21st Century Skillz dat Killz (6/25-6/29)

The project that we’re working on out here at Wickiup could not be more applicable to math and science basic (and advanced) concepts and also to 21^st century skills.  Through our water testing and curriculum development for the Wickiup naturalists, we’re both modeling and learning how to teach basic math and science concepts and 21^st century skills.  STEM is really set up around the idea of an amalgamation of 21^st century skills, math, and science concepts.

Kathy (left) and Angie (right) doing chemical testing of otter creek.

Well, first let’s talk about civic literacy, a 21^st century skill whose importance in the sciences is perhaps understated.  One of the essential concepts of civic literary is to, “Understand the rights and responsibilities of each citizen and demonstrate the value of lifelong civic action.”  The project that we’re working on here at Wickiup is pursuing this goal whole-heartedly.  Through volunteer action, more Iowa waters than ever before have been tested for pollutants.  Through work on IOWATER, students might come to understand that responsibility that all citizens share to protect their resources.  Part of that protection is based on water quality testing.  It’s impossible to protect something if you don’t know whether it’s in trouble or not.  Promoting environmental awareness, protection ,and activism all fall under this 21^st century skill category.

Otter Creek looking downstream.

Another 21^st century skill that teachers have the responsibility of modeling and helping students’ development states that students should, “Communicate and work productively with others, incorporating different perspectives and cross cultural understanding, to increase innovation and the quality of work.”  In effect, instructors today need to model and teach effective collaboration.  Through our work on our project, we are modeling, learning about, and practicing tight collaboration.  The lessons we learn while working with each other during this project can be used to help students in the future.  The water testing that we’re performing requires collaboration.  We’ve remarked on various occasions how it would be nearly impossible for one person to successfully carry out all the data collection for a IOWATER site.  In an even broader scope, it’s important that students think of a community as a group of collaborators, who come together around common interests to protect their water resources.

Reading the phosphate color comparator.

The work on water testing that we’re performing at/around Wickiup Hill Nature Center is inquiry guided.  We ask ourselves the question, where might water quality differ between two locations.  Through the knowledge that we’ve gained so far, we make a hypothesis about a certain comparison of sites.  We then go and perform an investigation.  We test for a number of different chemicals, and then analyze the data, comparing the results downstream form the results upstream.  If the two vary significantly, we ask, “Why?” and the cycle begins anew.  In scenarios where travel and field trips are not possible, students could still work with real data collected from IOWATER volunteers, or even Kathy, Angie, and me.  In cases where students do not directly sample and never see the river whose data they’re working with, it would probably be helpful to have a number of pictures included with the tables, making the whole experience seem a bit more real.

The Cedar River and the nuclear plant beyond, near Palo, IA.

Slowly but surely, we’re developing the knowledge and skills necessary to increase inquiry in the classroom and also increase our concept knowledge of the material.

Addressing Concerns (6/18-6/22)

In conferencing with our Wickiup naturalist hosts, we had a hard time ferreting out their concerns regarding our externships.  The only slight worry we could force out of them was the possibility that they would not have sufficient work for us to complete this summer.  Although they did state this as a concern after a considerable amount of prodding, up to this point, adequate work demand has not been a problem.
We've been working solidly every day, finding new sites to test water quality, and working with the data we've collected thus far for comparison's sake.  We've also begun to help the naturalists (albeit in a limited capacity) with their programs, working as crowd control, extra instructors, and sometimes just as observers.

One thing slowing us down thus far-- the heat.  The heat has been absolutely oppressive, and it has kept us, in some cases, from the water sampling that we need to do to complete our project.  Luckily, my partners and I are in decent shape and have been able to brave the heat on a number of occasions, making sure to drink enough water and limit any strenuous activity.

The technical side of the project has begun to pick up.  We’ve started working with Google documents to streamline the collection of our data.  We’ve gone essentially paperless. Through the creation of a form on Google docs, we’ve opened up the data entry process to allow anyone with a smartphone internet connection record the answers to the various questions in the habitat assessment in iowater testing, and also the physical and chemical assessment.  Disappointingly, we have not yet figured out how to successfully add  the biological monitoring to our online form, but we’re working on it.  Once the data has been entered into the online form, it drops itself conveniently into a tidy little spreadsheet on Google docs, where it then can be downloaded and transformed as needed to meet our data analysis goals.

I can think of a number of other ways to incorporate the use of Google doc forms in the classroom.  I think surveys sometimes bore students, but practice quizzes modeled on Google forms could be a good tool for formative assessment.  We’ll have to see how students would react the Google forms, if I brought them into the classroom.

My partners in this externship have been great to work with thus far.  Both maintain a great balance between focus and good humor.  It also feels as though we’ve hit our stride with respect to efficient water monitoring.  While I record data and answer habitat questions on the form, Kathy and Angie perform most of the chemical tests.  By the time I’m finished with the habitat questions, Kathy and Angie usually have numbers ready for me to enter for chlorine, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, nitrate and nitrite, and water temperature.
There are only minimal concerns with our project moving forward.  I’m sure that we will overcome any challenges to our project ambitions in the days and weeks ahead.

A happy return (6/4-6/15)

First, I want to emphasize what a great privilege it is to be back at Wickiup Hill Nature Center.  Despite the construction and hectic nature of their summer, they’ve invited me back to work with them, and that’s a huge compliment that I do not undervalue.  

I suppose my chief concern at the beginning of this externship was to make sure that my performance and usefulness would be at least equivalent to that of last year’s experience.  Last summer was very successful in terms of the project we completed, and the amount of both method and content knowledge we developed.  Also, last summer was my first opportunity for true professional collaboration as a practicing teacher (or soon to be actively practicing).  It seemed as though there might be the possibility of continuing the research that was started last year on prairie restoration, but through initial conversations with our Wickiup hosts, it became clear that they would like us to focus on watershed and water quality testing this summer.  

I feel fairly comfortable in the content we’re using this summer.  I took several aquatic biology classes, as well as a limnology course in undergrad and enjoyed them immensely.  I look forward to using those skills as we test water quality in different sites in the mid-Cedar watershed.  We hope also to assist the Wickiup naturalists in designing their watershed education programs for students as the summer progresses.

Another concern I have is whether or not we’ll have enough time to complete all of our goals this summer.  I know that I tend to make ambitious estimates of the work I’m capable of in a given amount of time, and I would hate to commit to a certain product, and not deliver for our Wickiup hosts.  I’m doing what I can to manage expectations and set realistic goals for this summer’s work.

We’re addressing these concerns primarily by planning ahead.  We’re finding the places that have yet to be tested for Iowa water quality, and coming up with a game plan to hit all the places that will be relevant to water quality/watershed programs that the Wickiup naturalists are putting together.  The new exhibits in the Wickiup Hill Nature Learning Center will include an exhibit about water quality.  It will target younger kids for the most part, but we think we might be able to add to their exhibit’s appeal for older students by bringing in higher level learning materials and perhaps bona fide Iowater testing opportunities at the Wickiup site. 

We believe that this would be valuable in a number of ways.  First, students would be gathering data just as scientists do, using instruments and indicators to estimate the concentrations of chemicals in the water.  Also, students later on will be able to look at previous data that’s been gathered at Wickiup and try to discover any trends that may be occurring.

I am extremely excited for the upcoming summer externship, and I think that with the help of my two colleagues, we will be very successful in both learning new things, and helping our hosts improve their abilities to educate students.