Short Presentations

View the Conference Schedule at a Glance here

This session format is designed for presentations that enhance understanding of key concepts, or project activities that feature effective ideas and approaches. Presentations are 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. The schedule below is tentative, changes may occur.

	Evolution in Action		Ecology and Earth Systems Dynamics
	Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services		Structure and Function

Friday Short Presentations

	Deck A	Deck B	Deck C	Building 3 Classroom 2
9:45 AM	Bringing climate education to life Harcourt	REVISION: Building connections for undergraduate research at community colleges Overath	Baltimore Ecosystem Study – Young Environmental Scientists Program Caplan; Berkowitz	Students in the field: Using a BioBlitz as an authentic research experience for undergraduates O’Donnell; Brundage
10:25 AM	Contextualizing Climate Change: Linking a regional case study with citizen science research in the classroom Hitchcock	Making Biology Relevant to Careers: Maryland High School EANR (Environment, Agriculture, & Natural Resources) Program Haines, Takaki	Planting Science: Digging Deeper Together Adams, Chaves
1:15 PM	90 Minute Workshop	90 Minute Workshop	90 Minute Workshop	3 Hour Workshop
1:15 PM	Workshop Descriptions available here
3:00 PM	Vernal Pool Study at Sandy Point State Park, Maryland:Anatomy of a student-led, long-term research project Lamont	Linking high schools and community college: New delivery models for dual credit biology Grise	An integrated approach for embedding environmental literacy into core curriculum Oshry; Green
3:40 PM	Applying the Encyclopedia of Life’s interactive education platform in place-based biodiversity education Lorenz	Science Research Mentoring Program: Engaging high school youth in conservation through authentic research Weckel	Connecting ecology to business applications: creating an ecology course relevant for undergraduate business students Rodgers

Saturday Short Presentations

	Deck A	Deck B	Deck C	Building 3 Classroom 2
9:45 AM	Wildcam Gorongosa (HHMI BioInteractive: Connecting students to Active Research) Conneely	Surprises from the field: what students gained, valued and thought about using publicly available ecological data Langen	Making life science accessible in urban schools Briody; Sechrist
10:30 AM	Using a biotechnology course to increase scientific literacy and promote scientific relevancy for business students Blodgett	Designing and monitoring discussions for safe learning Higgins	Building future biologists by using feedback and self-reflection to connect students to learning and understanding Campbell; Strode
11:10 AM	C3 Center’s Young Scientists: A Different Outreach Approach Donovan; Roberts	Assessing the Impact of Citizen Science Project Participation on Science Attitude and Literacy Janetski; Davis; Travis	Educating the Next Generation of Arborist’s Conti	What’s it like to be a scientist? Exposing students to different types of scientists and thinking like a scientist Csikari
2:00 PM	Workshop 90 Minutes	Workshop 90 Minutes	Workshop 90 Minutes	Workshop 3 Hours
2:00 PM	Workshop Descriptions available here
3:40 PM	Exploring structure function relationships with molecular models Porter	Engaging Minority Students and Incorporating Intercultural Proficiency in Biology Courses Brosi and Smith

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Friday, March 18, 2016 9:45 – 10:15AM

Bringing climate change education to life

Patricia Harcourt, Maryland Delaware Climate Change Education Assessment & Research

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, High school teachers and environmental educators

Concepts: Ecosystems — Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Structures and Processes — Organization of Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms, Pathways and transformations of energy and matter, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions for science, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use modeling and simulation

Description: Climate change topics are a natural part of life science curricula, from lessons about photosynthesis, respiration, and the carbon cycle to tolerance ranges for species. Moreover, climate change is an urgent issue with potentially significant impacts for species and ecosystems. However, few life science curricula include a substantial treatment of climate change, and although climate change education resources are available on line, identifying, reviewing, and sorting through them is forbiddingly time consuming for teachers.

MADE CLEAR, Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education Assessment and Research,

is a five-year climate change education project funded by National Science Foundation. We have reviewed resources for teaching about climate change, and have compiled a collection of lessons and activities that are research-based, interactive, NGSS-aligned, and flexible enough to use with students in differentiated classrooms. In this session we will share basic information about climate change and reliable sources for learning more; recent climate research related to life science; selected lessons for integrating climate change into life science courses; and strategies for including science and engineering practices with the lessons.

Topics will include 1. Photosynthesis, respiration, and the carbon cycle using LEGOs; 2. What good is it to plant a tree?, measuring and calculating carbon uptake in trees; 3. Plankton in peril, an activity on the vulnerability of marine calcifers to ocean acidification; and 4. The heat is on: tolerance ranges and climate change, an exercise using recent data to examine changes in habitat conditions and ranges for selected species.

