Here you will find our plant biomass and plant and insect biodiversity protocols as well as materials that support your use of those materials.
Here you’ll find the Table of Contents, an Introduction to the BEST Plots Research Network and binders, and a timeline for the completion of protocols.
In the fall of 2010, students and science teachers working with graduate students at KBS planted the seeds for the “BEST” BioEnergy SusTainability Schoolyard Research Network. The network includes > 300 research plots at 22 schools across 15 districts in six counties in southwest Michigan.
The research plots mimic long-term, collaborative research at the KBS Long Term Ecological Research site and Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. KBS faculty, staff, and graduate students are collaborating with teachers on experimental design, research protocols, and curriculum development for the research network. Students planted switchgrass and native prairie seeds on their research plots. Both are crops that researchers at KBS are studying for their potential value as bioenergy crops. Over the next five years, students will make observations and take measurements about the biodiversity, productivity, and soil quality on these plots to answer the question,
“Can we grow our fuel and our flowers and butterflies too?”
Below you will find the electronic versions of the contents of our BEST Plots Research Network binders, including introductory materials, protocols, lesson plans, and resources. Please click on one of the following six posts to access these materials.
If you are a K-12 Partnership teacher whose school has BEST plots and you would like to receive a binder, please contact Sarah at bodbyl@msu.edu
Exercises in Evidence-Based Claims and Graphing
Click here to be taken to the new site where you can access new and updated Data Nuggets!
Data Nuggets bring current research into the classroom, giving students the chance to work with real data – and all its complexities. Data Nuggets are activities designed to give students practice interpreting quantitative information and make claims based on evidence. The standard format of each Data Nugget provides a brief background to a researcher and their study system, along with a small, manageable dataset. Students are then challenged to answer a scientific question, using the dataset to support their claim, and are guided through the construction of graphs to facilitate data interpretation. Graphing and content levels allow for differentiated learning for students with any science, math, or reading background. Because of their simplicity and flexibility, Data Nuggets can be used across grades and throughout the school year as students build their quantitative skills.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions regarding these Data Nuggets please e-mail Liz Schultheis at eschultheis@gmail.com
Each year, our GK-12 Project co-leads a Summer Science Institute for the KBS K-12 Partnership teachers. This year the Institute took place from June 20-24th. 10 GK-12 Fellows conceived of, organized, and led (along with their Partner Teachers) concurrent sessions based on either the Fellow’s own research or research that our KBS K-12 Partnership teachers will conduct alongside their students as participants in the BEST (BioEnergy SusTainability) Research Network. The Summer Science Institute is the first opportunity for Fellows and their Partner Teachers to bond through the creation of concurrent sessions which they will lead all Partnership teachers through the following week – it’s a major team-building experience! Fellows new to our program this year designed sessions that bridged their own thesis or dissertation research with Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations and took teachers to visit their research sites at places like the KBS Dairy, Lux Arbor, and The Bird Sanctuary. Returning fellows led sessions related to our three BEST Research Network “themes”, which are Biomass and Biodiversity, Soil Composition and Chemistry, and Landscape-Level Patterns. For more information about the KBS K-12 Partnership or the KBS Summer Science Institute, contact Robin Tinghitella at hibbsr@msu.edu. Enjoy the pictures!
On March 31, 2011 more than 500 students and parents attended the fourth annual, district-wide Science Night at Plainwell Middle School. The event was a great success! More than seventy students presented their scientific work in the form of science fair projects, research posters, and artwork. Additionally, twenty-four local and community groups brought science to the fingertips of kids of all ages through informational booth and hands-on activities. Several organizations brought live animals, including The Kalamazoo Nature Center, which brought an American Kestrel, Binder Park Zoo with a red-tailed hawk and box turtle (both Michigan natives), and the DNR Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, which brought a lake sturgeon. Additionally, the Kalamazoo bee club had lives bees on display as they taught kids and parents alike about the importance of bees and the art of bee-keeping. Science topics at the event ranged from biology and ecology to physics and chemistry. In one corner, Jerry Pahl of the Kalamazoo Air Zoo used his magnetic gun and coil cannon to ‘shoot’ with metal objects, demonstrating the physics of electromagnetism. In another corner, Western Michigan University’s Chemistry club made sparkly silly putty with kids using simple chemical reactions. Iurii Shcherbak and myself, Kali Bird, both Michigan State University graduate students and GK-12 fellows, worked together with Plainwell Community Schools’ teachers and staff to coordinate the event. We would particularly like to thank Sandy Breitenbach, Marty Green, Lisa Winiger, Lisa Smith, and Paul deMink, as well as the thirty-five enthusiastic and tireless elementary, middle, and high-school students who volunteered their help for the evening. If you weren’t able to come this year, be sure to watch for next year’s event in March 2012!
