Jodi
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Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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When I assessed my students' research projects, I began by having due dates for each step along the way. For example, students receive completion points for selecting a topic that can be researched and for writing a testable hypothesis. The next component was for them to find a minimum of 10 scientific journal articles for background information. They had to provide me with a link to each source which had to go directly to a full-text article, not just an abstract. Although many of the steps were completion points, the research design and implementations were graded on a rubric. This made it a fair assessment to reflect the accuracy and thoroughness of the projects.
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When my students conducted their own research projects for a STEM fair, it was very time-consuming. Unfortunately, since our school is mainly focused on how the students perform on their end-of-course state tests, most teachers do not have the time to dedicate to inquiry-based research projects that take a significant amount of time to complete. There are many biology concepts to cover in a limited amount of time to ensure that the students can perform to the best of their abilities on the state tests. Even though our students perform above the state average, we are constantly being told that it is not good enough and we are made to feel ineffective. This inhibits our ability to deviate from our rigorous path to cover all of the required topics before the spring testing schedule. One way that I tried to address the time constraints was to break the projects up into smaller tasks that had specific due dates. Even though my students worked with a partner, I still had 25 research projects to manage. After discussing the topics that they chose, they had to be guided to ensure that they could design an experiment to test their hypothesis. I had to teach them how to gather quality reference material since most of them were used to using Wikipedia. Teaching them how to access full-text scientific journal articles was an important step to getting them started. I required that each research group had a minimum of 10 journal articles about their topic. Next, the students had to design their experiments. The amount of time to conduct the experiments depended on the research topic. For example, some students were growing plants in our greenhouse, some were swabbing desks to grow bacteria, some were conducting macroinvertebrate stream surveys of Little Beaver Creek after school, and many other diverse topics. This was definitely the best part for the students. They enjoyed gathering data that was unique to their study. After their experiments were completed, they created graphs, formed conclusions, and learned how to write in APA format (which took a lot of time since they had no experience with APA format.) Finally, they had to create posters for their STEM fair that were presented to a panel of judges. The judges consisted of two college professors and two retired high school science teachers. Overall, I was incredibly proud of the performance of all of my students! Some of them even advanced to the next level of competition at Youngstown State University. Although the student-led research projects took a lot of time to complete, I still managed to cover most of the topics for the state test. Honestly, I think the groups that completed the projects performed better on the tests because they understood the process of science better.
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I use eBird every time I take my dog for a walk at our local park. I also use it frequently in the winter months when observing birds at my bird feeder. I think eBird will be a perfect project for my students to use since it is easy to navigate and downloads a species list that is common for the area being studied. Once they are comfortable using the app, I hope they will continue to use it outside of school. Not only can the students contribute data to eBird, but they can easily access the database for their region. I would like to incorporate the database into my lessons. For example, students can gather data on waterfowl that have been reported at Beaver Creek State Park in Northeast Ohio. They can use this data to determine when each species first arrives to help understand waterfowl migration. They can also monitor how there is an increase in waterfowl species diversity in early spring, but that the numbers will decrease as certain species move on to more northern regions to breed. I am excited to hopefully pique the interest of birding in my students and hope to develop their passion for observing the species in their community.
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I encourage students to spend time outdoors around their own community and write about it in their journals. They submit 1 journal entry per week and can write about any topic regarding their outdoor experiences. I feel that this gives the students an opportunity to explore nature in their own backyard to develop a sense of connectedness to the world around them. This year, I will also have them write a question in their journals about their observations. Each month, they can choose one of their questions and determine what type of experimental approach could be taken to research their question.
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By taking students outdoors for a nature walk, they will have many unique opportunities to observe a variety of species and habitat characteristics that are sure to lead to observations and questions. This is a beneficial activity regardless of the grade that we teach. Providing them with clipboards while walking will enable them to stop and write down any of their questions or observations at the moment they are occurring instead of waiting until they get back in the classroom. Their field notes can then be used to guide future individualized projects.
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Being aware of the sounds of nature around us helps us to realize that we are surrounded by biodiversity. Unfortunately, sounds such as traffic often drown out the more subtle tones of nature. I feel that this will be a great activity to conduct even at the high school level to make the students more aware of their surroundings.
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I feel that enabling the students to be active participants in citizen science projects around our school will greatly enhance their understanding of science. We will utilize the pond habitat near our school as our outdoor learning lab where we will conduct a bioblitz, bird counts, and monarch monitoring. I feel that the students will not only be engaged in the projects, but also feel empowered that their data will contribute to global scientific databases.
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By positioning students as people who do science, they become actively engaged in scientific processes such as gathering valid data. I think it is a great way for them to change their perspective of what a scientist is. They can begin to see themselves as citizen scientists and realize that they can contribute globally to scientific knowledge and research. By framing the work globally and locally, the projects become more meaningful to the students since they can feel like they are making a difference in the world by participating in citizen science projects. Attending to the unexpected is important because it allows the educator and the students to learn together about their specific projects. It is important for the students to understand that their own data is used to determine the results of the project. I would like to incorporate citizen science projects such as a bioblitz and monarch monitoring into my curriculum this year. I want my students to feel like they are active participants in the world of science.
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This year I want to conduct a bioblitz with my students in the pond habitat area next to our school. I would like to start by having them install iNaturalist and eBird on their phones. We will start by learning how to use the apps and how to identify birds using a field guide. Once students are comfortable with the apps, we will conduct our bioblitz! I feel that the students will feel empowered that their own field data will be submitted and can help scientists to monitor the biodiversity of our area.
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As part of my biology class, students are randomly assigned a research partner and have to come up with a question regarding a topic they are interested in that they can develop an experiment for. The next step is for the students to research background information about their topic using scientific journal articles. Next, they design their own experiment that can be conducted in the lab within 2 months. The lab is open for the students to use during their study halls as well as after school. They conduct their experiments, gather data, create graphs and tables, and form a conclusion based on their results. Finally, they compare their results to the journal articles and discuss differences or similarities with their data. Experiments are then presented in a poster format during our annual STEM Fair. This type of assignment is considered Open Inquiry and allows the students control over the topics that they want to learn more about. Although a detailed project like this requires a lot of time, students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills when conducting their own research projects. They learn how to design an experiment to test their hypothesis. This approach empowers the students to use science as an active method of learning. They also develop collaboration and communication skills since they have to work with a random partner and formally present their results to a panel of judges. Modifications that can be done with this type of project include breaking the student requirements up into small manageable steps with deadlines to keep all of the groups on a similar pace.
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Inquiry is a process of learning that is student-driven based on each individual's curiosity. Curiosity leads to the development of a question that the student can research by designing their own experiment. By exploring ways to answer their question, a student will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)