Teachers will have access to a collection of on-line resources for teaching about climate change in the context of life science. We will dedicate the final part of the session for planning time, so participants can begin to lay out implementation strategies.

We will provide all materials, visualizations, and copies of lessons.

REVISION: Building connections for undergraduate research at community colleges

R Deborah Overath, Del Mar College

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice, Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division,

Concepts: Evolution, Information flow, exchange, and storage, Structure and Function

Competencies: , Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: One of the recommendations of AAAS/NSF’s Vision and Change is that college students should be introduced to authentic research experiences early in their academic careers. Because almost half of undergraduate college students are enrolled in two-year community or tribal colleges, offering research experiences in this setting is crucial to revising the way we teach science and encouraging students to major in STEM fields and pursue STEM careers. Through its NSF-funded REVISION program, Del Mar College (DMC) offers biology and bio-tech students the opportunity to participate in authentic research through both course-based and summer research.

Course-based research at DMC is mainly offered through special sections of introductory biology and biotechnology courses in which lab activities are focused on the Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES; seaphage.org) program through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Through this program, DMC’s REVISION has forged connections not only with HHMI and a four-year school (University of North Texas), but also other community colleges and four-year colleges and universities that are part of the SEA-PHAGES program. Students that complete at least one of the SEA-PHAGE course sections may also be invited to participate in a summer research internship either at DMC, a partner four-year school, a government laboratory (e.g., USDA ARS, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory), or even a biotech company. Students perceive many benefits from both types of research experiences.

This presentation will discuss how these connections were made and how they have benefited our students. Finally, it will provide information about other possible ways to incorporate course-based research in particular into lower-level courses and make necessary connections, especially at community colleges, through the assistance of other groups, such as the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI; www.ccuri.org) and the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR; www.cur.org).

Baltimore Ecosystem Study – Young Environmental Scientists Program

Bess Caplan, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Alan R. Berkowitz

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Concepts: Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems,

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Constructing explanations for science, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Planning and carrying out investigations,

Description: During the summer of 2015, the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), a National Science Foundation – Long Term Ecological Research site, piloted a new field ecology program to engage underrepresented youth in field ecology knowledge, skills, and practices. The BES – Young Environmental Scientists (BES YES) Program, brought together five Baltimore City Public School students with scientists and educators for five weeks of ecological field work over the summer. One middle school student and four high school students participated in three separate field campaigns: 1) plants and pollinators in vacant lots; 2) stream habitat assessment and 3) mosquito larval presence in a west Baltimore neighborhood. The students conducted their field work at the same locations, using the same protocols as scientist in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. The goal of the program was to expose youth to career opportunities in Environmental Science. This session will describe the program components and discuss the impact on student learning and engagement in ecology-related skills and practices.

Students in the field: Using a BioBlitz as an authentic research experience for undergraduates

Kelly O’Donnell, Macaulay Honors College – CUNY, Lisa Brundage, CUNY Advance

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice, Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Concepts: Ecosystems — Biodiversity and Humans, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions for science, Constructing explanations for science, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Planning and carrying out investigations, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: Integrating research experiences into undergraduate biology classrooms is an important aspect of the pedagogical improvements outlined in the AAAS Vision and Change Report. Students should be involved in activities that model the actual practice of science so that they develop the skills that will set them up for success in their future science courses and as informed citizens. At Macaulay Honors College, CUNY, sophomores participate in a 24-hour BioBlitz as an opening event for a required general science course. We have conducted three BioBlitzes: Central Park, New York Botanical Garden, and Freshkills Park. The goals of the BioBlitz are to have our students collect meaningful biodiversity data from our urban habitat, have exposure to fieldwork and personal interaction with scientists, and to use the data to conduct a semester-long group research project that models the process of science. At the event, students work side by side with biologists and naturalists on taxonomic teams. Our scientists instruct students in fieldwork methods and species identification skills, providing a snapshot of authentic data collection in the field. In class, students explore how to ask an empirical question of these data, how to manage ecological data, what statistical analyses are appropriate, and how to communicate clearly to both a public and a scientific audience.

We also collect student, scientist, and faculty feedback at the event and in the classroom. We are reaching many students who have not yet had hands-on research experiences and also students who were not ever planning on pursuing research activities. Students like being able to interact with enthusiastic scientists and faculty like the discussions and scientific skills development that the BioBlitz research project provides. We will explain planning a BioBlitz, using the experience and data in class, and how this high-impact learning event draws students closer to science.

