Pam

I thought the rubrics presented in this lesson were excellent. I have always been a supporter of using rubrics because they give students a clear guide for what they need to do and what information needs to be collected. This is valuable to students when they complete a project because it helps them to organize their thoughts and determine the best way to present the information. It also increases the chances for success for differently abled learners. I would use a rubric like these, or a variation of these depending on the project, to assess inquiry-based projects. As a mom of two differently abled learners I have experienced firsthand how hard it is for some students to be successful. A rubric is a great tool for all students to do their best work.

My biggest challenge is lack of understanding about inquiry-based activities and/or the opportunity to use them. I will need to tackle this issue with information, education and patience. I teach nutrition education and work with school gardens in collaboration with 5 local schools and teach one-hour classes as a “specials” teacher. We have specific curriculum that is required for me to teach with but citizen science and/or inquiry-based activities are not part of this. In the past year there has been discussion that we are considering aligning one of our curricula with the NGSS standards. Now, due to the pandemic, my job is undergoing a transformation. Ever hopeful, I am wondering how to start interjecting some of these concepts and activities into the process of these changes. I was in a meeting last week with colleagues and mentioned citizen science. Everyone paused and then someone asked, “What’s that?”. My path ahead will be steep…

Which citizen-science project did your research? Provide a brief background. I did my research with Project Budburst. a national network of citizen scientists monitoring plants as the seasons change. When participating in BudBurst we watch for the key life events of a plant during the growing season. These events differ depending upon the type of plant but usually including leafing, flowering, and fruiting events. The study of these events is called phenology. Is the database accessible to anyone? Could someone who has not participated in the project use the data? Can students access the information? Budburst data is available for anyone to download and use.  A budburst account is not required for data downloads. Students can access the data. How might your students use this citizen-science project data to conduct an investigation? With the pandemic going on and our school system deciding to continue online only instruction through at least February 1, 2021 using Groups would be a way to have students participate in a class project even though we are all at home. We could add to the data as well as research the data on BudBurst to create a meaningful class project.

I agree that allowing this sort of exploration allows for deeper understanding and I also think the questions snowball once you start this process. Students love to learn, especially if their teacher is learning along with them, and if it becomes a shared experience of discovery. My students have come up with the best questions and insights during sessions like this!

I tried Budburst and I love the focus of their citizen science projects but I did not think the site was laid out well or user friendly. I had to access the site by typing in www.Budburst.org rather than finding a link on the website of the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG), who they are affiliated with. I had to dig down into CBG’s website to even find a link to Budburst, and it was hard to locate. Once I made it through all that frustration discovered a hidden page where I could take my collected data and input it onto the site. I think they need to develop an APP for this project which would make collecting and uploading the data easier. I would need to work with this site more before I would suggest this project for a classroom because I think finding the data would be too confusing.

Thanks for sharing those great ideas Laurie! I work at a school that is a magnet for mobility differences and this inspires me to think more broadly about being inclusive. Also, your ideas would work well for our school’s courtyard garden because we are considering putting stations around the garden and these activities could be incorporated into the stations.

Kristen I like how you use this activity to let your students discover biodiversity and disprove their initial assumptions. Powerful! And also a great way for students that may be in a more urban setting to realize “nature” is not absent from their neighborhood either.

I had never made a sound map before, or even heard of this! I went out in my backyard, sat in a comfortable chair, closed my eyes, and listened. It was the noisiest cacophony of sound! I could not believe how noisy it was – layer upon layer of sounds! There were deafening cicadas buzzing extremely loud, all kinds of birds chirping and singing (I’m new to birding so I was not able to identify any of the birds by their song or sounds), cars on a local road nearby that were louder than I had ever noticed with one even honking, a dog barking, a person shouting, my fountain splashing, air conditioner fans running – all simultaneously. It was amazing! I know my students would enjoy doing this. And what is nice is that this is an activity that can be done anywhere. It can be done at school or at home this fall if students are still virtually learning. During the pandemic I have been learning more about being mindful and in the moment. This activity ties into that practice. It is an easy way to get students to be more mindful and aware of the world all around them by focusing on one sense – hearing!

For me the positioning youth as people who do science would be the most important in my setting. The county I live in is focused on test scores and teachers are required to adhere to the curriculum and be sure all standards are taught with limited time for anything extra. STEM learning is part of the curriculum and this would allow students to do real science. And citizen science would be an additional option if time allowed.

Linda, I agree that attending the unexpected connects with different learners. I was working in the garden with three of my students and one of them found an earthworm. The other two screamed! We then spent 15 minutes looking for more worms (we were supposed to be planting something…), discussing what it felt like to hold them in your hand, learning how to pick them up and being careful to not harm them since they were beneficial to our garden’s health. All three students were experts in worm-handling after that investigative experience. Next time I’ll have a better framework for that discussion after what I have learned here.