Fellow Tomomi Suwa and Sandy Breitenbach’s AP Biology Students recently travelled to Grand Valley State University to present their 2011-2012 research projects. Here’s the scoop from Tomomi…

April 25^th was a big science day for 14 students from Plainwell high school. They each presented a poster on their independent project at the Michigan High School Math and Science Symposium at Grand Valley State University. Among 40 other presenters from Southwest Michigan schools, the students from Plainwell represented their school very well.

These students are from Mrs. Sandy Breiteinbach’s AP Biology class and since last September, I’ve been working closely with them to go through the entire process of science including picking interesting questions, designing an experiment and analyzing the data. They each came up with creative projects such as the effects of spotted knapweed on native plant species, differences in decomposing rates between organic and conventional fruits, and the potential effects of watermill pollution on invertebrate organisms in the Kalamazoo River.

At first, they looked nervous about presenting their work in front of other high school students and teachers. But they quickly warmed up and seemed to enjoy the experience. I was very proud to see them complete their independent project and to share their findings to their peers.  I think the Math and Science Symposium brought the year of independent projects to a successful close. Congratulations!

By Guest Blogger and KBS GK-12 Friend Joelyn de Lima

April 11, 2012 was a day loaded with fun at KBS. Our GK-12 Fellows outdid themselves developing interesting and informative lessons and games that addressed the topic for the day “Evolution and the Biodiversity of Life” from different viewpoints. Topics ranged from the evolution of beak shape to mimicry and invasiveness.

The day began with Tom Getty giving a brief update we call “The State of the BEST Plots”. Most of our plots are in a good shape, but a few had to be visited by the Round-Up fairy!

The speaker of the day, Jenny Boughman, took over from Tom and spoke on the topic “The Evolution of Complex Adaptations: The Eyes Have It!”.  She talked about how evolution works by taking existing structures and changing them bit-by-bit.  Since eyes do not fossilize, one way of studying their evolution is to observe present day organisms that have eyes of varied complexity.  So first we have Eyespots, which can detect light but not the direction of incident light. These are found in organisms such as Planaria and Euglena. Eyespots gave way to Cup Eyes. Cup eyes can perceive the direction that light comes from, which aids movement, but they cannot form images. These are found in certain marine worms.

The next level of complexity is seen in Pinhole eyes. Organisms such as Nautilus have pinhole eyes that form blurry, low-resolution images and can also detect directionality and movement. This takes us to the next level, which are Fluid-filled eyes. Along with a simple lens, this allows organisms like snails to see clearer images and detect motion. The last and most complex level is the Camera type eye, the eyes that allow you to read this. The camera type eye enables organisms to form finely focused images, evaluate distance, movement, speed, shape, texture, color and to guide its own movement. Dr. Boughman also spoke about three eye related genes that help in tracing the points in the phylogenetic tree at which the eyes evolved different levels of complexity.

After a short break, the first Concurrent Sessions started. In Geeked about Beaks, Alycia demonstrated how bird beaks might evolve in response to available food resources. She used different sized clothespins (the beaks) and beads (food).  In her session on Adapting to your Environment: Tanning, Camouflage and Evolution, Jennifer spoke about increasing students’ understanding of the word “adaptation” and the difference between how biologists use the word and it’s more colloquial meaning (change within a generation). During the session Carbon Time Systems and Scale, Jenny explored activities which relate to the soon-to-be-released Next Generation Science Standards. Michael and Kate were back with another fun game in The Hunger Games. They used sets of colored Easter eggs to demonstrate how mimicry behavior is exhibited by species to deceive their predators or prey and how the frequency of mimics depends on the costs and benefits of being a mimic.

