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| Are you ready to make a difference in your school? In your city? Then join us in: Collaborating with urban schools Designing project-based science curricula Developing interactive computing technologies Bringing about systemic education reform Working to improve the intellectual lives of all children Click here to go to LeTUS project page About LeTUS The Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS) began in 1997 as a National Science Foundation-funded partnership among the Chicago Public Schools, the Detroit Public Schools, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan to better urban science education through innovative, hands-on, project-based curricula. LeTUS develops curricular units with urban students in mind and observes these classrooms to learn what works in the classroom. Topics covered in LeTUS units include air quality, animal behavior, biology, communicable diseases, Earth science, environmental science, physics, water quality and weather. An ongoing program of research, design and implementation carried out among the four partners ensures that theory and practice grow and change together. Ready for Reform Initially, LeTUS focused on curriculum development because there was little material available to teach students how to wrestle with questions scientifically. Today, LeTUS also emphasizes curriculum implementation and revision and focuses on professional development for teachers, knowing that the success of LeTUS’ work depends largely on them. Local teachers and university researchers collaborate in the design and revision of curricula so that local teachers become the catalysts for change. About 65 schools in Chicago, five in Evanston and more than a dozen in Detroit currently use LeTUS science curricula. These city school districts recognize the potential of inquiry-driven, technology-rich science education, and committed resources to developing the means to support it. They are changing the way teachers teach science in their schools, and they are paving the way for systemic educational reform. A Community Vision LeTUS’ work in Chicago, Evanston and Detroit has come about because of the commitment of those communities to the goals of reform and to the challenges of working with university partners. The partnerships lie at the heart of the enterprise. All partners benefit from the research findings and practical experiences of the others. All partners contribute to the growing body of knowledge and research that demonstrates the effectiveness of project-based, inquiry-driven science education. Ultimately, however, we look to the community to see the real fruits of our work. When students demonstrate new mastery and light up with new ideas, they become a force for change in their schools and in their cities. Research for Practice At the heart of LeTUS’ work is practical research into how students learn, how teachers teach and how school systems can change to better support both. LeTUS studies how leadership happens in schools and school systems and how bilingual classrooms adapt to inquiry-driven, technology-rich science, as well as assessment and collaborative design challenges. In ongoing research studies, local teachers and university researchers reflect on the processes of teaching and learning. Together, they focus on the day-to-day practice of teaching and how to do it better. Teachers and administrators share accumulated insight with each other and with the broader research community. Inquiry-Driven Learning "Science is mostly a question," a sixth-grader in a LeTUS science class said. This sums up LeTUS’ mission – to implore students to ask all the questions they want. When a question matters to a child, he or she will actively seek out answers, learning complex scientific principles in the process. This is inquiry-driven learning. The process of answering an important question through inquiry-driven learning begins with a challenging investigation into the question. Students then develop hypotheses, gather facts and draw conclusions. This way, they learn science by doing science. LeTUS believes that children learn best this way, and we develop curricula to help them do it. The Tools of Learning Building on the growing importance of computers, computer software and the Internet to student learning, LeTUS units strive to build literacy skills applicable to non-text-based media, multimedia and online resources. Each curriculum unit incorporates some form of computer technology, from simple force-and-motion sensors to highly interactive computer software with extensive analysis and visualization capabilities. But the tools of learning foster learning only when used meaningfully. In LeTUS classrooms, students use these new tools and skills every day because they are essential to the project at hand and integral to the curriculum as a whole. Many of these tools – both computers and computer-integrated curricula – have thus far not been available to all students. LeTUS’ mission addresses this situation by focusing on urban areas where computing technology may be scarce, and providing the necessary support to acquire the tools and the infrastructure to use them. Join our Dynamic Partnership The Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools, Medill Center, 1326 W. 14th Place, Chicago, IL 60608, (773) 553-6230 The Detroit Public Schools Juanita Clay-Chambers, Interim Deputy Superintendent, Detroit Public Schools, 5057 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202, (313) 494-1092, jclaycha@sun.science.wayne.edu Northwestern University Louis M. Gomez, Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy, Evanston, IL 60208, (847) 467-2821, l-gomez@northwesterns.edu The University of Michigan Ronald Marx, University of Michigan, School of Education, 610 East University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259, (313) 615-0287, ronmarx@umich.edu
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