Friday, March 18, 2016 10:25 – 10:55AM

Contextualizing Climate Change: Linking a regional case study with citizen science research in the classroom

Colleen Hitchcock, Brandeis University

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division,

Concepts: Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Natural Selection, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions for science, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Planning and carrying out investigations, Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines

Description: The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate how to use a regional case study to contextualize climate change for students and link academic research to the engagement of students in citizen science research. Focus will be on a growing body of research that explores the signature of climate change on Massachusetts species (e.g. shifting range and shifting phenology).

Part I: Signature of Climate Change on Massachusetts Species

Through this model active-learning discussion/lecture participants will:

Work together in a facilitated discussion/lecture to introduce the case (undergraduate non-biology major course version will be presented).

Discuss how the case can be modified and presented in their courses.

Discuss alternate formats for case presentation (e.g. mini-lecture, multi-day jigsaw and blended online face-to-face formats).

Part II: Link case to student engagement in national citizen science campaign.

Through the examination of how this case links with National Phenology Network research participants will:

Identify pathways for student participation in citizen science research.

Identify learning objectives, skills and assessments for students engaged in citizen science.

Describe how engagement in citizen science research can complement content in the classroom.

Identify how hands-on engagement can contextualize understanding of research.

Part III: Exploring possible extensions.

Here additional variations for implementing this case study in the classroom will be covered. This will include discussion of increasing student information literacy skills through linkages with other university resources (i.e. science librarians). Examples of both activities and assessments designed to improve skills in assessing the credibility of science sources and how students access those sources will be presented. Finally, discussion of how this case and participation in citizen science research can enhance student’s abilities to critique the scientific process, data sources and data collection protocols will be covered.

Making Biology Relevant to Careers: Maryland High School EANR (Environment, Agriculture, & Natural Resources) Program

Sarah Haines, Towson University, Elena Takaki

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions for science, Constructing explanations for science, Developing and using models, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Planning and carrying out investigations, Using mathematics and computational thinking,

Description: Career and Technology Education (CTE) prepares both youth and adults for a wide range of careers. These careers require varying levels of education- from high school and postsecondary certificates, to apprenticeships, or two- and four-year college degrees. Students add value to their overall education by completing CTE programs of study that provide opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials and college credit while still in high school.

In this session, we will introduce the newest CTE program that is available to Maryland high school students: EANR (environment, agriculture, and natural resources). The program emphasizes skill development and connections to careers within the natural resource field. Participants will see the scope and sequence of the program courses and hear about the results from our pilot program. Content will be delivered through Powerpoint.

PlantingScience: Digging Deeper Together

Catrina Adams, Botanical Society of America, Ms. Deborah Chaves, Monroe Technology Center

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice, Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Concepts: Ecosystems, Evolution, Heredity, Structures and Processes,

Description: The PlantingScience online mentoring program gives middle and high school students a chance to work as scientists in small teams on student-directed investigations, while communicating with a practicing scientist mentor online. The program is free to participants. The Botanical Society of America manages PlantingScience in partnership with 15 other scientific societies including the Life Discovery partners. In this session, we’ll describe our approach and how it has been effective at connecting students to biology careers by providing real science experiences and exposure to plant biology role models.

We’ll cover aspects of the program that participating students, teachers, and scientist mentors find most beneficial about the program, and provide some tips for creating successful student/scientist partnerships in your own institutions.

You’ll also hear more about a new NSF-funded project we’re launching to leverage the experience of high school teachers and early career scientist mentors in a collaborative, blended learning professional development model. Get a preview of our new website with powerful new tools for supporting student-teacher-scientist partnership and collaboration.

Friday, March 18, 2016 3:00-3:30 PM

Vernal Pool Study at Sandy Point State Park, Maryland: Anatomy of a Student-led, Long-term Research Project

Susan Lamont, Anne Arundel Community College, N/A

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Concepts: Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Ecosystems — Biodiversity and Humans, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions for science, Planning and carrying out investigations, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: Corcoran Woods, located in Sandy Point State Park, is a forested tract, approximately 230 acres in size that is interspersed with vernal pools. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wants to increase public access to and awareness of Corcoran Woods while preserving the unique habitats contained within it. Furthermore, recently-initiated management activities inside the park, including invasive species control, threaten these sensitive habitats, yet DNR has limited funding and staff for monitoring. In response to this need, students from Anne Arundel Community College, under direction of faculty from the Biology Department and in collaboration with DNR, initiated a long-term monitoring study of the vernal pool habitat in Corcoran Woods. During Fall semester, vegetative data are collected within permanent plots located in and around the vernal pools when pools are dry. In Spring semester, physical, chemical and biological data are collected within the pools. Students from several different courses within the Biology Department participate as part of Service-Learning. Study objectives include:

Identifying and mapping locations of vernal pools within Corcoran Woods

Characterizing physical features of the vernal pools, including pool size, depth, and water chemistry.