During the second set of Concurrent Sessions we had an Aphid Buffet in the Terrace Room hosted by Melissa (former GK-12 Fellow). With the help of over a thousand ladybeetles, her session tested the defensive strategies of Aphids. In Carbon Time Ecosystems, Hannah had her audience become carbon atoms which moved between different carbon pools in an ecosystem. Hannah’s game demonstrated how various processes impact the pools and fluxes of carbon. Tyler’s session “If it Ain’t Broke, It Won’t Get Fixed” had us build phylogenetic trees of shoes and local botanic samples collected at KBS. He focused on teaching about common descent and traits that are shared because of common ancestry – as opposed to analogous. Finally, using tons and tons of ping pong balls, Liz and Marcia conducted a session called Evolving to Invade in which they demonstrated the types of evolution that lead species to become invasive, and how invasive species interact with other organisms in new habitats.

After a delicious lunch, we went fishing with Christine and Nick. In their session on Humans as a Selective Force, they used a fishing simulation to discuss how humans act as selective forces, for instance, changing the size and personalities of commonly fished species. Meanwhile in her session What Time is It? When Plants Bloom and Die, Leila explored the effect of changes in environmental temperatures (climate change) on plant phenology. Her audience froze leaves to study the effect of – well – freezing. In The wonderful World of Biosynthesis Jonathan explored how organisms reorganize organic molecules within themselves. He used molecular models and charts (including a fabulous one of a cow) to demonstrate flow of materials through a food chain. Finally, during Fertilization Protocol for the BEST plots, Leilei brought us back to the BEST plots and explained a simple fertilization protocol for students to perform on their own BEST plots. The audience also went outdoors and practiced by spreading Osmocote on a plot just like our BEST plots. We should see a patch of really lush lawn soon!

A new feature of this Workshop was the session ‘What did my Fellow do this year…. Outside of the Classroom?’. During this session, each Fellow had an opportunity to share major achievements that occurred this year in their research. We were pleased to hear more about grants from the National Science Foundation, papers submitted to scientific journals, completed experiments, and gains in communication and confidence.

And thus ended a truly fun-filled day!

Report from Tom: Nick, Marcia, Alycia, Tomomi, Robin and Liz presented and represented our GK-12 Project at the 2012 Annual Meeting for GK-12 Project Teams, held at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, March 16-18.  I cheered them on, took pictures and took great pride in they way they represented all of us.  Nick’s roundtable discussions about fostering quantitative reasoning skills were well-attended and well-received.  Our BEST Team presentation on Building Long-Term Research Projects and Collaborations was a big hit, even though it was at the worst possible time (early Sunday morning) and location (a room hidden behind the bar).  Participants were very enthusiastic about our presentation and activities and full of questions and suggestions.  It was especially gratifying to learn that other projects are studying our website and adopting some of our innovations.  There were 103 projects represented at the meeting and many of them are doing very interesting things, but I liked ours the BEST!  I also liked the crab cakes at Clyde’s the best, but the crab cakes at My Brother’s Place were very good and much cheaper.  Additional information about the meeting, the agenda and abstracts of presentation are available at http://www.gk12.org/meetings/ .  At out GK-12 publications page (http://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/publications/ ) there are links to our poster (http://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/publications/ ) and the slides from our presentation (http://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/GK-12-annual-meeting-workshop-2012-reduced.pdf ).  Now it is time for me to step out of the way and let the BEST Team share their experiences.

Report from Nick: Attending my first GK-12 conference was both exciting and encouraging.  I was fortunate to interact with numerous partner teachers and fellows who were bubbling over with enthusiasm and motivation to improve science education.  This was especially true at my roundtable discussions on fostering critical thinking and at our BEST team presentation.

During my roundtable discussions I explained a lesson structure that I have created that focuses on developing the core critical thinking skills required to perform many essential tasks in science, such as engaging in argument from evidence and making claims and supporting them with evidence. My audience engaged me in fruitful discussion and provided me with ample positive feedback and insightful suggestions throughout, which left me feeling that my presentations were a success.

Despite The BEST team’s presentation time and room placement, we attracted an audience that was so engaged with our presentation on building long-term research projects that we ran out of time while trying to address all of the positive comments and feedback we received. It seemed that each time that we transitioned from one speaker to another, a group discussion would spontaneously occur where several audience members would ask questions and praise our work.  In fact, we had several participants stay behind after our presentation ended to continue to discuss our project further with us, which to me is always a sure sign of genuine interest in a presentation.

