2009 LTER All Scientists Meeting - Education

Students Actively Involved in Authentic Research through Citizen Science: Coweeta LTER Schoolyard Program

Jason Love — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:14:33 +0000

Poster Number:

329

Presenter/Primary Author:

Jason Love

Co-Authors:

Jennifer E. Love

Co-Authors:

Ted L. Gragson

Schoolyards can serve as an extension of the science classroom and provide authentic research opportunities for students. Schoolyard science illustrates that science does not have to take place in a lab or an exotic location – it can take place wherever questions are asked and answers are sought. As extensions of the science classroom, schoolyards are also cost-effective as they are available on demand to students and teachers, and require no access fee or transportation costs.

Undergraduate research training in tropical ecology at the Luquillo LTER, Puerto Rico

Alonso Ramirez — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:01:46 +0000

Poster Number:

327

Presenter/Primary Author:

Alonso Ramirez

The Luquillo LTER program (LUQ) provides research experiences to undergraduate students by immersing them in its active research environment. LUQ offers a variety of programs and opportunities to undergraduate students that allow them to gain research experience and technical skills in tropical ecology. Our goals are to (1) provide students with research experiences under the advice of established scientists and (2) supplement experiences with educational activities designed to equip students with the necessary tools to conduct scientific research.

Defining Learning Progressions in the Science and Culture of Water

Andrew Warnock — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:26:18 +0000

Poster Number:

325

Presenter/Primary Author:

Andrew Warnock

Co-Authors:

Kristin Gunckel

Co-Authors:

Aubrey Cano

Co-Authors:

Bess Caplan

Co-Authors:

Beth Covitt

Co-Authors:

Bill Hoyt

Co-Authors:

Nicole LaDue

Co-Authors:

Jen Shuttlefield

Co-Authors:

Sara Syswerda

Co-Authors:

Ray Tschillard

Population growth has and will continue to put pressure on our water resources. Yet students are only exposed to rudimentary basics that lend themselves to engaging in indoor experimentation (e.g. water phase changes and the water cycle) and fact-based assessments. Consequently, the majority of citizens hold on to inaccurate conceptions of where water exists, how it moves, how it gets used, and how it relates to biodiversity and climate change. These more critical concepts, unfortunately, do not appear in state content standards or assessments.

Biology and Calculus: What would you like biology majors to take from calculus?

Nissa Yestness — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:52:38 +0000

Poster Number:

301

Presenter/Primary Author:

Nissa Yestness

We are in the process of developing a Calculus for the LIfe Sciences to serve biology majors at our institution. We have begun developing Excel labs and homework assignments in the biological contexts such as the lung, population modeling, and logistic growth. We are intersted in your feedback on these assessments in their draft stages. We also welcome any input about the course. What skills from calculus would help biology majors in their future academic endeavors?

This poster will present the draft assessments and provide space for feedback.

Student Poster:

Yes

Pathways to Ecological Literacy: Developing a Biodiversity Learning Progression

Brook Wilke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:20:56 +0000

Poster Number:

298

Presenter/Primary Author:

Brook Wilke

Co-Authors:

Laurel Hartley

Co-Authors:

Charles Anderson

Co-Authors:

Eric Keeling

Co-Authors:

Jonathon Schramm

Co-Authors:

Robin Tinghitella

Co-Authors:

Liz Ratashak

Co-Authors:

Yeni Garcia

Co-Authors:

Shawna McMahon

Co-Authors:

Cornelia Harris

Co-Authors:

Mitch Burke

Humans make decisions daily that impact biodiversity, and it is essential that citizens understand the implications of these decisions. Yet, ecological systems are extremely complex, with many details still being discovered. Our challenge is to identify the underlying principles and concepts governing the distribution of organisms, and then communicate these details to students in a way that influences their citizenship decisions as participants in local and global communities.

SBC-LTER Schoolyard Summer Program

Scott Simon — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:37:11 +0000

Poster Number:

297

Presenter/Primary Author:

Scott Simon

Co-Authors:

Dan Reed, Ali Whitmer

SBC’s Schoolyard LTER (SLTER) program is organized around a theme of watershed ecology. This approach allows for an integrated program that includes K-12 students, K-12 teachers, undergraduate and graduate students. In 2009 we focused on developing long-term connections with local, regional and state middle and junior high schools through a partnership with American Association of University Women (AAUW) - Tech Trek Program.

Developing a Learning Progression for Environmental Citizenship

Alan Berkowitz — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:33:47 +0000

Poster Number:

291

Presenter/Primary Author:

Alan Berkowitz

Co-Authors:

Covitt, Beth

Co-Authors:

Anderson, Charles W.

Co-Authors:

Hauk, Shandy

Co-Authors:

Whitmer, Alison

What skills and dispositions are needed by the high school graduate so that she or he can use knowledge and tools from environmental science to be effective decision makers and citizens? What are the pathways from elementary school through high school that might help develop this key facet of environmental science literacy? These questions are being addressed in the full richness of cultural relevance across our diverse nation in an NSF-supported project taking place at 4 LTER sites (SGS, KBS, SBC, BES) and a number of other sites in the US.

Research Experience for High School Students program at the VCR-LTER

Arthur Schwarzschild — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:05:18 +0000

Poster Number:

288

Presenter/Primary Author:

Arthur Schwarzschild

A Research Experience for High School Students program (REHS), modeled after the Research Experience for Undergraduates, was initiated at the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER in 2007 with supplemental funding to our SLTER Program.

ULTRA-Ex: Connecting the social and ecological sciences with planners, managers, and the public: Building a broad foundation for the Chicago Region ULTRA

David Wise — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:58:54 +0000

Poster Number:

285

Presenter/Primary Author:

David Wise

Co-Authors:

Lynne M Westphal

Co-Authors:

Liam Heneghan

Co-Authors:

Bryan C Pijanowski

Co-Authors:

Nancy C Tuchman

Co-Authors:

Aaron N Durnbaugh

Co-Authors:

Paul H Gobster

Co-Authors:

Jennifer L Hirsch

Co-Authors:

Eric V Lonsdorf

Co-Authors:

Emily S Minor

Co-Authors:

Susan I Stewart

Co-Authors:

Moira L Zellner

The Chicago Region ULTRA-Ex will address a question fundamental to understanding the dynamic interactions between biodiversity conservation, ecosystem processes, and human well being in urban landscapes: In a complex urban/metropolitan system, what are the synergies and tradeoffs between conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem services to people? The project focuses on the Green Infrastructure Vision of the Chicago Wilderness alliance, a conservation consortium of over 240 organizations.

Baltimore Partnership for Environmental Science Literacy

Bess Caplan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:28:09 +0000

Poster Number:

266

Presenter/Primary Author:

Bess Caplan

Co-Authors:

Tim Meyers, Trevor Shattuck, Dr. Alan R. Berkowitz, Dr. Sarah Haines

The Baltimore Partnership for Environmental Science Literacy is a five year research project aimed at improving Baltimore area teacher and student knowledge in the environmental sciences. The Baltimore Partnership is part of the multi-site Culturally Relevant Ecology, Learning Progressions and Environmental Literacy, Math Science Partnership (MSP) project funded by the National Science Foundation. The project focuses on the critical education juncture of students in grades 6-12.