Teacher Field Research Experiences: Building and Maintaining the Passion for

1. Teacher Field Research Experiences: Building and Maintaining the Passion for K-12 Science Education Ken Dunton Susan Schonberg The University of Texas Marine Science Institute with special acknowledgement to the National Science Foundation

2. Teacher Research Experiences (TRE) • Provide K-12 teachers with “authentic” research experiences to enhance their understanding of scientific methods in developing content-rich, inquiry-based approaches in K-12 schools that excite students.

3. Some Major TRE Objectives • Enhance the level of interaction in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education among K-12 schools and higher education • Develop long-lasting linkages and relationships with scientists from institutions of higher learning • Enhance the development for content-rich, inquiry-based approaches in K-12 schools

4. Why TRE models may be important….. TAKS science exam results for students with and without GK-12 Fellows in the classroom, for Austin-area (Del Valle; n = 73, 91) and Corpus Christi area (Flour Bluff; n = 139, 118) schools.

5. Examples of three K-12 outreach programs that provide teacher research experiences • Tier 1: Take advantage of existing TRE programs (e.g. ARMADA, TREC) that provide training and funding to selected teachers that can join funded field research programs as research assistants. • Tier 2: Build a modest K-12 outreach program from an existing grant that identifies funds for K-12 outreach activities to include a teacher as a member of your field team (e.g. Participant Support costs in a NSF proposal or supplement). • Tier 3: Develop your own large multi-year and multi-investigator outreach program that incorporates teacher competitive selection, training, deployment, and evaluation (e.g. NSF GK-12 grant).

6. TIER 1 K-12 Teacher Field Programs Patty Cie (Spring 2004): Yelm Middle School Science Teacher (WA). Sponsor: TREC (Teachers & Researchers Exploring and Collaborating)and NSF (ARCSS-SBI). Peggy Deichstetter(Summer 2006): St. Edward High School Science Teacher (IL). Sponsor: ARMADA and MMS.

7. Patty Cie, Yelm Middle School Science Teacher - WA TREC, Spring 2004 Patty participated in a six-week research cruise on the ice breaker USCGC Healy that started in Nome, Alaska and tracked north into the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. She helped Master’s student Craig Aumack and researcher Susan Schonberg from the University of Texas collect water, plant, and animal samples to assess changes in trophic structure. Measuring ice thickness Healy’s helicopter USCGC Healy

8. Patty’s activities on the Healy Cruise Patty created daily journal postings to the TREC web site about shipboard life and scientific research. She organized and ran interactive conference calls via satellite phone to her classroom in Washington State. Several other schools from around the nation also participated. TREC supplied the logistical support. She participated in ice reconnaissance missions by helicopter and sampled from small boats and the ice surface. Benthic invertebrates

9. Sights from the Healy Cruise Glowing blue ice Snow bow Big bird Bear chewing equipment Walrus

10. Peggy Deichstetter, Science Teacher St. Edward High School - Elgin, IL Summer 2006 Peggy participated in a three-week research expedition to Prudhoe Bay, located on the Beaufort Sea. She was selected under the ARMADA program. She worked with professor Ken Dunton and other scientists from Texas and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Research objectives were to monitor underwater light, measure kelp growth, and study invertebrate community diversity in the Stefansson Sound Boulder Patch located offshore of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

11. Peggy’s Activities in Alaska Peggy worked from a 27’ Boston Whaler in the ice to collect water samples from 30 sites in Stefansson Sound. In the lab she filtered samples for total suspended solids, chlorophyll, and entered data into a spreadsheets. She also sieved benthic mud cores to look for invertebrates, pressed algae, helped measure kelp, and maintained an exhibit of live organisms collected by divers. She documented her work in a journal on the ARMADA web site. Measuring kelp Pressing algae Weighing filters Sieving mud cores