Monitoring population sizes and species richness of vernal pool species (spotted and marbled salamanders, fairy shrimp).

Monitoring plant species composition within pools and in the surrounding upland 100m buffer.

Learning objectives include:

Attaining proficiency with ecological field methods and equipment.

Mastering accuracy and precision in data collection, recording and analysis.

Understanding how data are used to manage and protect habitats.

Gaining relevant experience as a committed and dependable member of a research team.

This study shows how research can be designed to provide useful data while also fitting into the framework of an academic schedule and the constraints of student-led research.

Linking high schools and community college: New delivery models for dual credit biology

David Grise, Del Mar College

Conference Track: Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division

Competencies: , Apply the process of Science

Description: Due to the cost of higher education, there is a financial incentive for high school students to take dual credit courses. In many cases, the costs of dual credit courses are mostly paid for by the students school district. Dual credit biology courses are an attractive option for all students but may be a particularly attractive option for first generation students who are often members of groups under-represented in science. In 2013, 46% of all US undergraduates, 52% African American, 57% Hispanic, 61% Native American, and 43% Asian/Pacific Islander undergraduates were enrolled at 2-year colleges.

If the pipeline towards a biology-related career is to be opened to students from under-represented groups, we must adjust to the current financial reality and ensure that dual credit students receive a introductory biology course that is very similar to the introductory biology course, including lab, they would receive at a community college or four-year institution. Doing so will involve shifting departmental resources and reaching out to offer courses that are more complementary to students high school schedule.

Like many community colleges and some four-year institutions, Del Mar College has high school students take introductory biology courses on its campus, as well as at their own schools. In addition, Del Mar College offers these courses taught by its faculty at a satellite location near several high schools and within a few local high schools. The current instructor of these courses, I am an experienced ecologist with an active research program and a commitment to teach science as science is practiced. In my courses, dual credit students also gain information about the culture of college and how course material relates to larger concepts. In this presentation, I will discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by these additional course delivery models.

An integrated approach for embedding environmental literacy into core curriculum

Aleeza Oshry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Amy Green, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Conference Track: Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Concepts: Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Structures and Processes, Structures and Processes — Information Processing, Structures and Processes — Organization of Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms, Structures and Processes — Structure and Function,

Description: The Maryland Environmental Literacy Partnership (MELP) represents a three-year case study of the process through which cohorts of teachers from twelve school districts were trained to develop, pilot, and implement localized environmental literacy modules into core subject areas.

Unique in environmental education, the MELP program has served as the avenue for teaching disciplinary content through student centered, life-relevant environmental issues investigations. In the past, environmental education has largely been considered supplemental to primary curriculum for core subject areas, however the recent passage of the No Child Left Inside Act has informed a shift in the education departments of many states toward establishing the necessity of environmental literacy. MELP directly supports these efforts to legitimize environmental education by establishing a model for using the environment as a context through which students actively engage in the investigative practices in core subjects through which they may develop sophisticated understandings of the disciplinary core ideas of science, mathematics, engineering, and social studies.

The Environmental Literacy Framework developed through MELP is the tool by which school districts can integrate issues based investigation together with civic engagement and action into curriculum, creating student-centered, inquiry-driven, field-based investigations that align with regional and national standards such as NGSS. This process emphasizes the scientific practices and cross-curricular connections while addressing core ideas through the seamless integration of local resources, field investigations, student action projects and service learning.

This presentation will include a demonstration of curricular alignment using this Framework, an explanation of the development pathway created to support the schools and teachers implementing the methodology, and the method used to create localized modules for teaching through environmental literacy within core subject curricula.

Friday, March 18, 2016 3:40 – 4:10 PM

Applying the Encyclopedia of Life’s interactive education platform in place-based biodiversity education

Amy Lorenz, Encyclopedia of Life/ Harvard University

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events, Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Developing and using models, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information,

Description: The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online biodiversity resource whose mission is to provide global access to information about all known life on earth. The EOL Learning + Education Team of Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology has developed an online platform to explore the biodiversity of places around the world.

This platform has applications to engage students with the same organisms in multiple ways including interactive food webs, species trait cards, games, statistics, and lesson plans for K-12 audiences. The purpose of this presentation is to share our resources for biodiversity education through a current project: Okaloosa SCIENCE, a collaborative STEM initiative in Okaloosa County, FL funded by a Department of Defense Education Activity grant.

