Action Research Lab Team # 1 Report June 1998 / Highland Park High School

This year is the end of my third year as an Action Research Lab team member. During my first and second year, I conducted my research with the Freshman Lab Chem/Physics students addressing assessment issues through the use of rubrics, peer and self assessment techniques. This year, I switched my focus to Environmental Science Level II students and decided to investigate project based learning and the 8th intelligence, the naturalist intelligence. Environmental Science is an elective course open to juniors and seniors who wish to take a third year of science.

Student Profile

This years action research focused on two environmental science classes. Most of the students have taken Freshman Lab Chem/Physics level II or III and have also taken biology level II or III. The students who take Environmental Science generally do not opt to enroll in Chemistry. Period 4 had 16 students, 9 boys, and 7 girls of those, 4 boys and 1 girl were special education students and an additional 2 boys had 504 accommodations. Period 7 had 21 students, 9 boys, and 11 girls. Of those 5 of the boys and 2 of the girls were special education students. One additional girl had 504 accommodations. This class also had 3 students who had been mainstreamed from the ESL program. All 3 had high levels of absenteeism and as a result of that failed second semester. Out of the 37 students who were enrolled in Environmental Science Level II, 18 had some sort of special learning need. One student had been in a self contained classroom and was mainstreamed into my class, he has an aptitude for finding patterns in nature and is the fastest to memorize the names of different local plants. It would seem that his main intelligence is the Naturalist intelligence.

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Traditional School Intelligences

In a traditional school setting, students who have well developed logical-mathematical or linguistic abilities, two of Gardners eight intelligences, tend to do the best. They are successful and talented in the traditional school sense. In fact, many students who learn this way become teachers who teach to these intelligences. So what about the student who has developed other intelligences? What happens to them? Do they become the student who doesn't fit in? Who beats to a different drum? I decided to investigate infusing the naturalist intelligence into my classroom to see if students who were otherwise not so successful in school could learn better in a classroom that tapped their intelligence. I have frequently asked myself why students who take environmental science tend to be students who are not as interested in science and in general not as successful in school. I had thought about designing a curriculum where students were involved in meaningful projects that affect their lives. In September, I read an article the Howard Gardner wrote about an eighth intelligence that he had identified, “the Naturalist Intelligence.” Upon reading the article, I started to wonder if my environmental science students fit into this intelligence and further questioned if "typical" science or any traditional courses for that matter really met their learning needs.

A school in Washington is currently investigating the pro's and con's of implementing the naturalist intelligence in the science classroom. Teachers said " students learn about scientific processes and procedures. They accurately perform dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity tests, and take samples of aquatic organisms on the Deschutes River- a bodily-kinesthetic ability. And they consistently see patterns in nature and share their observations with others." (Educational Leadership1997) Tom Hoeer stresses that "ideally we should provide a naturalistic setting for the Naturalist intelligence.... the Naturalist intelligence offers one more way to help students understand and learn." (New City School Faculty 1996). I read this, reflected on it and decided to adapt environmental science to include projects that would meet this type of students learning style.

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The Naturalist Intelligence #8

According to Howard Gardner, intelligence refers to the human ability to solve problems or to make something that is valued in one or more cultures. He states that their is no doubt that the Naturalist Intelligence exists for three reasons. First, it's an ability that we need in order to survive as humans, Gardner claims for example that early humans needed to know which animals to hunt and which to flee form. In today's society, it may involve knowing how to relate to society. Second, this intelligence is found in other animals besides humans. Finally, brain research supports this intelligence. Scientists have identified the parts of the brain that function as areas in recognizing and naming "natural" things, in an ability to see patterns in the world. Darwin, Pasteur, Aristotle, Einstein and other famous naturalists and scientists are thought to have had this intelligence.

"naturalist intelligence designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). This ability was clearly of value in our evolutionary past as hunter, gatherers, and farmers; it continues to be central in such roles as botanist or chef. I also speculate that much of our consumer society exploits the naturalist intelligence's, which can be mobilized in the discrimination among cars, sneakers, kinds of makeup, and the like. The kind of pattern recognition valued in certain areas of the sciences may also draw upon naturalist intelligence.”

