of Dr. Burke's scholarship in that this community-based research helps him examine the process of developing students' sense of science agency and connection to the process of scientific investigation with the community. Dr. Burke's partnership with Ms. Lazarowicz has resulted in presentations at the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative Place-Based Education Conference, the National Association of Multicultural Education Annual Conference, The Ecojustice and Activism Conference and most recently the SEMIS Community Forum.  

 Dr. Chris Burke believes that this work is important as it provides CEHHS students with an opportunity to see and work with a highly effective teacher in Detroit who is actively working to cultivate community connections and implement place-based education. As Burke says, "This opportunity helps CEHHS students develop an understanding of the importance of cultivating relationships with K-12 students, their parents, and the community. It also provides them a chance to engage in community-based science where they learn how to balance the formal rigors of science with the complexity of authentic questions that emerge from students engaging with the community". 

Burke's three year collaboration with Neinas has also provided him with a space to conduct scholarship related to the facilitation of students’ science agency, developing and sustaining school community partnerships, and place-based education. For more information on Dr. Chris Burke and his research please visit his faculty profile page.

CEHHS Students Judge Weiss Elementary STEM Fair

CEHHS students John Gurganus, Samantha Cooley, Zeinab Alsaad, and Sarah Sandakli helped set up and judge the second annual Weiss Elementary STEM Fair this past Monday 3/23.  Students interacted with K-12 students while they completed the boat weight, paper airplane, catapult, fastest boat, slingshot rocket, and windmill challenges.  

CEHHS Faculty Member Chris Burke Partners with Detroit Elementary School for Lesson in Sustainability

October, 6th, 2014

View full article from The Record HERE

There’s no trace of the vacant building that once stood on the lot. And fumes from idling delivery trucks no longer breeze into classroom windows.

When Neinas Elementary School students purchased a vacant lot for $900, empty buildings and idling trucks gave way to rain gardens and flower beds as part of the school’s living outdoor classroom.

That classroom, it turns out, is the perfect setting for students enrolled in University of Michigan-Dearborn’s teacher education program to learn alongside elementary students.

“The space students live in is an important source for curricular information. It’s a way to ground the information you’re trying to teach them with issues that make the content authentic and connect it to their lives,” said Chris Burke, associate professor of science education, who uses the outdoor classroom to teach Introduction to Science for Elementary Teachers and Elementary Science Methods.

At Neinas Elementary School, that means learning about sustainability. Specifically, what does a sustainable southwest Detroit look like? Fifth-grade teacher Amy Lazarowicz has tackled the subject for years and connected with Burke nearly three years ago to bring UM-Dearborn students on board.

Together, the two groups of students have studied soil components and flower parts. They’ve hit crushed limestone paver when digging for rain gardens. And they’ve learned to decipher between different types of manure to determine the best way to make fertilizer.

UM-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) students learn about classroom management and how to conduct experiments. But Burke hopes the lessons extend beyond basic textbook knowledge.

Through the course of the semester, he sees the role of student and educator shift a bit. This isn’t about saving Detroit, he said. It’s about learning from some of the city’s youngest residents.

“I want my students to learn from these kids. They have insights about the ecosystems of Detroit and pollution and the needs of the community that my students don’t have,” he said. “I want them to develop a deeper understanding and a more nuanced picture.”

That was the case for Zeinab Skaf.

The science education student came to Neinas to gain hands-on experience in the classroom. But she left with a better understanding of what students can teach her.

“The students at Neinas are smart, talented and motivated to learn,” Skaf said. “This experience taught me more about the city of Detroit and, more importantly, about the schools and students there.”