Welcome to PULSE, an interdisciplinary curriculum for high schools based on biomedical research and environmental health science topics that identify the connections between human health and the health of the environment. These topics are of high interest to adolescent students. Because the curriculum is interdisciplinary these topics are taught in language arts, mathematics, and social studies classes as well as in science classrooms.

Environmental health and biomedical issues hit the newsstands everyday and students recognize that these subjects are relevant to them. These topics are relevant in science classrooms, and also in geography, language arts, government, world and American history and mathematics. Environmental health and biomedical themes are the motivating context for the interdisciplinary PULSE curriculum.

The institutes comprising the National Institutes of Health (NIH) support biomedical and environmental health research, which plays an important role in protecting the health of the nation. This project is supported by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) through a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA). The goal is to improve life science literacy by "creating and disseminating a project that gives K-12 students and teachers and the general public a better understanding of life sciences”. Thus, the lessons used to help develop an understanding of the clinical and basic research of the investigators of the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC) are incorporated into quarter long units that address the national education standards.

We have organized each PULSE unit around a major project, which demonstrates student learning. These projects also promote students’ exploration of the relevance of the material in their communities. PULSE emphasizes finding answers through scientific processes, library research, the Internet, and from other people.

Secondary school teachers developed the lessons, working in interdisciplinary teams with University of Arizona scientists and SWEHSC Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP) staff. This process assures the lessons are driven by national education standards and meet the needs of today’s teachers.

The researchers of the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center, who study how environmental factors affect human disease and illness, are making major contributions to science education by passing on their knowledge and demonstrating the excitement of carrying out health-related research. You may learn more about these researchers in the Scientist Profiles section of the web site.

We hope you will find a curriculum on these pages that you and your students will enjoy using. We welcome your feedback so that we may improve learning for all!