Can We Survive?

Using a Driving Question to Frame a Project Based Science Professional Development Experience

Presented by:Charlene M. Czerniak, ProfessorLacey Strickler, Doctoral Student

InquiryMasters Program forAdvancingContent forTeachers

Funded by the United States Department of Education

Goals of IMPACT• Increase the number of high quality science teachers in

Toledo Public Schools and the Toledo area by adding 20 science teachers with a MS in Biology degree.

• Maintain a minimum of 90% retention of participants.• 100% of program completers will remain as science teachers

in TPS or other high needs schools for at least two years after degree completion.

• Improve student academic achievement in science in IMPACT classrooms.

• Increase the number of secondary school students enrolled in upper level science courses by 20% in the schools where participants teach.

• Increase the number of secondary school students who plan to pursue postsecondary education in a science-related field by 15% in the classes taught by IMPACT teachers.

IMPACT Coursework• EEES 6606 Lab and Field Methods Field Ecology• EEES 6607 Data Mgt & Interpretation• EEES 6600 Foundations of Ecology• EEES 6930 Ecology Seminar : Intro to Grad. Studies• CI 5890 Project Based Science• EEES 5750 Conservation Biology• Patterns in Biodiversity: Lab & Field• Ecological Theory• EEES 6400 Biostatistics • EEES 5250 Soil Ecology• Independent Study• Master’s Project

Project Based Science (PBS)

Project-Based Science organizes science class around a driving question. Everything the class does is focused on answering that question: investigations, computer work, library research, class discussions, and student-designed experiments Krajcik, J., & Czerniak, C. M. (2007). Teaching Science in

Elementary and Middle School. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Toledo: The Last City

Is it sustainable?

Sustaining Life: The Basics

• Water: potable supplies• Food: production and transport• Fuel: climate control and transport• Disease & contaminants: environmental

controls

Your School’s Biogas

• How much organic waste is produced at your school?– Food, paper and feces (chewing gum)?

• How efficient is biogas generation?– Classroom experiment

• What are the benefits?– Cost of disposal and cost of energy equivalent

A Bioreactor

More Experiments

• Vermicomposting– Organic waste reduction– Nutrient mineralization– Pathogen reduction– Faster than microorganisms

Experiments 1&2• Experiment 1: effects of leaves

on worms– 4 cups, basic setup plus dried

oak leaves• Add oak leaves and weigh

BEFORE wetting paper– 4 cups without oak leaves

• Experiment: effects of worms on coliforms– 4 cups, basic setup plus 2 ml

sludge• No worms

– 4 cups, as above but with worms

Experiment 3

• Not intended: effects of sludge on worms– 4 cups from experiment 1 • With worms• Without leaves

– 4 cups from experiment 2• With worms• With sludge

Results: Experiment 1• One-Way ANOVA (or t-tests) showed that– Fewer worms stayed in the oak leaf treatment• 0.05 < P ≤ 0.09

– Leaves had no effect on total worm weight• P ≤ 0.2181

– Leaves had no effect on average worm weight• P ≤ 0.2010

– Litter and/or paper loss per worm·day differed• P ≤ 0.0270 (greater with leaves present)

Results: Experiment 2

Treatment Mass Loss% StdWorms 14.10 2.29No Worms 11.83 2.41

No effect of worms on % mass loss of paper (P ≤ 0.2215)

Unfortunately, coliform test strips were expired!

Results: Experiment 3

• One-Way ANOVA (or t-tests) showed that– Fewer worms stayed in the sludge treatment• P ≤ 0.0240

– Total worm weight was less in sludge• P ≤ 0.0447

– Average worm weight did not differ• P ≤ 0.4135

– Paper weight loss per worm·day didn’t differ• P ≤ 0.3315

Michelle, Lisa, and Mary Lynn’s PBS Unit

Driving Question:

Would you go swimming in Shanty Creek?

Sub Questions:1. What is in the water?a. Quality Testingb. Living Organism

2. How does it get in there?a. What are watershedsb. Identify Local Systems

Student’s working on PBS unit

FIELD CLASS 14-18 JUNE 2010Local “Hot Button” Issue

• Web Search “Bay Shore Power Plant, Ohio”– Over 283,000 hits– First 4 hits:

Summer Field ClassObjectives

• Scientific: examine patterns of biodiversity in aquatic benthic communities

• Ecological context: near-shore benthic environment of Lake Erie (preferred)

• Anthropogenic context: within the thermal plume of Bay Shore power plant

• Hypothesis: structure of communities and growth of organisms respond to heat

Thermal Plume: 9 September 2002

Plant Outflow

Dredging Containment

Public Launch

LEC

Maumee Bay State Park

Little Cedar Point

Plant Outflow

Dredging Containment

Public Launch

LEC

Maumee Bay State Park

Little Cedar Point

Task: Sampling Benthos• Ponar grab lowered from pontoon boat to the

sediment surface and retrieved• Grab materials are collected in a tub• Water added and contents gently agitated until the

slurry is free of sediment lumps• Slurry is poured through sieve bucket and sample

washed with water until clean• Sample placed in bag, labeled and EtOH added

Calm Water

Substrate Analysis

• Fine materials lost in washing• Coarse sediment analysis– Total weight– Weights by size• Remove live invertebrates and place in pre-weighed

paper bag, weigh, label and put in drying oven• Reweigh next day and weigh by sizes (use screens)

Results: Coarse Sediments

Results: Coarse Sediments

Results

• Current from outflow sorts sediments– Reduces fine sediments– Increases coarse sediments– Increases rocks

• Coarse sediment analysis– Mostly shells & fragments– Asian clams within warmer waters (<1000m)– Native unionids in fine AND COARSE sediments• Unexpected result

Project Results to Date

A Useful Article

For more information:• Dr. Daryl Moorheaddaryl.moorhead@utoledo.edu

• Dr. Charlene M. Czerniakcharlene.czerniak@utoledo.edu

http://impact.utoledo.edu/