Report from Robin: This year I attended my third (and probably last L) GK-12 Annual Meeting. This was the second time our project has been chosen to present a workshop for PIs, Fellows, and K-12 Partner Teachers in attendance. I was honored to share our experiences, and your hard work over the last two years, building the BEST Research Network, and I truly enjoyed watching our Fellows shine as they described their own research and how they bring their work to the BEST Research Network and K-12 classrooms throughout SW Michigan. They are amazing! But, you all know that already. There is definitely a lot of enthusiasm in the GK-12 community about the work we are doing and the opportunities that long-term research networks offer for doing open-ended inquiry in K-12 schools. Keep up the great work, everyone. It’s an honor to represent you!

Marcia and I attended a fun workshop to learn about using 1 minute videos to quickly introduce teachers to the content included in lessons that GK-12 projects post on their website – the idea is that short videos are not only engaging, but save teachers the hassle of reading through paragraphs to text to figure out whether they want to use a particular lesson. We think this would be a great way to introduce our BEST plots protocols, so be on the look out for quick videos that introduce the Biomass and Biodiversity, Soils, and Landscape-level protocols this summer. You could even use these to introduce the protocols to your students and get them excited about going outside. We’ll keep you posted…

Report from Liz: I feel very lucky to have been able to attend the final GK-12 conference – I know our project has accomplished great things so far, and it was great to learn about the amazing work others are doing as well. It was clear everyone had ample enthusiasm for their work and that the connection between the universities and K-12 classes will continue long after funding runs out for this program.

During our presentation, it was easy for me to share the ways in which being a GK-12 fellow has helped me in my graduate career. Not only has my time as a fellow given me more confidence as a public speaker and educator, but also more clarity in the main ideas behind my dissertation research. It was a lot of fun to present my Invasive Species Game with the audience, and to share how it related to my research and basic ecology principles that teachers are discussing in their classrooms. I received many great suggestions of ways to expand the reach of my Invasive Species Game, and I can’t wait to try them out at our next KBS Workshop!

Report from Alycia: Our presentation went amazingly well! Some participants said it was the best workshop they attended all weekend! Another GK-12 project is eager for us to publish the Data Nuggets because they use them for their project. Everyone also loved the invasive species game Liz presented. Definitely a success!

I attended one session about skipping lecture and using active learning techniques in the classroom. It was great to see familiar and new techniques in action. One useful tool was constructivism – having students construct their understanding instead of having information given to them. The presenter used an example with significant figures where she providers her students with a series of examples and gets them to construct the rules for determining the number of significant figures. I also attended a session on evaluating GK-12 projects. One idea I’m keen to try out is to have all of the fellows share their research gains at the next workshop. We can do a “year-in-review” both for our experiences in the classroom as well as our progress on our research. It would be great to share this with the teachers and put our communication skills to the test.

It was great to interact with everyone at this conference that was so enthusiastic about improving science education. It makes me feel good about the work we do in the classroom. I can also see the benefits of our professional development and how that will prepare us for careers in science.

Report from Tomomi: This was my first time participating in the GK-12 conference and I had a lot of fun sharing our GK-12 project with an enthusiastic audience. During our 75 minute presentation, six of us each spoke a little bit about our project. Alycia and I talked about how we practice inquiry at all stages of the scientific process in the classroom using the BEST plots. Then I summarized the benefits and challenges of our GK-12 project. While we had some logistical challenges (e.g. low germination, weedy plots and data management), it was a really great experience for all of the fellows to exercise inquiry-based science with students at different levels. We also feel more confident as scientists and educators, and comfortable talking about our research to a wide audience.

Overall, our presentation was pretty well received – participants had a lot of constructive comments and suggestions. I’m happy to report that we represented everyone’s hard work well and that the people were really interested in our project! I feel very lucky to be part of the KBS GK-12 network.

Next year, I will continue to be involved in the GK-12 program at KBS, so I look forward to keeping the momentum going! I’d also like to incorporate some of the ideas I learned at this conference in the classroom next year.

