Schoolyard LTER news

Journal Issue Showcases Luquillo Schoolyard LTER Research (LUQ)

by Jess Zimmerman and Ariel Lugo, Luquillo LTER

A special issue of Acta Cientifica, the journal of the association of science teachers in Puerto Rico, features products of research conducted by students supported in part by the Luquillo SLTER program. The funding from this and partnership programs (including UPR Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies and the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry) allows participating schools to receive research equipment and supplies, as well as training of teachers and students in the art of long-term ecological research. Innovative teachers in the program have developed new curricula and original research at the participating high schools, and have formed a network of communication and data sharing, cross-site field trips, and research symposia to present results.

The International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico presented research equipment and materials purchased for schools participating in the Luquillo Schoolyard LTER, in Aug 2001. Purchase of equipment and materials for the six high schools participating in the Program were provided by State and Private Forestry, USDA Forest Service and the NSF.

Student-Teacher-Scientist Consortia Working at VCR LTER (VCR)

The students in an environmental sciences class at Northampton High School in Eastville, Va., learned land navigation and ecology with the help of a new program that links them to the Virginia Coast Reserve Schoolyard LTER program.

"U.Va. is providing equipment to the high school- from computers to handheld global positioning system (GPS) units-as well as expertise and training for both the students and their teachers," said Randy Carlson, LTER site manager.

"We instruct the high school students in the proper techniques for making meaningful observations of events occurring in the environment," Carlson said. "The students and their teachers are likewise helping U.Va. research by providing ecological observations that are scientifically useful for determining long-term changes in the environment."

This summer, U.Va. faculty members also taught a graduate course in environmental sciences field methods for science teachers at Northampton. The teachers are able to apply those credits toward a graduate degree and are now better prepared to instruct their students in practical field science methods. "This kind of hands-on work can really charge up the students," said science teacher Tom Bonniwell.

Please find the full text of this article by Fariss Samarrai on the Inside U.Va. website:
http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2001/27/research.html

New Web Site Features Student Collected Data (KNZ)

A new feature on the Konza LTER website features data collected and input by SLTER students. The students and their teachers participate in insect and plant inventories and input the data to a central location via the World Wide Web. The results are featured on the new "Science Adventures" section of the Konza web site (visit the website at: http://www.ksu.edu/konza/keep).

Funding for these additions to the web site is from a Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program administered by the Kansas Board of Regents.
Konza Prairie education coordinator Valerie Wright also is working with scientists to make LTER data available to the young researchers in the SLTER program. "We've done two LTER data sets so far-insect galls and grasshoppers," Valerie says. "It's a lot of work to go through the data and see how much -or how little-we can actually use. It has really made me consider the usefulness of data, and the importance of 'meta' data [data about data]. Sometimes it's impossible to understand the data, let alone make it usable for schoolteachers.

"But when we do, the teachers love it. They appreciate it so much. And they pass it on to math teachers and social studies teachers, too."

On the new website, each 'trail' represents a science activity. Valerie leads the teachers and students through the activities at the Prairie, and the students input the data they collect in the activities through the website.

The most recent data was collected during this fall's insect inventory, using sweep nets. "Each year the kids come up with a new specimen, and this year we caught one that has no common name, so they'll come up with their own common name," Valerie says.

The young scientists add their data remotely from classroom. "At times there are glitches with the online system, but it's getting better," Valerie says.
The project includes 17 teachers and their students. Teachers complete a training program before incorporating the activities into their curricula.

The teachers love it, Valerie says. "They love the hands on stuff, especially. So do the students, because they know we are interested in their data and they get to see what happens to it."