STRATEGIC FOCUS AREA
The Zoo will be the foremost provider of lifelong learning experiences in Northeast Ohio, a trusted voice for wildlife conservation and an inspiration for conservation action.
Inquiry Based Learning - A Model for Science Education
Cleveland Metropolitan School District Partnerships
In 2013, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo offered a continuum of programs to support science education that helps create a competent, competitive workforce. From opportunities for preschoolers to the Master’s Program in Advanced Inquiry (AIP), the Zoo’s programs are designed to enhance critical thinking skills through an approach that encourages observation, data collection and collaborative discussion to solve problems. The Zoo offers 33 different programs designed to meet the needs of a broad and diverse audience, representing all ages and varying levels of interest in science and the natural world. This approach helps students develop knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world. The Zoo is doing its part to make lifelong learning opportunities available to young people in the community.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has provided programs for students and teachers in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) for many years. However, in 2013 new collaborations were established that are taking science education to a new level in Cleveland. Last summer, Curator of Conservation Education Vicki Searles joined other science education leaders from Cleveland in Alexandra, Virginia at the International K-12 Science Education Institute for Leadership Development and Strategic Planning. There, a strategic plan for improving science education in CMSD was drafted. The plan includes continuing partnerships between the Zoo and the school district in the area of professional development, student enrichment, science programming, hands-on and inquiry-based science lessons and field experiences. Thanks to the Cleveland Zoological Society, and the support of their Zoo Education and Workforce Development Committee, the Zoo enlightened 30,133 Cleveland students and teachers in 2013. As part of the Learn, Protect, Stay initiative, the Zoo’s Connections to Africa program became a formal component of the CMSD’s scope and sequence of courses for fifth graders. In addition, 2013 was the first of a five year commitment to providing quality scientific training to every student and teacher in each of the school district’s STEM focused schools for preschool through eighth grade.
The Zoo provided the following STEM oriented programs: • Pre-K students and teachers - Nurture the Wonder professional development in inquiry for teachers with follow up student field experiences • First through third grade teachers and students Connections to Africa: Introducing Basic Needs • Fourth grade teachers and students - Professor Wylde’s Animal Show • Fifth grade teachers and students - Connections to Africa: Advancing Scientific Inquiry • Sixth grade students and teachers - the Vet Bag Program • Seventh graders and their teachers - Teen Career Days • Eighth graders and their teachers - Collaborative Inquiry Project
Project Dragonfly Graduates In 2010 Cleveland Metroparks Zoo joined together with Miami University of Ohio to offer the Advanced Inquiry Program (AIP), a groundbreaking graduate degree focused on inquirydriven learning and social change. It provides students with exceptional local connections to an unprecedented national partnership united through joint coursework and a common mission. Twelve students who attended the very first class in 2011 fulfilled 21 hours of course work through the Zoo, and 14 hours of national core courses and graduated with master’s degrees on December 13, 2013. Activities at Miami University included commencement in the afternoon, a Project Dragonfly Future Building Ceremony in the evening, and a World Community Conference at the Cincinnati Zoo the next day. Students in this program used inquiry as a tool for learning and a powerful opportunity to promote student achievement, public engagement in science and ecological stewardship. The AIP program provides real-world experiences, and is based on the principle that education should extend beyond the classroom. Congratulations to our first cohort graduates: Kim Bischof, Cheri Chilson, Pam Fetchu, Bob Miller, Rhiannon Muchowski, Joseph Ohrt, Stacey Panteck, Antoinette Rivera, Caitie Shelley, Helen Smith, Tessa Torowski and Christina Yoka.