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Rationale

Throughout the year, I attempted to incorporate projects and problem-based learning into the environmental science curriculum, that would provide for a variety of learning styles, and that would also meet the learning needs of a student with a naturalist intelligence. I would regularly ask students what patterns or trends they saw in issues and concepts that we studied. I de-emphasized grades in the classroom. Assessment was infused into the curriculum. It was based upon performance, meeting established deadlines on time, class discussion, participation, completion of materials assigned, and mastery of concepts. I used points to determine level of importance of certain areas of a project, but points did not necessarily translate into a grade. If students didn't meet expectations, their work was returned, and they were asked to revise it.

At the beginning of the year and throughout it, I worked on creating community in the classroom. We talked about the "need" to feel safe and to be able to take risks. Because of the intensity of some of the issues that we discussed, i.e. population control in China, we discussed the importance of being able to share ideas and being able to disagree with or to be critical of ideas and at the same time realize that even though students would disagree with each other, they could still respect each others view points. I wanted the students to feel like a team, a community within the school.

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The Projects

The following is a list of the main projects that students completed in environmental science this year. attached are descriptions of the projects.

The following is a sample of the projects that students did in Environmental Science this year.

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Endangered Species Project

Environmental Science

The purpose of the Endangered Species Project is for the student to select one endangered species and research the species so that an in-depth, scientific paper can be written that will exhibit the expertise gained by the student.

Minimum requirements for the paper.

• 8-10 pages double spaced, typed.

• Picture, this could be artwork done by yourself for extra points

•Physical description: you will need to include the following

- habitat

- specific needs for survival

- mating habits

- lifespan

- general information about your species

• Explanation of the reasons for the species decline in population. This will include both abiotic factors and biotic factors. You will need to include an historical account of the species.

• Analysis of human impact upon your species. Don't forget that humans may be impacting your species both positively and negatively. This section could include reasons for mans impact and what man has done or is doing to impact the species today.

• Current Status of your selected species. This section should address up-to-date information about your species for example you may wish to discuss some of the following:

organizations which support or harm your species and what they are doing
number of individuals left
what are zoo's doing to impact your species
do captive breeding, surrogate mother programs exist, how are they implemented and are they successful
has your species been reintroduced to its natural environment?
what is happening to the genetic pool for your species and how do you know this?
what legislation is protecting or harming your species and what are the penalties for poaching?

Future Prognosis

If you were asked to make a prediction about the future status of your species, what would you predict?

Development of a Management Plan

Develop a plan for your species' recovery. Chapter 16 gives information about how to develop a plan. You will need to include

- a time line

- budget

- who will implement the plan

- what impact will your plan have on people

- how you will implement the plan

- special equipment

- special structures that you will build if any

- maps of the location of your project

- will you employ people or use volunteer help and how much will that cost

- the goals of your plan, this might be divided into phases like 5yr, 10yr etc.

- difficulties, or problems with your plan

Conclusion: Summary of your thoughts on your species and your plan.

Bibliography: Include at LEAST 5 current sources which must be full text. No Abstracts. Encyclopedias do not count as a source.

Paper Due _____________________

Photocopied Sources Due _______________

Oral Report Due ______________________

Environmental Science Project Name ________________________

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Reducing Your Ecological Footprint

In class, we have identified several environmental issues. In an attempt to become part of the "solution" you will need to spend one week, consciously thinking about the decisions that you make which effect the environment indirectly or directly. The possible "solution" projects are listed below.

1. Attempt to reduce your impact on the earth by changing your diet to include more producers and less consumers. For example, you may choose to eat more grains and less beef. Their are important dietary needs that you will have to consider in order to do this, (i.e.. making sure that you get the proper amino acids).

keep track of the foods that you consume for one week.
enter the foods into the Food Processor program to be sure that you are eating a balanced diet.
Write a short paper that describes your experience and how you kept a balanced diet include in your paper the foods that you ate and the print out of the nutritional analysis of your diet.

