| Foundation
Notes — Big Sky Institute |
| Montana
wildlife are making their way into public schools across Montana
this fall. |
| The Big
Sky Institute, in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife and
Parks and federal agencies, is offering Wildlife Education in
Big Sky (WEBS) professional training workshops. The program
was developed to help Montana teachers understand current, locally
relevant scientific data about Montana's wildlife and how to
use it in their classrooms to teach inquiry-based science to
Montana's 6-12th-grade students. |
| For
decades, MSU has been a leading research institution on
the ecology and wildlife science of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
From bears to brown trout to the bacteria that live in
Yellowstone's hotpots, Montana State University scientists
are nationally recognized experts on this treasured ecosystem.
Unfortunately, much of these current ecological data are
not disseminated to the public. And very few of the these
data sets make their way into Montana public schools as
content for conservation education or science curricula. |
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The
procupine is the graphical element in the
BSI logo
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| The goal
of the WEBS' program is to enable 6-12th-grade teachers to combine
current science-based information about Montana's wildlife with
methods of scientific inquiry to teach Montana students ecological
principles and problem-solving skills. |
| WEBS is
a series of four weekend workshops - grizzly bears, songbirds,
native fish and wolves - where up to 80 participating teachers
work with scientists who conduct field research in the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem. The workshops are free to Montana teachers,
thanks, in part, to federal money that was provided through
a grant from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. WEBS is designed
to help teachers integrate inquiry-based science research projects
and scientific data into their curricula. Through fieldwork,
observations and small-group discussions, teachers practice
a variety of teaching and learning techniques. |
| The Big
Sky Institute (BSI) is working to be a nationally recognized
research and education center that is connecting the public
to the important science about the Yellowstone Ecosystem. BSI
combines up-to-date research with innovative, hands-on learning,
for K-Gray learners, with an end-goal of a more scientifically
literate, aware and articulate citizenry. |
| To learn
more about the Big Sky Institute, visit its office on campus,
106 AJM Hall, or the BSI Web site at www.bsi.montana.edu,
or call 406-994-2374. |
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