This presentation will demonstrate how EOL has developed place-specific activities and applications for K-12 students to increase science achievement, connection to place, and community resiliency. These include classroom activities, field investigations, and collaboration with local experts in long-term community projects and annual bioblitzes. Curriculum focuses on interdependence, ecosystems, adaptations, classification, and science practices.

Okaloosa SCIENCE is an excellent model for schools and communities interested in developing local project-based programs. All EOL learning materials developed for the Okaloosa SCIENCE initiative are available and can be applied anywhere. We invite more partners for our Places project to cover more ecosystems on the map.

Participants will become familiar with EOL’s educational materials and online platform as demonstrated through high school activities. They will understand how EOL connects to NGSS standards, and be encouraged to provide feedback. This presentation requires Internet to access online resources. Printed materials and lesson plans will be provided for participants.

Relevant URLs:

EOL Homepage: eol.org
EOL Education page: education.eol.org
EOL Lessons (all): http://eol.org/info/ed_resource
Okaloosa SCIENCE activities: http://education.eol.org/ecosystems/ecolessons.php?proj_id=4&sys_id=21

Science Research Mentoring Program: Engaging high school youth in conservation through authentic research

Mark Weckel, American Museum of Natural History

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Concepts: Ecosystems, Evolution, Ecosystems — Biodiversity and Humans, Ecosystems — Natural Selection, Heredity

Description: Launched in 2009, the Science Research Mentoring Program of the American Museum of Natural History allows 60 NYC high school students the opportunity to work alongside AMNH scientists to conduct authentic research on a range of topics from Anthropology to Astrophysics. All students in this program are first required to complete 75 hours of after-school preparatory classwork at the AMNH before applying to SRMP. Once accepted, students participate in a 3 week summer institute where they receive hands-on training in statistical analysis, coding, and molecular lab techniques. During their research year, students are matched with AMNH mentor-scientists in teams of 2 or 3 to complete a project central to their mentors work.

In 2013, SRMP was expanded to provide a greater focus on biodiversity and conservation science. This included revising core classes in molecular biology, conservation biology, biodiversity, and evolutionary biology to 1) better reflect K12 Next Generation Science Standards, 2) stress active, student-centered learning, and 3) maximize the use of AMNH resources including our collections, labs, and dioramas. In addition, a one-week, immersive field trip to Black Rock Forest (NY) was added to the summer institute. Here students had the opportunity to work on a variety of field projects alongside AMNH educators and scientists. A conservation biology speaker series was added to monthly SRMP advisory sessions. Students also participated in or attended two biodiversity-themed professional conferences. Finally, we increased the number of conservation research projects by recruiting additional conservation scientists to serve as mentors.

Two years of evaluation data have suggested that our biodiversity and conservation initiatives have had a substantial impact, particularly our speaker series and week-long field trip. We are currently in the pilot year of a longitudinal study to examine the long-term impacts of the program including our investments in conservation science on our students progress, networks, and professional development.

Connecting ecology to business applications: Creating an ecology course relevant for undergraduate business students

Vikki Rodgers, Babson College

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division

Concepts: , Pathways and transformations of energy and matter, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: I have developed a foundational course in ecology, designed specifically to appeal to business students entitled Case Studies in Ecological Management. The course content combines ecological concepts with natural resource management and conservation strategies. We cover topics such as: ecosystem services, global biogeochemical cycles, planetary boundaries, biological impacts of pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and ecological restoration. The course is designed to emphasize the methodology of science, enhance critical thinking and problem solving, practice systems thinking and visualization, and apply ethical considerations and social responsibility. Specific real life examples (or cases) are used throughout the course and are chosen to draw upon different global perspectives. I use hands-on lab exercises, in-class activities, homework blogs, and a group project to engage students in material they find relevant both to the business world and in their everyday lives. The group project allows students to research the life cycle impact of a product they select specifically focusing on biodiversity loss, ecosystem disturbance, natural resource use, pollution production, and social considerations, such as human health and environmental justice. Students are then challenged to propose a change in design, materials, or processing of their product that lowers the ecological impact while also assessing the economic and social impacts.

Saturday, March 19, 2016 9:45 – 10:15 AM

Wildcam Gorongosa (HHMI BioInteractive: Connecting Students to Active Research

Bridget Conneely, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events, Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division

Concepts: Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Ecosystems — Social Interactions and Group Behavior, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: HHMI BioInteractive has developed educational resources using Gorongosa National Park as a case study. Educators can use these multimedia interactive resources, which are aligned to national standards, to teach concepts in ecology, conservation, social science, and inquiry-based science practices. This workshop will highlight one of these resources. Using trail cameras throughout the park, researchers are collecting hundreds of thousands of pictures and they need the help of citizen scientists to build a data set so the scientists can better understand which animals exist in Gorongosa, where they are, how they behave, and how the ecosystem is responding to restoration efforts.