12. Sights around Prudhoe Bay Aquarium animals The crew Stefansson Sound Boulder Patch Docking the boat

13. TIER 2: K-12 Outreach since 2000 Climate Change in the Arctic An Interactive Program Linking Scientists with K-12 Students • Our goal was to develop interactive exchange between scientists studying climate change at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute and K-12 students and teachers from the Port Aransas Independent School District • The focus was on living arctic resources and Native cultures in the context of climate change Project CoordinatorsKen Dunton, Professor (UTMSI) Billy Wiggins, Superintendent (PAISD) University of Texas Marine Science Institute Port Aransas Independent School District

14. Program Beginnings • Offered to give lectures at various grade levels in science, geography, and history • Volunteered to serve as a “shadow” for middle and high school students interested in careers in aquatic sciences • Built rapport with teachers, principals, and district superintendent • Hosted science classes on field trips to our institute • Wrote small supplement to NSF grant to support K-12 activities • Overall goal: to use existing arctic global change research to provide an opportunity for interactive exchange between scientists and K-12 teachers and students • Our theme: impacts of climate change in the Arctic on ecosystems and native American cultures

15. Texas Students Learn About the Arctic

16. TIER 3 (GK-12): Linking Graduate Fellows in Environmental Science with K-12 Students & Teachers: 2002-2005 Goal: To partner graduate students in the sciences with K-12 teachers and students in Texas to enhance science education through innovative activities. PI: Kenneth Dunton Co-PI’s: Jay Banner, James Barufaldi, Ian Dalziel, Katherine Ellins Partner School Districts: Austin, Flour Bluff, Port Aransas, Merkel Budget: $1.8 million No. Fellows/year: 10 graduate fellows Disciplines: environmental science, chemistry, aquatic science, geology, meteorology, and oceanography

17. GK-12: From Aquifers to Estuaries – Tracing a Drop of Water via an Interactive Program Linking UT Scientists with K-12 Students and Teachers: 2007-2010 Goal: To partner graduate students in the sciences with K-12 teachers and students in grades 5-8 to enhance science education through field experiences and an influx of current scientific knowledge. PI: Kenneth Dunton Co-PI’s: Jay Banner, Jill Marshall, Chris Bell, Michael Marder Partner School Districts: Austin, Flour Bluff, Port Aransas Budget: $1.8 million No. Fellows/year: 8 graduate fellows Disciplines: environmental science, chemistry, marine science, geology, physics, biology, geography and mathematics The thematic focus of this project, Tracing a Drop of Water”, provides a unifying concept that highlights the linkages between watersheds, drainage basins, and the coastal ecosystem.

18. Paula Fluhrer, Chemistry Teacher Dublin Coffman High School, OH Summer 2004 Paula Fluhrer participated in a six-week research expedition to Oxapampa, Peru, a town located deep in the rain forest to study nutrient cycling in the rain forest of the Peruvian Andes. She worked with Amy Townsend Small, a University of Texas Marine Science Ph.D. student who was interested in the exports of nitrogen and carbon from high altitude drainage basins to the Amazon.

19. Paula’s activities in Peru Paula developed a research project to measure the impact of sewage inflow from the town of Oxapampa into the Chontabamba River. She measured d15N, nutrient and bacteria levels. Her study also looked at the differences in effects of open ditch versus closed pipeline sewer systems. Sampling a closed sewer Nutrient analysis

20. Sights around Oxapampa Making tamales Amy & Paula Waterfall Chontabamba River

21. Summary: TRE Challenges and Benefits • Faculty Sponsors: Existing work loads are significant, but participation can be achieved through the involvement of graduate students as mentors. • Teacher Selection: Absolutely critical for field team chemistry. Ideally, science project PI’s (or designee) should participate in interview/selection process. • Funding: Granting agencies (not only NSF) need to encourage and facilitate the allocation of funds for K-12 outreach. • Benefits to K-12 Students/Teachers: Science is fun, long-lasting partnerships with academic scientists, larger pool of science learners, inquiry and critical thinking.