2. Attempt to reduce your impact on the earth by selecting foods that "create" less garbage. For example, you would need to drink water from the fountain instead of buying bottled water. You would bring your lunch in a reusable "cloth" bag etc. If you select this solution, you will need to make sure that you keep a balanced diet and explain how your decisions contribute to reducing impact.

keep track of the foods that you consume for one week.
enter the foods into the Food Processor program to be sure that you are eating a balanced diet.
Write a short paper (2 pages maximum) that describes your experience and how you kept a balanced diet include in your paper the foods that you ate and the print out of the nutritional analysis of your diet.
You will need to "save" the garbage that you create and turn it in at the end of the week.

3. Research "How to become a Healthy Vegetarian or Vegan" and write a research paper. You will need to share your findings with the class. You will also need to create a menu for a week of balanced vegetarian meals to share with you classmates. Include a print out of the nutritional analysis of the meals and the ingredients that you used to create them. For additional credit you may want to prepare a vegetarian food to share with your class.

4. Field Research "Organic Foods" and write a paper about the differences between non-organic and organic foods. As part of your paper you will need to create a menu for a week of healthy organic meals. You will also need to make a shopping list of the foods included in your menu. As part of this project, go to or call an organic grocery store and a typical grocery store. Make a comparison of the prices of the foods on your list and share your results with your classmates. You list might look something like the one below. Include a print out of the nutritional analysis of the meals and the ingredients that you used to create them.

Whole Foods (item)	Price	Dominicks (item)	Price
organic lettuce	$2.30	lettuce	$1.90

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Insects at the Prairie Wolf Slough

Objectives:

be able to use an insect key to identify insects by order.
understand the various insect lifecycles, incomplete metamorphisis and complete metamorphisis. Including vocabulary: adult, nymph, egg, pupa, larva.
identify advantages and disadvantages of various insect adaptations.
discuss the value of diversity of insect populations in our area
complete a journal entry...entitled "What I saw when I observed an Insect"

Part 1.

Find an insect in its natural environment and observe it for as long as you can...you might have to limit your observing time to 10 minutes, so that you will have time to complete the rest of this field experience. Sketch your insect, write about what you see, feel, experience while you are doing these observations.

Part2.

Use the key provided to key out at least 10 different insects. Record your findings in your lab book. Sketch your insect, and record the order that it belongs to. Also record key features that you identify.

Part 3.

Look for evidence of the larva stage of insect development. What did you find?

Part 4.

Identify different insect adaptations. Explain how you think the insect has adapted to meet its lifestyle.

Part 5.

Write a short "wow" paragraph about your findings at the slough.

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Investigating Lake Michigan Rock Samples Name ___________________________

There are three main types of rock in the world. They are metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary. In freshman science, you learned that substances have characteristic properties. The rocks that you see are composed of minerals, these minerals exhibit characteristic properties. Some of the properties that you will need to test on your rocks are listed below.

Crystal Form: this is difficult to determine in the rocks obtained from Lake Michigan. Explain Why.

___________________________________________________________________________

Cleavage: is the tendency of a crystalline substance to split or break along a smooth surface. Rocks tend to break where they are weakest.

Hardness: is a measure of the minerals resistance to abrasion. A German mineralogist , Freidrich Mohs determined a scale of hardness that is known today as The Mohs Hardness Scale.

Mohs Hardness Scale

Hardness	Mineral	Test
1 2	Talc Gypsum	Fingernail
3	Calcite	Copper coin
4 5	Fluorite Apatite	Knife blade or glass plate
6 7 8 9	K-feldspar Quartz Topaz Corundum	Steel file
10	Diamond

Specific Gravity: is the ratio of the weight of a given volume of a substance to the weight of an equal volume of water. (density)

Color: is one of the more obvious properties of a mineral, it is not diagnostic.