Surprises from the field: what students gained, valued and thought about using publicly available ecological data

Tom Langen, Clarkson University

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division

Concepts: Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: Starting in 2009, ESA, NCEAS, and NEON sponsored the ‘Engaging Undergraduate Students in Ecological Investigations Using Large, Public Datasets’ distributed seminar. Faculty from five colleges worked together and with colleagues at the sponsoring organizations to develop, implement, assess, and disseminate classroom exercises using publicly-available ecological data sets. Our objectives were to create exercises that, by working with real data, enhance students’ ecological content knowledge and critical thinking skills, engage students in the synthesis of ecological knowledge, and instill in students an understanding of the value of publicly-available archived data. We also intended these exercises to introduce 21st century ‘ecoinformatics’ skills in data mining, processing, and analysis; and be practical to use at any undergraduate institution and with any population of undergraduate ecology students. Five exercises were developed and tested on undergraduate classes. We administered pre and post surveys to our students that measured content knowledge, attitudes about the exercises, and general perceptions about using publicly-available data in ecology. We also brought two students from each participating institution to a meeting of the working group at NCEAS, to provide their perspectives on the exercises we developed, and to share and help synthesize the distributed seminar’s results.

We were surprised at how difficult it was to develop exercises that met our objectives and were doable in an undergraduate course. Our assessments indicated, however, that students gained a lot in terms of ecological content knowledge and process skills from our exercises, and they liked doing them. Students valued the opportunity to explore real data about ecological issues, stating that doing the exercises was more like authentic research. They appreciated the tangible connections with other course content. However, there was a diversity of students’ attitudes about using publically-available ecological data, and some views were quite surprising and problematic. Overall, we judged the exercises to be highly worthwhile, despite the time commitment required.

Making life science accessible in urban schools

Amanda Briody, Frederick Douglass High School; Sarah Sechrist, Carver Vocational-Technical High School

Track: Broadening Participation

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12

Description: It is the job of every teacher around the world to meet the needs of his/her own population of students. As teachers in low-income urban communities, we face unique challenges that require creative instruction to keep our students engaged in learning life science. These challenges are not exclusive to our situation, but remain a consistent barrier in providing our students with the best education we can. Our students are all over the map – in a given class students are varying in their daily attendance, grade-level reading comprehension skills, and behaviors. At the root, many of our students bring a lot of baggage from their community and home-life into the classroom. From a psychological perspective, this causes extra layers of stress and keeps the students in their “lizard brain” and out of their “thinking brain”. As teachers, we must be knowledgeable of the whole student that enters the classroom, and create a safe space for students to learn and feel comfortable taking risks. In addition to the challenges of our student population, we also must work within the physical and geological constraints of teaching in an urban setting. In general, there is a lack of outdoor space(s) in which to present and interact with different ecological communities. This makes learning about complex issues such as human impact, ecological pyramids and biomass difficult when students do not have a chance to go out and observe multiple communities. The strategies we will share are a culmination of the many approaches we have used and refined in order to provide our students with an authentic and valuable life science education.

Saturday, March 19, 2016 10:30 – 11:00AM

Using a biotechnology course to increase scientific literacy and promote scientific relevancy for business students

David Blodgett, Babson College

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events

Intended Audience: Undergraduate: Lower Division

Competencies: , Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: At Babson College, we teach science exclusively to business students. We strive to increase the scientific literacy of our students by encouraging students to discover the relevancy of the topics to their daily lives. The challenge is to do this without compromising the integrity of the science. This presentation will highlight the methodology I use in a biotechnology course using hands on labs, example-driven reading material, social, ethical, and sustainable considerations for all topics, and student opportunities to demonstrate their understanding. I cover topics like stem cell research, GMOs, forensic science, personalized medicine, antibiotic resistance, and drug discovery. This gives me the opportunity to talk about the tenets of biology education from the central dogma to the cell cycle and gene expression. I encourage students to connect with topics they have heard about or for which a politicized or polarized discussion exists. We talk about the forensic science students see in television shows, but relate it to unique DNA identifiers. I show how GMOs are a great example of genetic engineering. We discuss how drugs are discovered, what experiments are done, how regulations work, and why they cost so much. These are a few examples of how I strive to maintain scientific integrity, increase scientific literacy, and promote scientific relevancy for our students.

