| Abstract Detail
Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS Bowman, Keith [1]. Bringing mosses into the K-12 classroom. A commitment to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in K-12 education has become increasingly important in the US. NSF funds Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (NSF GK-12) at institutions of higher learning throughout the US. The goals of the NSF GK-12 program are three fold: 1) prepare graduate students for professional and scientific careers; 2) enhance teaching and learning in K-12 education; and 3) transform graduate programs through their interactions with their K-12 partnerships. As an NSF GK12 fellow working in ESF in the High School Global Environment classes in high school classrooms in central New York I have used mosses to cover a variety of topics including: biodiversity; the concept of organisms as ecosystem engineers; alternative fuels and sustainability; plant life cycles; as well as research methods and hypothesis testing. Each lesson has a hands-on component allowing the students to observe mosses, often-overlooked organisms, and comment about their structure. Mosses are ideal organisms for classroom presentations and activities for a few reasons: 1) they are easy to bring into the classroom due to their size and preservation; 2) their small size encourages students to make careful observation, either with or without magnification; and 3) the novelty of mosses intrigues the students resulting in participation and excitement from students otherwise unengaged. The students, with some encouragement, make connections to material they have previously covered and often expose and correct their own misconceptions. Broader Impacts:
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1 - SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Environmental Forest Biology, 241 Illick Hall, SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA
Keywords:
STEM
education
mosses.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall A/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PBL006
Abstract ID:742 |
