NEW HAVEN, Connecticut—Although Cold Spring School is housed in an urban neighborhood of tall buildings and busy streets, wild places still exist nearby. A technology-rich discovery project recently brought fourth- and fifth-graders out of the classroom and into the Mill River watershed, where they became knowledgeable experts about local ecology.

Teacher Karen Zwick created the ambitious project with several objectives in mind. These included enabling students to:

• Select and apply technology tools for research, information analysis, problem solving, and decision-making.
• Collaborate with peers, experts, and others to contribute to Internet resources using technology to compile, synthesize, produce, and disseminate information, models, and other creative works.
• Use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas to multiple audiences.
• Learn about local geography through mapping skills.

Technology was used throughout the project, from scientific inquiry and data collection to dissemination of information. As Zwick explains, students launched their investigation "armed with a digital camera, handheld computers, water quality probes, and a rapidly growing database of information."

Before students set out to do their fieldwork, they invested classroom time on mastering content in science and technology. "At the beginning of the year," Zwick says, "students learned about each of the water tests and what various results could mean to the environment. With pH, for example, students brought in many liquids from home until we had a wide spectrum of pH readings."

In this child-centered classroom, students' investigations often crossed subject areas. "As students were learning their multiplication tables, we worked to understand the exponential characteristics of the pH scale. Students used chemical tests and handheld computer probes at this stage," the teacher explains.

With a basic understanding of scientific concepts under their belts, students began visiting sites along the Mill River. Zwick explains: "Small groups would go with a teacher, take soil and biological samples, and return and report their findings to the whole class. The biological sampling was perhaps the most powerful in the minds of our fourth- and fifth-graders. Water quality factors directly impact the kinds of macroinvertebrates that can live in an environment."

The further upriver students explored, she adds, "the greater the diversity of creatures." Near the headwaters of the Mill River, students found hellgrammites "which can only tolerate the finest water quality."

Next, students broke into special focus groups, zeroing in on soil testing and geology, plants, animals, and other topics of interest. "These small groups were responsible for further research and designing the Web site to post their information." One small group, for instance, was in charge of watching a fishway to document the return of the Alewives to their breeding grounds. "Although students were studying different topics, they all achieved the same learning objectives."

In the role of field scientist, students came to appreciate the value of technology for data gathering and synthesis. Using handheld computer probes to test water quality, for example, proved easier and more consistently accurate than conducting chemical tests. "The information gave a finer degree of detail. We were also able to collect data right through the winter months," Zwick adds, "because we were able to wear gloves and still use the probes."

All of the information that students gathered using handheld computers was downloaded into a laptop, which made the data "easy to access, with the date and testing location permanently stored in the computer. Information did not get lost like data had in previous years," Zwick adds.

As students' understanding of science and math expanded, they often found themselves reexamining their data "to look at it in a new way," Zwick says. For instance, one day's measurement showed a low pH level in the part of the river that flows near the school.

Students wondered why, and their question "started a whole new research project to figure out what was going on." They suspected that something on the riverbed was affecting the pH level, but taking a reading on the bottom of the river was a challenge. Zwick describes how students' problem solving skills came in handy: "We did the test at low tide. Students created a device that would go to the bottom of the river and open to collect water at that level. An old glass creamer bottle with fishing weights and a cork worked perfectly. Four students had to work carefully as a team to lower the device without pulling the cap off too early. After a few failed attempts, the device was successful." And so was the team.

Cold Spring School is a progressive private school "with a public purpose," Zwick says. It is located in an ethnically and culturally diverse neighborhood known as Fair Haven. The school fosters community partnerships and educational innovation that promotes active, engaged learning.

During the Mill River project, for instance, students knew that disseminating their findings was a goal. They published their findings in The Guide to River Mill, both as a booklet and online at www.coldspringschool.com/Mill/mill.html*. After they shared their Web site with the local Vision for Waterfront Committee, they were invited to present the site to Connecticut legislators at the state Legislative Technology Conference. Near the end of the school year, they celebrated a big milestone: the counter on their Web site registered 1,000 visitors.