Report from Marcia: Having the opportunity to attend my first GK-12 Conference was both amazing and bitter/sweet.  I was so proud of our BEST team and their dedication to the things we do here at KBS.  The commitment to the program and enthusiasm for science and science education K-12 was certainly apparent.  I had a wonderful time getting to know the Fellows better and am certain all have fond memories of Washington DC in 2012.

Science teaching strategies, STEM topics in K-12, mini-grants, and watershed games were some of the topics I paid attention to during other workshops.   I thought our poster was one of the BEST at the conference, but enjoyed reading many others and often took pictures of ideas or concepts.  When the author of Life in the Treetops, Dr. Margaret Lowman spoke during lunch on Saturday I was totally enthralled. Having traveled to Central and South American rainforests myself I found her stories extremely entertaining. Studying the diversity of life by swabbing belly buttons is certainly something I never thought of!

The GK-12 program is strong and has certainly touched more lives of teachers and students than I ever imagined.  I spoke from the heart when I said at the conference that our Fellows make a difference in our classrooms and with the teachers they work with.  May these relationships continue for years to come, officially or not.

Closing comments from Robin:

As I’m sure you’ve gathered, we learned a lot, shared our experiences and expertise, and enjoyed each other’s company at the GK-12 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. this year. We were sad to hear that it was the last meeting of all the projects nationwide, but buoyed by the fantastic work that’s happening across the country, the pride that GK-12 Fellows and Partner Teachers take in their work, and the efforts of all involved to sustain GK-12 in K-12 schools and universities beyond the life of our grants. Keep up the great work!

The KBS GK-12 Bioenergy Sustainability Project is accepting applications for graduate student fellowships for 2012-13.  This graduate training project is funded by grant from the NSF Division of Graduate Education.

The NSF GK-12 program is meant to advance the professional development of STEM graduate students while they continue to make good progress on their dissertation research.  NSF stipulates that fellows will spend a maximum of 15 hours per week directly involved in GK-12 project activities, with approximately 10 of these hours devoted to activities in K-12 partner districts or at KBS.  KBS activities will include a one-day orientation in May, an intensive summer science institute in late June, four one-day school year workshops and Friday fellows meetings associated with a course focused on the professional development of fellows.

Stipend support is generous and includes benefits and tuition.  The eight NSF fellowships are limited to citizens, nationals or permanent residents of the United States.  The MSU Graduate School will provide one additional fellowship that does not have this restriction.  Appointments will run from May 1 through April 30, with the possibility of renewal for a second year.  Applicants who have established research and residency at KBS will have priority.*

To apply, please submit (1) a statement of interest, (2) your current CV, and (3) a letter of support from your faculty advisor. Your statement of interest and your advisor’s letter of support should demonstrate a familiarity with the general goals and expectations of the NSF GK-12 program and the KBS GK-12 project.  Questions and application materials should e-mailed to Tom Getty and Robin Tinghitella via kbsgk12project@kbs.msu.edu .  Review of applications will begin December 15, 2011.

* We anticipate that a few fellowships will be available to EEBB/ESPP students whose research is not established at KBS.  Campus-based fellows will need to be prepared to spend 15 hours per week working at KBS or in nearby K-12 districts.

Fellow Tyler Bassett is spending his year working in the classrooms of two Gull Lake Middle School teachers, Jennifer Boyle and Kim Clancy. Their partnership and work with the BEST plots research network was recently highlighted in an article in the Gull Lake Communicator. Check it out here! The article is on page 8.

It’s official – data collection has begun! Students in 13 SW Michigan school districts are busy learning how to sample plant biomass, insect and plant biodiversity, characterize soil and measure soil chemicals, and survey landscape-level characteristics of their schoolyards as part of the BEST Plots Research Network. Their data will become part of a large database that students and teachers can use to address questions such as:

• Do plants yield more biomass when they are grown as a mixture of plants (prairie) rather than a monoculture (switchgrass)?
• Does the soil composition affect plant biomass when we compare across schools?
• Does fertilization impact species diversity in the mixed prairie plots?
• Does the amount of pavement near the plots versus forest or grass impact insect biodiversity?