2012 Noyce Conference Program - The Robert Noyce Scholarship ...

SCHOLAR/FELLOW POSTER ABSTRACTSward Bound Program. One of the most valuable assets a scienceteacher can have is research experience to draw from and integrateinto the classroom. I have been able to incorporate theseresearch experiences into my teacher credentialing experiencethis current academic year as part of my student teaching andwill discuss them in this poster.My STAR research experience in Summer 2011 with Dr. MichaelFlynn at NASA Ames Research Center focused on forward osmosisas a passive method to purify urine into drinking water forastronauts during emergency situations in space. I performedground‐based research while astronauts on the last shuttle missionperformed the space testing of the system. From this, Ideveloped an inquiry‐based lesson plan, and as part of theTeams Enacting Classroom Innovation Project funded by Google,I also developed a prezi presentation on osmosis to engage mystudents by involving them in real world research. The inquirylesson is modeled after the procedure I used to determine theefficiency of drinking water production. Students experimentwith and establish a concentration gradient and utilize the principlesof osmosis to push water across a semi‐permeable membrane.The prezi presentation allows me to share my researchwith my students, establish credibility in the field, and stimulatestudent questions.Additionally, I spent a week in March 2012 doing research withpre‐service teachers and NASA scientists in the Mojave Desert.We studied the composition, environment, and distribution patternsof extremophile biological soil crusts in hopes of using thisdata to extrapolate how to search for life on the microbial scalein harsh environments of other planets. I experimented withteaching from the field by posting pictures, videos, and blogsummaries of the research experience to my students. This providedthem with virtual involvement in current research in biotechnologyand the opportunity to relate to the field experienceto their ongoing unit on bacteria in the classroom. The webpageI set up also gave students the option to post questions to meand the other NASA researchers and get real‐time responses..The information from the webpage has been incorporated into aPowerPoint presentation to share with future classes. I also designeda cross‐disciplinary lesson with a future math teacher formy AP biology students based on planetary protection. Studentslearn about radiation environments and ways that NASA regulatesbiological contamination to other planets and analyze theirresults using statistical hypothesis testing.S/F7Title: Flipping the Classroom: A Non‐Traditional Approach toEducationPresenter(s): Colin Malcolm, Current Noyce ScholarEmail: cjmalcol@calpoly.eduInstitution: California Polytechnic State UniversityProject Discipline: ChemistryAs part of a grant associated with the Google Faculty Institute,Noyce Scholars from California Polytechnic State University inSan Luis Obispo worked with a local classroom teacher to explorethe use of technology to “flip the classroom.” The projectwas aimed at changing the traditional essentialist schoolstructure to allow optimal time for students to workcollaboratively during school hours. Teams of two pre‐serviceteachers (Cal Poly Students) and one public school teacher fromSan Luis Obispo High School identified one science unit to flip.Both teams flipped a unit focusing on nomenclature in a chemistryclassroom. Cal Poly Students worked with the classroomteacher to design the lesson and identify on‐line resources andother technology to facilitate the flip. To demonstrate the effectivenessof the intervention, we compared the class averagescores on the summative test to those of previous years to see ifthere was a significant difference in performance.S/F8Title: The Learn By Doing LabPresenter(s): Connor Drake, Current Noyce ScholarEmail: cdrake@calpoly.eduInstitution: California Polytechnic State University, San LuisObispoProject Discipline: PhysicsURLs: http://www.cesame.calpoly.edu/programs‐lbdl.htmlThe Learn By Doing Lab (LBDL), a class offered at the CaliforniaPolytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), is an educationalopportunity for both local, visiting elementary/middleschool students and Cal Poly enrolled undergrads. The LBDL is alaboratory experience modeled after the Hands‐on ScienceLaboratory that was successfully implemented at California StateUniversity Chico. Every week, 4th‐8th grade students from localschools travel to CalPoly to attend the LBDL program, gainingexposure to science in the real world using a standards‐based,inquiry‐driven science curriculum.In addition to the opportunity for hands‐on discovery of practical,real‐world science, visiting students benefit from interactionwith college students,’ they also get to see the university campus,hopefully impacting their expectations and hopes of attendingcollege. The science content in the LBDL changes each quarter,but has included: Physical Science, Earth Science, Life Scienceand Engineering ‐ a list that that is continually growing.Each year, approximately 3,500 elementary/middle school studentsvisit the LBDL and over 100 Cal Poly undergraduates havethe opportunity to teach science through the program. All of theteachers in the LBDL are Cal Poly undergraduates who are planningor considering a career in teaching.This is intended to improve the K‐12 science teacher recruitmentprocess by providing a professional development experience andan opportunity for undergrads to gain firsthand experience withinquiry‐based instruction in the classroom. Approximately half ofA732012 NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Conference