Learn About Our Capstone Experience

Our Capstone Experience - The Workshop Series

LMU students and ECHS students collaborate at a composting workshop
LMU students and ECHS students collaborate at a composting workshop
  • Connects discipline specific content with the mission of the university through community involvement
  • Provides future teachers with classroom experience and the opportunity to use their content knowledge

During this two semester experience, students become agents of change and empowered teachers as they tackle issues related to water and the environment. Participation in this community based learning course enables pre-service science teachers to work with high school teachers and environmental educators as they develop high school service learning projects.

This course is being developed as a SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibility) project designed to foster collaborations between future science teachers and environmental educators for the benefit of all stakeholders. Broad issues related to water and the environment form the core of the course, whereas individual projects focus on topics relevant to the Santa Monica Bay and Los Angeles River watersheds. LMU students collaborate with environmental educators from Heal the Bay and Environmental Charter High School in the design of service learning projects that enable high school students to address environmental issues within their community. As a result, both groups of students strengthen their ties to the community and begin to appreciate the connection between environmental health and community health. Science content becomes relevant, and each student begins to think about his/her role in a wider context. The science curricula created as part of the project will become an online service learning resource available through Heal the Bay.