TEF has contributed to the development and distribution of curriculum materials, including Toxicology, Risk Assessment and Pollution (ToxRAP™) curriculum handouts on risk assessment and product safety. ToxRAP™ materials still available online can be found at http://web.sph.rutgers.edu/toxrweb/k3_about_frameset.html.
After NIEHS charged its funded research centers to develop educational outreach materials, TEF proposed to leverage this large government investment by distributing selected exemplary units of these curriculum materials and implementing national teacher training for their use. In this case TEF selected the middle unit “What is Wrong with the Johnson Family” of the ToxRAP™ program developed by the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute of the University of Medical and Dental Sciences of New Jersey after a careful review process including TEF trustees and members of the K–12 Subcommittee
ToxRAP™ is an attractive curriculum because it is much more than a “fact-based” program:
- It fosters development of critical thinking, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
- It increases understanding of the scientific method and science process.
- These learned skills are readily transferable to any environmental or human health risk scenarios.
- It is consistent with the discovery approach for science education which is supported by the national science education standards and education experts.
