college

"NAZARETH IRIS"

Project

Nazareth, Israel

The Regional Unit for Quality Environment
Mr. Mohammad Abbas, Director
P. O. Box 2360
Nazareth 16123
Israel

Phone: 06/465952 Fax: 06/465846

TERRA SANCTA COLLEGE

Father Samir Narouz, Director
Nazareth, Israel
Phone: 011-972-66554421
e-mail: hterasan@Rannet.com

Background:

As you undoubtedly know, Nazareth has a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons. First, it is a holy city with beautiful churches and museums, secondly, it is my hometown where I grew up and received my secondary education, not to mention that most of my family members still live there.

Four years ago, when I visited Nazareth in the Summer of 1994, the city was preparing for a community project called "Nazareth 2000". This project is aimed at the development of the city in all aspects including the environment . The project is coordinated by my brother Suheil Diab who serves as the deputy mayor of Nazareth. The project is also aimed at preparing the city for an international celebration in the year 2000.

During my visit, the Correspondent and Director of Guidance (a branch of the Ministry of Education), Mr. Mahmoud Zogbi, was interested in my views on how to improve the environment through education for two reasons:

1. I had just served as Technical Advisor and Consultant for "Waste: A Hidden Resource" a manual for secondary curriculum of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., a nonprofit, public education organization dedicated to improving waste handling practices in American Communities;

2. I have developed and taught "Chemistry and the Environment" course at the College of St. Francis for the last fifteen years.

I was interviewed by the Israeli National Television regarding environmental education issues. Consequently, I received two invitations from Terra Sancta College (my alma mater) and Sisters of St. Francis School (they are sister schools adjacent to each other) to give lectures on the environment at their schools.

As a result of this, the teachers and administrators of both schools expressed a need for environmental education in their community. They invited me to volunteer my expertise to come up with a creative program that would help their teachers and staff enhance environmental science education at their schools.

Purpose/Objectives:

The purpose of the sabbatical is to assist faculty and staff in two Catholic schools in Nazareth: Terra Sancta College and Sisters of St. Francis School in the following areas.

1. Curricular Development: Assist faculty and staff in developing an environmental science curriculum tailored for each school.

2. Teacher Training Workshops: Train teachers in implementing the curriculum and help them integrate a hands-on approach to environmental education.

Goals/Timetable

Goal #1 : Assessing the current environmental science curriculum

--Visit each school for one week. Meet with administrators, teachers, staff and students and establish a "steering committee" on environmental science education.
-- Study and evaluate what is currently being taught in environmental science and what should be taught.
-- Meet with teachers and get a feel of what is needed to enhance the curriculum.
-- Assess current resources available for implementing a hands-on activities.

Goal #2: Developing the New Curriculum

--Spend the next three months on CSF campus developing a manual similar to "Waste: A Hidden Resource" but tailored to meet the needs of each school. This might require redesigning many of the hands-on activities to accommodate the availability of chemicals and or substituting materials that are less costly.
-- Involve one or two CSF students in developing, preparing, testing, and evaluating the lessons and hands-on activities.
-- Prepare final draft of the manual for implementation.
-- Update steering committee frequently with a progress report.

Goal #3: Implementing The New Curriculum

--Visit each school again for one week. Familiarize the teachers with the manual.
-- Conduct a workshop for teachers. Help them try out some of the hands-on activities and train them to take this knowledge to their students.

Goal #4: Follow up Evaluation

--Evaluate the curriculum after one year of implementation.
-- Fine tune and revise the manual accordingly.

Benefits:

By utilizing my expertise in the field of environmental science, coupled with my understanding of the language and culture of the community, the benefits of this research project will be numerous to all constituencies. For instance, the project will:

1. promote a global dialogue on environmental education between USF faculty and students and the teachers of the other schools;

2. promote a better understanding of how another culture views environmental education and encourage the exchange of information especially, with the availability of he internet;

3. enhance and expand the knowledge of the faculty and students on global environmental issues; which in turn will enrich the science courses, science department as well as the institution at USF;

4. help develop an environmental science education/ Teacher Training program to two Catholic Franciscan schools in Nazareth. This global outreach project is compatible as well as consistent with the mission of the University of St. Francis and its institutional goals.

In summary, I see this project as a global outreach to environmental education and a platform for faculty collaboration and exchange of pedagogy. In the end, all students, faculty, and teachers will benefit from this.

Respectfully,

Dr. Salim M. Diab

E-mail your comments to: sdiab@stfrancis.edu

Nazareth web sites:

http://www.Jesus2000.com (a terrific site)

http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/san/TSnzmain.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/4536/index_old.html

http://christusrex.org/www1/ofm/san/TSnzmain.html

http://christusrex.org/www1/ofm/cust/TSschool.html

http://www.nazareth2000.gov.il/

http://www.thegrace.com/ (Bible in Arabic)

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/medweb/ (Byzantine Period)