Plant IT: Careers, Cases, and Collaborations

Getting Started July12th, 2010

Ethel Stanley BioQUEST Beloit College Toni Lafferty C.H. Yoe High School

The Plant IT Workshop invites participants to explore the potential of introducing plant science into their classroom.We will ask you to develop your own investigative cases and will provide the following experiences:

Introduction to contemporary plant biology in the context ofboth technology and careers by exploring cotton in the field,In the laboratory, and online.

Introduction to Investigative Case Based Learning and its roleIn contextualizing science through problem spaces and requirelearners to direct their own learning through:

• posing problems;• engaging in problem solving, and; • providing evidence for their conclusions through peer review.

Like practicing scientists, students work collaboratively during this process.

Introduction to cyberlearning through the use of online productivity tools and data analysis tools.

Productivity Tools

Sign up for a Google account• Work with Google docs to take and make a survey• Use Google spreadsheets and add a motion gadget

Use Word Press on the Plant IT blog to build your own blog page• Enter text, links, and images throughout the workshop and beyond• Upload and download files including documents, spreadsheets, images, sound files, etc.• Participate in an online community of Plant IT teachers

Create a Yodio account• Post images with audio from your own phone.

Download Google Earth:• Search map and satellite images for specific locations• Create a Google tour of locations

Data Analysis Tools

Gapminder• Work with Gapminder to explore global data• Explore Gapminder Agriculture

Use NCBI to:• Entrez: Search for protein and nucleic acid sequence information• Blastp and Blastn: Search for similar sequences and identify unknowns.

Download Image J to:• Count objects and export data• Measure objects and export data

So, what do we know about

cotton?

Pair/Share: Cotton boll

http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/WendelJ/fiberevolution.htm

Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)Data Sharing: Research on Cotton

http://data.gbif.org/welcome.htm

During the late medieval period, cotton became known as an imported fiber in northern Europe, without any knowledge of how it was derived, other than that it was a plant; noting its similarities to wool, people in the region could only imagine that cotton must be produced by plant-borne sheep.

John Mandeville, writing in 1350, stated as fact: "There grew there [India] a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the endes of its branches. These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they are hungrie."

Why so much cotton in our lives?

• Cotton is entirely made up of cellulose. • It can also withstand high temperatures in water and tumble drying and remarkably can be bent as many as 50,000 times before breaking point.• It is soft and comfortable•.It absorbs perspiration quickly.• It has good colour retention.It is also strong and durable. • It is very versatile, stable chemically, resistant to alkalis.• It is of moderate cost.• It is sunlight resistant.• Handle is soft, cool to the touch. • Cotton has an incredible ability to absorb moisture up to 27 times its own weight in water

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JjxpGpKNR4

http://www.hittrax.com.au/youtube.asp?ccode=HT4107&Dealer=1016&InetOrder=True

Cotton in song

Cotton in dance

http://www.bioquest.org/myplantIT-2010

Workshop website:

National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996)

“Inquiry into authentic questions generated from student experiences

is the central strategy for teaching science.”

Plant IT: Careers, Cases and Collaborations

Root your classroom science investigations in real world activities and collaboration

Explore data, visualization tools, analysis tools and other resources for structured, yet open-ended investigations

Learn and share strategies for supporting and assessing student investigations

Access e-science resources to prepare your students with 21st Century skills

National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996)

“Science often is a collaborative endeavor, and all science depends on

the ultimate sharing and debating of ideas.”

Plant IT: Careers, Cases and Collaborations

Develop case materials tailored for your classroom

Root your classroom science investigations in real world activities and collaboration

Develop case materials tailored for your classroom

Discover career connections to biology content

National Standards supporting inquiry (investigative case)s in the science classroom:http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962&page=113 LESS EMPHASIS ON MORE EMPHASIS ON

Knowing scientific facts and information Understanding scientific concepts and developing abilities of inquiry

Studying subject matter disciplines (physical, life, earth sciences) for their own sake

Learning subject matter disciplines in the context of inquiry, technology, science in personal and social perspectives, and history and nature of science

Separating science knowledge and science process

Integrating all aspects of science content

Covering many science topics Studying a few fundamental science concepts

Implementing inquiry as a set of processes

Implementing inquiry as instructional strategies, abilities, and ideas to be learned

CHANGING EMPHASES TO PROMOTE INQUIRY

LESS EMPHASIS ON MORE EMPHASIS ON

Activities that demonstrate and verify science content

Activities that investigate and analyze science questions

Investigations confined to one class period

Investigations over extended periods of time

Process skills out of context Process skills in context

Emphasis on individual process skills such as observation or inference

Using multiple process skills—manipulation, cognitive, procedural

Getting an answer Using evidence and strategies for developing or revising an explanation

LESS EMPHASIS ON MORE EMPHASIS ON

Science as exploration and experiment Science as argument and explanation

Providing answers to questions about science content

Communicating science explanations

Individuals and groups of students analyzing and synthesizing data without defending a conclusion

Groups of students often analyzing and synthesizing data after defending conclusions

Doing few investigations in order to leave time to cover large amounts of content

Doing more investigations in order to develop understanding, ability, values of inquiry and knowledge of science content

Concluding inquiries with the result of the experiment

Applying the results of experiments to scientific arguments and explanations

Management of materials and equipment

Management of ideas and information

Private communication of student ideas and conclusions to teacher

Public communication of student ideas and work to classmates

Assessment of students' skills in identifying questions, resources, investigative methodologies and argumentation as well as their knowledge of the science concepts will be evidenced by:

As students develop and . . . understand more science concepts and processes, their explanations should become more sophisticated . . . frequently include a rich scientific knowledge base, evidence of logic, higher levels of analysis, greater tolerance of criticism and uncertainty.

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962&page=117

http://bioquest.org/icbl/

Lana McNeil Northwest Campus College of Rural Alaska

ICBL Case Module