Streak: the color of a mineral in powder form. is usually more diagnostic than the color of a large specimen. For example, the mineral pyrite (fool's gold) has a gold color, but a black streak. Real gold has a gold streak. To test for a streak, a mineral is rubbed against a streak plate. If the mineral is softer than porcelain, it will leave a streak of powder. If it is harder than the porcelain, then you will have to crush it into a powder and examine it against a white background.

Rock Specimen (include # and what you think it is.)	Crystal Form	Cleavage	Hardness	Specific Gravity	Color	Streak

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LITERATURE REVIEW RESPONSE

Name _________________________ CATEGORY _______________________

Environmental Science

Research Study

CITATION: ( this must be the original article. If you are not sure about what constitutes a good article, check with your teacher)

Author:

Title:

Source:

QUOTES: (take from article and include pg.)

PARAPHRASES: (15 words or less summary )

RESPONSE: ( informed opinions, what you know what you read, can put quotes from author in here. You are writing and you find that what they say is a good way of saying what you are thinking. You use what they say to enhance the argument you need to make. You can in 5th response write and pull and weave from 4th and 3rd and 2nd responses etc.

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ATTENTION TEACHERS:

The Environmental Science and Ecology club students need your help. In an effort to increase paper recycling at HPHS, we will be supplying every classroom with its own recycling bin. These bins will be painted green with the word "RECYCLE" in white, and will be delivered to your classroom on January 26th. The bins will be placed next to your garbage can in your classroom.

On January 27, we will be broadcasting an announcement asking HPHS students to become involved in paper recycling. We ask that you kindly take a few brief seconds to inform your students of this new approach to conserve trees and better the environment. Simply draw the students' attention to these boxes and ask for their help. We believe that HPHS will not be a true "Class Act" without your contribution and faith in our efforts.

We and the trees thank you.

(Note: May we suggest that you have a student, or two, empty the box of paper into the blue recycling cans in the hallway when necessary, possibly during the announcements.)

Analysis of the "Projects" and Handouts above

During the course of the year, I attempted to implement as many different projects, problem-based learning activities, and labs as I could. I carefully selected the components so that they would be aligned with the outcomes and objectives that exist for the course. I included a sample of the projects that were done in Environmental Science in this paper as a base-line of where I started when I did action research for the Environmental Science course. Hopefully this work will continue to evolve next year, even though I will not be teaching this course.

I have only included samples of the projects, for example, the research project was much more complex than the individual sheet of paper suggests. This project took three weeks to complete. During the course of the three weeks students were also involved in other activities other than the research. By stretching the project out, I was able to give students more time to complete research on their own and was also able to continue with related parts of the curriculum.

The recycling problem based learning was also a time intensive process. The students attempted to solve a problem, "What should be done with the paper?" and proposed a solution after many phone calls and a great deal of research and interviews. Students interview Jim Sorentino, Dr. Jane Gard, Sue McMann, Ted Lawrence and a school cafeteria manager. They wrote letters to the staff asking for their support of the recycling program and designed and made and distributed recycling boxes to each classroom.

The labs that were completed, for example, the soil analysis and the water analysis labs were accomplished during the valuable double periods. If it were not for the double period of time, the lab would have taken probably at least three single periods, due to the clean up and preparation time involved ( that is student preparation time, setting up each of the individual tests).

Overall, the projects provided a more meaningful and real life component to Environmental Science. Students did much more than simply read the text. They were "in" the science, acting as scientists would who were researching the issues. I felt good about how they responded to my research this year.

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The following is a survey that I gave to my students at the end of the year. I

Exit Survey for Environmental Science Students

Enviromental Science: Please take a few minutes to think back on the course that you took this year . In order to make this course better for next years students, please respond honestly to the questions below. You do not need to sign this form, but if you can if you want to.

What did you like about the Environmental Science course?

What did you not like about the course?

Please rank the projects that you did, select your top five (1 is a high score) Circle the project that you could have lived without.