Designing and monitoring discussions for safe learning

Linden Higgins, University of Vermont

Conference Track: Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division

Competencies: Constructing explanations for science, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Apply the process of Science

Description: Different kinds of questions are appropriate for different pedagogical goals (confirming content knowledge; evaluating pre-conceptions and where students in understanding; using open-ended questions to guide practice of critical thinking and use of evidence). Particularly important for student development are opportunities to voice dissenting opinions and participate in civil disagreement and evidence-based arguments. In this presentation, I briefly discuss the importance of carefully worded open-ended discussion prompts and process-focused feedback in the context of student epistemological development. Participants will work together to develop one discussion prompt and I will share a sample proficiency-based rubric for student argumentation.

Building future biologists by using feedback and self-reflection to connect students to learning and understanding

Kristy Campbell, Fairview High School, Paul Strode, Fairview High School

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Competencies: Asking questions for science, Constructing explanations for science, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: This fall, with the graces of our administration, my two biology colleagues and I launched a pedagogical strategy to deemphasize grades in our classrooms and connect our students to the scientific practices and to learning and understanding biology through feedback and self-reflection. Indeed, students must be prepared for careers in biology where, instead of grades, their success as scientists depends on their ability to (i) identify what they do not know and independently seek answers to their questions, (ii) receive and respond positively to feedback from their peers and mentors, and (iii) approach the practice of science with focus, organization, skepticism, but also with passion. To this end, we have determined that our students success in biology should depend on four equally important core course standards: summative content, formative content, science practices, and student practices. Throughout each curriculum unit students reflect on their understanding of the learning targets, their science practice skills, and their performance as students that are engaged with the curriculum, their peers, and their teacher. In this short presentation, I will share some of the tools my colleagues and I have developed to help students reflect and show evidence of their progress toward the course standards and ultimately toward success as a scientist. The tools include, among many others, how do I know what I think I know activities and a Google Document for each student that is shared with the teacher where both can discuss the student’s progress. At the end of each semester, students make claims for how successful they have been on the standards and provide the evidence and reasoning for their claims. By the time of the Life Discovery Conference, we will have completed several months of this strategy and I will share what went well and what we plan to change.

Saturday, March 19, 2016 11:10 – 11:40 AM

Young Scientists: A Different Outreach Approach

Shannon Donovan, Scituate High School, Alison Roberts

Conference Track: Connect learning across institutions and settings

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Concepts: Heredity — Inheritance of Traits, Heredity — Variation of Traits, Structures and Processes, Structures and Processes — Growth and Development of Organisms, Structures and Processes — Information Processing, Structures and Processes — Organization of Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms, Structures and Processes — Structure and Function, Evolution, Information flow, exchange, and storage, Pathways and transformations of energy and matter, Structure and Function, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions for science, Constructing explanations for science, Developing and using models, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Apply the process of Science, Communicate and Collaborate with other disciplines, Tap into the interdisciplinary nature of science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: Good high school biology teachers often look for ways to connect students with real research and real researchers. A major goal of the collaboration discussed in this session was to help create opportunities and resources for these motivated teachers that will help them give greater context for learning and help their students see scientists as real people. To help accomplish this, this website was created and shared with teachers: http://web.uri.edu/bi/. However, recent efforts by engaged teachers to integrate some of these lab exercises have been hampered by loss of instructional time associated with standardized testing. So, this year our team piloted a very different approach – leading an after school enrichment club called the “Young Scientists” in an urban community center in an impoverished neighborhood in Rhode Island.

Assessing the Impact of Citizen Science Project Participation on Science Attitude and Literacy

Erin Janetski, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Cierra Davis, Holly Travis

Conference Track: Connect learning to current events

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division,

Concepts: Ecosystems

Competencies: Asking questions for science, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Apply the process of Science, Understand the relationship between Science and Society

Description: Participants will learn about a study designed to assess whether the science self-efficacy of pre-service teachers with limited science background can be influenced through guided experiences in authentic scientific research. We assessed pre-service elementary education students’ belief that they could positively impact global change through their everyday actions by administering a survey before and after participation in a citizen science assignment. Citizen science offers an opportunity for volunteers to assist scientists with research on various topics by submitting data, making observations, or taking surveys. This interaction presented an excellent opportunity to study the changing levels of self-efficacy. One of the most important applications of this study is that educators can significantly influence their student’s perceptions of science by being aware of the available resources and opportunities. Additionally, these future educators gained a valuable exercise in finding ways to engage their classrooms while contributing to the global scientific community. These citizen science resources, the survey instruments, and the ramifications of their application will be shared.

Relevant Sources:

Citizen Science, Scientific American

https://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1671

Educating the Next Generation of Arborists

Arielle Conti, Casey Trees

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice

Intended Audience: Other

Concepts: Ecosystems — Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Biodiversity and Humans, Structures and Processes — Structure and Function,

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Developing and using models, Engaging in argument from evidence, Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Planning and carrying out investigations,

Description: Overall objective: Learn about http://www.itreelessons.com a new unit that integrates the Next Generation Science Standards and local tree data. The unit gives students exposure to the field of arboriculture and broadly urban ecology.