By GK-12 Fellow Kali Bird
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/P1000896.jpg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[199]">Kali and her AP Bio students</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/P1000896-500x375.jpg)
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/P1000913.jpg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[199]">Julie Doll and a student</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/P1000913-500x375.jpg)
At the 2011 GK-12 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., three of our current Fellows (Lauren Kinsman-Costello, Melissa Kjelvik, and Leila Desotelle) and two of our Partner Teachers (Connie High and Sandy Breitenbach), shared a presentation called “Preparing Fellows for the Classroom: What works and what doesn’t?” in which they highlighted lessons learned in the first year of our GK-12 Bioenergy Sustainability Project and over the course of an earlier GK-12 Project at Kellogg Biological Station. We also presented a project poster highlighting our BEST Schoolyard Research Network and ways in which we bring Fellow research to K-12 classrooms. Check out our project poster, powerpoint presentation, and a handout prepared by our fellows.
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Melissa-and-Lauren-speaking.jpg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[146]">Melissa and Lauren speaking</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Melissa-and-Lauren-speaking-225x300.jpg)
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sandy-at-GK12-meeting.jpg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[146]">Sandy at GK12 meeting</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sandy-at-GK12-meeting-500x375.jpg)
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Connie-at-poster.jpeg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[146]">Connie at poster</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Connie-at-poster-300x225.jpg)
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Melissa-Leila-Lauren-presenting.jpeg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[146]">Melissa Leila & Lauren presenting</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Melissa-Leila-Lauren-presenting-300x225.jpg)
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Robin-leading-GK-12-conference-session.jpeg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[146]">Robin leading GK-12 conference session</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Robin-leading-GK-12-conference-session-300x202.jpg)
![<a href="https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sandy-et-al-presenting.jpeg" target="_top" rel="lightbox[146]">Sandy et al presenting</a>](https://kbsgk12project.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sandy-et-al-presenting-300x225.jpg)
KBS’s K-12 Partnership Workshops have been scheduled for Spring 2011. Teachers from partner districts should plan to join us on March 1, 2011 and April 19, 2011 for all day workshops at Kellogg Biological Station. Please
rsvp to Robin (hibbsr@msu.edu) or Sara (parrsar1@msu.edu) if you plan to attend. In March we will be joined by MSU researcher Louise Mead who will share her experiences in Evolution Education with the group. Louise recently moved to
MSU where she is the Education Director for the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action (http://beacon-center.org/). You can find more information about our Spring Professional Development Workshops for partner district teachers at http://www.kbs.msu.edu/education/k-12-partnership/workshops .
Last fall, students and science teachers working with graduate students at KBS planted the seeds for the “BEST” BioEnergy SusTainability Schoolyard Research Network. The network includes > 300 research plots at 22 schools in 11 districts in six counties in southwest Michigan. The research plots will mimic long-term, collaborative research at the KBS Long Term Ecological Research site and Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. KBS faculty, staff, and graduate students are collaborating with teachers on experimental design, research protocols, and curriculum development for the research network. Students planted switchgrass and native prairie seeds on their research plots. Both are crops that researchers at KBS are studying for their potential value as bioenergy crops. Over the next five years, students will make observations and take measurements about the biodiversity, productivity, and soil quality on these plots to answer the question, “Can we grow our fuel and our flowers and butterflies too?”