The Learning through Ecology and Environmental Field Studies (LEEFS) Program
Learning through Ecology and Environmental Field Studies (LEEFS) is a program of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, that creates partnerships between Columbia graduate students and science teachers in New York City public schools. Columbia graduate students receive National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellowships that include a stipend and tuition assistance. In return, they work in one of our partnering schools, enhancing science education for grades 6-12. Teachers in the program receive a stipend and professional development through the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC), the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), or the Columbia Summer Research Program (CSRP).
The LEEFS program is funded by a $3.1 million, 5-year grant from NSF’s Division of Education and Human Resources. NSF GK-12 grants were made to a select number of universities around the country to support educational collaborations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM disciplines). This is Columbia’s third GK-12 grant, following one awarded jointly to the Departments of Biology and Mathematics and one given to the School of Engineering and Applied Mathematics.
Our first group of LEEFS fellows came from a variety of departments: Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology; Earth and Environmental Engineering; Chemistry; Physics; and Anthropology. LEEFS teachers come from six New York City public middle and high schools: Dual Language Middle School (MS 247), Peter Rouget Education Complex (MS 88), Frederick Douglass Academy (M499), New York Harbor School (K551), High School for Arts, Imagination & Inquiry (M299) and the Young Women’s Leadership School (M610).
One of the initiatives of the LEEFS Program has been to establish a “twin school” partnership between MS88 and the Punta Cana International School (PCIS), a polytechnic on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Using video teleconferencing facilities and visits during the summer, they are linking teachers and children together to address issues of New York’s urban ecosystem and the Dominican Republic’s heavily human-impacted tropical ecology.
LEEFS emphasizes experiential learning and integrated inquiry, crossing discipline boundaries to ask broader questions raised by information learned in ecology, environmental and earth science investigations. Fellows spend one day each week co-teaching, either in classrooms or on field trips. They bring their own research to grade 6-12 students, assist teachers and students in setting up environmental monitoring programs at their schools, lead in-class labs, teach lessons aligned with the NYC curriculum, and mentor students individually. Teachers are offered summer internships and professional development workshops through CERC, LDEO or CSRP. They participate directly in ecological or environmental research projects, many of which have field components in the New York metro area, thus deepening their knowledge in ecology and environmental and earth sciences, while building enthusiasm for research and inquiry-based, hands-on learning.
The LEEFS Program enhances the communication skills of Columbia’s graduate students, preparing them to be scientist citizens and members of the professoriate of the future. It elevates the scientific knowledge and hands-on skills of grades 6-12 science teachers, informing their educational practice, and helps them stimulate their students’ interest in careers in the STEM disciplines. We hope that all LEEFS participants, fellows, teachers and students will leave with increased awareness and practical knowledge that will allow them to be active participants in the complex policy debates of the 21st century and become better stewards of our world.
For more information on LEEFS, please contact Sara Scovronick at 212-854-2992 or Audrey Lapiner at 212-851-0261.
