| Our GK-12 program partners advanced graduate students in STEM disciplines at the University of Toledo with high school teachers and their students to build an Environmental Science Leaning Community at the land-lake ecosystem interface. Partners include federal, state, and local environmental agencies. Our objectives are to: 1) Generate student enthusiasm for STEM careers by engaging them in hands-on research into environmental problems, 2) Exchange STEM knowledge and pedagogies between graduate students and high school teachers resulting in cutting-edge environmental science content and increased teaching and communication skills, and 3) Develop hands-on solutions to environmental problems along schoolyard stream ecosystems feeding the Great Lakes. |