The overall goal of the unit is for students to use i-Tree software to design a possible solution to a real world, place-based problem. This goal links directly to the Engineering Design standards within NGSS. The problem they identify is that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contributes to climate change. Using i-Tree, they have the ability to design a tree planting as one possible way to reduce carbon. Students also look at their personal carbon footprint to understand how fossil fuel consumption increases atmospheric carbon. The unit culminates with students writing a scientific report to propose a tree planting plan for their school.

The unit consists of an Introduction and 8 lessons that can all be downloaded using Google Drive. Each one comes with a Teacher lesson plan, Powerpoint presentation and a Lab Journal, which also serves as the assessment tool.

We will be focusing the presentation on how to effectively incorporate i-Tree Design in the classroom. Using internet access and participants personal laptops the session will demonstrate how to easy and useful the program is for a classroom setting.

What’s it like to be a scientist? Exposing students to different types of scientists and thinking like a scientist.

Melissa Csikari, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division

Concepts: Ecosystems — Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience, Ecosystems — Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems, Ecosystems — Social Interactions and Group Behavior, Systems: Living systems interconnected and interacting

Competencies: Analyzing and interpreting data, Constructing explanations for science, Engaging in argument from evidence, Planning and carrying out investigations, Using mathematics and computational thinking, Apply the process of Science, Use modeling and simulation, Use quantitative reasoning

Description: Connecting students to current research and scientific practices is an important part of a modern science course. HHMI BioInteractive’s Scientist at Work videos expose students to a variety of world-renowned scientists doing work in the field. Data Points taken from primary literature, present students with a small amount of background information, then ask them to analyze and discuss the figures and graphs presented to them. These two resources are an excellent way to start or finish a unit with an exposure to careers in life science and a connection to current research and practices. Participants will view one of the short Scientist at Work clips and then actively work through a Data Points activity. Examples of these resources are located on our webpage: https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive This activity connects students to the role of mathematics in life science and science careers in general.

Saturday, March 19, 2016 3:40 – 4:10 PM

Exploring structure function relationships with molecular models

Sandra Porter, Digital World Biology / Austin Community College / Bio-Link

Conference Track: Connect to Careers in research and practice, Connect learning to current events

Intended Audience: Grades 9-12, Undergraduate: Lower Division, Undergraduate: Upper Division

Concepts: Heredity, Heredity — Inheritance of Traits, Heredity — Variation of Traits, Structures and Processes, Structures and Processes — Information Processing, Structures and Processes — Structure and Function, Evolution, Structure and Function

Description: We have found the combination of a low-cost, user-friendly, molecular modeling app (Molecule World on the iPad or Cn3D), and the availability of over a hundred thousand molecular and chemical structures in public databases has made it possible for almost any class to work with and use molecular models to develop, test hypothesis and communicate their results from scientific investigations. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use molecular and chemical models as tools for discovery, explore multiple techniques for working with models, and learn how to annotate models for lab reports and presentations. During the workshop, we will explore the structural basis for the development of breast cancer, drug resistance in influenza, experiments to determine the orientation of the capsaicin receptor, and the reason why certain residues are conserved through evolution in cytochrome C oxidase.

http://digitalworldbiology.com/dwb/structure-collections

Engaging Minority Students and Incorporating Intercultural Proficiency in Biology Courses

Sunshine L. Brosi, Frostburg State University and Laura G. Smith, Frostburg State University

Conference Track: *Broadening Participation

Description: Teaching biological sciences from an ethnobiology perspective incorporates cultural, interdisciplinary studies, and relevancy for the material. Field-based courses have been designed to teach sustainability and botany through the lens of culture. A short-term intersession course was designed and has been taught for two years that teaches principles of sustainability using materials for traditional Cherokee artisan basketry. This course incorporates service learning and introducing students to political ecology. Course activities allow for interaction with Indigenous cultures on a concrete project for preservation of rare species as well as a cultural keystone practice. A summer course introducing botany has been taught for two summers in rural villages in Alaska with students from diverse geographic locations and ethnicities. This course teaches botany in the context of specific local cultural uses of plants for food, medicine, and in material culture. Students engage in research projects which incorporate botanical issues with ethical aspects of the process of science, traditional ecological knowledge, and cultural ecosystem services. These projects are just two examples of courses which not only engage minority students through relevancy in their lives but also create learning environments focused on cultural understanding and openness to diversity.