DATE:     12/11/02
CONTACT:  Stephen Lance, (803) 414-1735; slance@clemson.edu
WRITER:   Stephanie Jackson, (803) 464-4006; 
EDITOR:   Diane Palmer, (864) 656-4741; spalmer@clemson.edu

Students learn about environment,
technology and team building at camp

     SUMMERTON -- Parents and teachers are taking the students out of
the school and sending them to camp to learn about the environment,
computer technology and team building.
     Fourth through sixth grade students from Clarendon County School
District II spent three days last fall at the R.M. Cooper 4-H
Leadership Center in a curriculum called "All Hands on Tech," which was
designed to meet state science standards. The program will be repeated
in the spring 2003 semester.
     The program is a partnership between the Youth Learning Institute
(YLI), Clarendon County School District II, the Department of Juvenile
Justice and the S.C. Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper).
     YLI is hosting the program.
     The program addresses the issue of technology education in
relation to student achievement, professional development for teachers
and involvement by parents.
     The outdoor portion of the program consists of instruction in
three areas: water, soils and forestry. Each activity involves data
collection that is taken into the computer lab and used to teach the
basic elements of computer technology.
     Throughout the program, participants are involved in team-building
games and activities that are intended to improve relationships among
the students, teachers and parents.
     Teachers gain experience in using and teaching with computer
technology.
     The program gives parents a chance to see what their children are
learning and to learn a little about the environment and technology for
themselves.
     "All Hands on Tech brings together the school district, the parent
community and supportive partners in a combined effort to help
Clarendon District II students, teachers and parents access
technology," said Howard Brown, YLI's director of grants and research.
"Our innovative approach to science instruction uses the outdoors as a
living laboratory for learning, while giving children an opportunity to
develop a sense of responsibility, appreciation, and stewardship
towards natural resources."
      The YLI staffs the program with college graduates from across the
country with backgrounds in biology, natural resource management and
environmental science.
      The Institute's mission is to create hands-on learning
opportunities through non-traditional delivery systems that build
relationships and improve life skills, according to Brown.
                              END