The number in the blanks above represents the number of students who responded that the project was in their top five. The five boldfaced projects are the ones that received the most votes. The number following each project is the number of times that students circled the project as one that they could live without.

Analysis of the Data Comparing Project Based, Problem Based, and Activities

Of the projects that were listed on the student survey, the top four were the endangered species project, the recycling project, the spring flora and ravine studies, the ecological footprint, and the house project. The question for me becomes, why are these projects rated higher than others? What was it about the project that intrigued students? There are many variables involved. In the workshop, Problem Based Learning, I realized that what I had been calling "projects" really fell under a large umbrella that consisted of not only projects, but also problem based learning and activities. I decided to list what I called "projects" by their true identity, that is activities, projects, or problem based learning, and found a pattern. The 5 of the top 6 "projects" were in fact, problem-based learning activities. The spring flora and ravine studies (activities) rated very high as well, probably because, the students were learning about the flora and fauna of their local area. In general, the least favored learning "projects" were activities. The data that I collected shows that for this class of students, the most preferred method of learning was problem based. In general, students were split on whether or not they enjoyed the activities.

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Different Methods of Learning Preferences for Environmental Science Students

As part of the exit survey of the Environmental Science course, I asked students to check the four ways that they thought that they learned information the best in my class. The graph below shows their responses. It reflects the number of times that students checked the method as one that they preferred.

Of the activities listed on the course exit survey, the students selected walks, field trips, discussions, and labs as their preferred method of learning. The fieldtrips were all double period excursions, with the exception of one all day field trip. Fieldtrips consisted of some of the following activities:

Highland Park Water Filtration Plant
Prairie Wolf Slough Orienteering, Entomology Units, Wetlands
Heller Nature Center: Prairie and Succession Studies
Highland Park Ravines: Water Analysis, Flora of Temperate Forests etc
HPHS WoodLot: Soil Analysis, Tree study, ecological studies, species managment
Chicago Botanic Garden: adaptations, prairie flora and management
SandHill Crane Field Trip: full day trip

Students also preferred discussions and nature walks, two effective ways to teach about the environment.

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Collecting Base Line Data from the Chem/Phys II Students

This year, Bryan Ott and I decided to complete a video interview of the students that we had prior to beginning Action Research Lab. We decided to interview the seniors that were about to graduate so that we could use them for baseline data. We wanted to see how students that had been in our classes prior to our participation in Action Research Lab would respond to the courses that we had taught. We sent out invitations and letters to our former students. Steve Alsberg video-taped and Bryan Ott interviewed the students. The video tape is available for viewing.

Attached is the letter that we sent out to the students.

May 8, 1998

Dear Senior,

In an attempt to learn more about myself as a teacher, I am asking for your thoughts and reflections about your experience in Freshman Chem/Physics. I would like to invite you to participate in a small group discussion with a colleague of mine, Mr. Ott, in A217 on Thursday, May 14 during 2nd period. This conversation will be video taped so that I can best use the information that you provide for some research on teaching and learning that I am conducting for my own professional growth.

Thank you in advance for you help, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Ms. McDaniel

Conclusion:

Environmental Science students prefer to learn in problem-based learning formats. In a problem-based workshop offered by the district, Joe Senese presented information on problem-based learning, where I clarified my understanding of problem based learning. In order for problem based learning to be effective, it needs to be relevant to students and their lives. I found that some of my least detailed problem based learning units produced the most positive results in students and their perception of their learning. I continued to learn how to be an effective guide at the side. I had questioned how effective this teaching strategy would be with a group of students who had special and diverse learning needs. It seemed to be effective.

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____ 7____	house project 2
____ 9____	recycling project
____ 0____	pond water bottle simulation 1
____ 2____	soil analysis 3
____ 3____	water analysis 2
____ 4____	bluebird house project
____ 7____	ecological footprint project
____ 4____	leaf collection 2
____ 3____	tree study
____ 7____	spring flora and ravine walks
____10___	endangered species research 1
____ 5____	tree research