Meet the Fellows

Bringing Elements of Plant Physiology and Global Climate Change Research into an Elementary School Classroom

Celia Del Cid, Megan Inayoshi, Briena Healy, Karen Snetselaar1Department of Biology, St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA USA, 2

Science requires understanding terminology and overall structure.

Scientists have to learn process skills and techniques: Using tools

Scientists design and conduct experiments

Scientists present their data

Support

The Plant Ecology-Physiology lab at St. Joseph’s University focuses on research

related to Global Climate Change and how it affects different aspects of plant life. Each

fellow’s research investigates a different aspect of the plant life cycle, and looks at how

plants respond to change. One the of the fellows’ research examines the bacterial

pathogen, Xylella fastidiosa, which causes a disease related to water stress in important

crops and native forest plant species through the blockage of the xylem [water-carrying]

vessels. Another fellows’ research focuses on how the flowering time of Arabidopsis

thaliana is affected by elevated CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. The third

fellows’ research strives to quantify and describe the mechanism of the infection of

Glycine max L (soybeans) by Heterodera glycines (nematodes). The learning objectives

of the GK-12 curriculum closely parallel the graduate work that the fellows do, in that

the focus is on lab techniques and data collection methods. Before any scientist can begin a research project it is necessary to first understand the material you wish to

work with. This is a fundamental aspect of all research and it is one we teach to our students as well. An

example of background research from our own experiments can be as simple as understanding the parts

of the plants we work with. As graduate students, we may approach this background research by reading

books and journal articles about plant structure. We are then able to use the knowledge gained from those

journal articles and books to aide in explaining the importance of the plant parts in every way necessary for

the students to understand. With the second grade students, we do hands on activities like a cut and paste

a construction paper flower with labeled parts. In third grade, the students are handed a stargazer lily and

are asked to deconstruct and identify each part of the flower. No matter if the experiment is as complicated

as infecting the plant with the parasite, like one the fellows’ research, or as simple as growing three plants

in a specialized medium, like a project the second graders work on, it is first absolutely necessary to know

all about the parts of a plant. Before manipulation there must be understanding.

Once an extensive amount of background information is known about a subject matter, the skills needed to

conduct the experiment must also be acquired. These skills are not specific to an expertise level, but rather

once learned can be used throughout an individual’s entire scientific career. From the tape measures,

thermometers, and magnifying glasses used in the younger grades, to the balances, N.P.K. soil tests and

other measuring tools like graduated cylinders in the older grades, all of these tools and techniques are the

same we use in our own labs. With this similarity, the ability to teach the techniques becomes one of

certainty.

The experimental process is a multivariate one, which at its heart requires simple but accurate observation and

record keeping. These are skills, once learned, must be practiced and perfected. It is never too early to begin the

practice, which we instigate in our first graders and build on up through fifth grade. In our own labs, our record

keeping is under intense scrutiny and one is constantly reminded this is a skill you never stop refining. Thinking

critically is another crucial aspect in experimental design; as a scientist you are always asking questions. This trait

is naturally abundant in children, and we as fellows attempt to teach the students how to apply their curiosity to

conducting an experiment. In fifth grade we especially focus on the ability to tease out inquisitions into testable

hypotheses. The students perform an experiment with UV beads, which is almost entirely dependent upon what

questions they come up with to ask. Fifth grade is the top of the pyramid as far as self-directed conduction of

experiments. Though throughout the younger grades students are also able to conduct experiments, but with

slightly more hands on guidance by the fellows.

Once an experiment is approaching completion, it becomes time to display and analyze that raw data,

usually in the form of a graph and statistics. In additional to graphical representation, a presentation of

research is expected from all scientists. The ability to present data is a fundamental skill for every

individual who has a career in science. The second graders are taught how to graph weather data that

they have collected over the course of a few weeks. They then give an informal presentation

describing what kind of data their graph shows, and any predictions they might draw from it. The fifth

graders graph the data they collect from their own self-directed experiments, and then present their

findings in a formal setting at the end of the year to their peers. Here they explain what their data

shows, and describe any trends they may see. The graphical displays our students make are no less

complicated or specific than the graphs we do with our own data. And though the presentations our

students give may be shorter and less in-depth than the presentation for our thesis defense at the

culmination of our research, the same basic skills and principles are employed. We try to instill in our

students the importance of these aspects of scientific learning, especially in the older grades.

MMajor funding for GeoKids LINKS comes from The National Science Foundation through the GK-12 program (DGE #0440506),

the Howard Hughes Medical Foundation, Saint Joseph's University and The Wagner Free Institute of Science.