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Teachers Go to School to Learn IPM - May 2003
May 15, 2003
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - Along with their A, B,Cs and 1,2,3s, all public school students in Pennsylvania are now required to learn their IPM.
Integrated pest management, or IPM, aims to control pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe and environmentally compatible.
Responding to the new academic standards that calls for IPM to be taught as part of units on the environment and ecology, the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management Program (PA IPM) is offering a course to help teachers incorporate IPM into their curriculum.
"IPM for Teachers: Meeting New Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology", will be held June 24-27 at Penn State's University Park Campus. "The course will provide the basis for teaching IPM concepts in the classroom, as well as indoor and outdoor activities to demonstrate real-world pest management decision-making skills," says Lyn Garling, education specialist with PA IPM at Penn State. "Participants will leave with a curriculum notebook, field kit and handouts that will give them an understanding of the concepts involved in IPM."
The class also will provide basics about pest identification and biology, information on IPM tactics and concepts, use of IPM in specific environments, and IPM resources on the Web. The course will be a mix of hands-on activities, observation, collection, identification, experiments, learning exercises, demonstrations and discussion. Field trips to a forest, marsh, and farm sites will be scheduled as weather permits.
"IPM integrates information about pest identity, biology and population growth with knowledge of multiple tactics that can be used to prevent or manage pest problems if necessary," says Garling. "IPM activities are well suited for hands-on learning that cuts across the curriculum, including such classes as biology, chemistry, ecology, math and statistics."
For more information on the course, contact Lyn Garling at ljg5@psu.edu or (814) 863-8884, or see Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/schools/ipmcourse.html#desc. To register, contact Ag Conferences and Short Courses at (814) 865-8301.
The PA IPM Program is a collaboration between Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, call (814) 865-2839, or visit the program's Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.