Education Outreach News
Teachers Benefit from Inquiry-Based Learning Workshop
Teams of teachers from ten different school districts in southwest Arkansas attended Technology for Inquiry-Based Learning II at the Southwest Education Service Cooperative in August. The focus of the workshop was to provide equipment and training to prepare middle school science teachers for more advanced and relevant student activities. The teachers were given a ProScope HR digital microscope and camera kit containing software and three different lenses in addition to a pH sensor. In an earlier workshop, these same teachers had received several other probes and the appropriate software.
The ProScope allows the student or teacher to capture images, display them on a computer or projector, and to create time lapse videos. Once the teachers were familiar with the ProScope, they completed inquiry-based hands on activities using model lessons provided by the instructor, Nona Talley, who also serves as the Cooperative’s Science Specialist. In the “Solving the Liquid Trail” lesson, stains on fabric were investigated to determine which of three drinks were spilled. The ProScope was used to find pollen on plants and to complete pollination using bees. The pH sensor measured the strength of an acid or base as a digital readout. Each participant learned at least eight specific activities that include Arkansas Department of Education science standards and that will provide students with experience in advanced science techniques.
The teams were encouraged to form a buddy system in their school to support each other as well as to share new concepts with other teachers in their school. Each participant will receive follow-up classroom mentoring during the school year from Nona Talley.
The workshop was funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation through the STEM Professional Development program at the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.
High School Students Participate in Audubon Summer Academy
June 22-26, students from across central Arkansas participated in the Audubon Summer Academy focusing on the broad field of environmental science and the research aspects of field studies. Led by Audubon Education Director, Mary Smith, the Summer Academy took students through several different Audubon Center habitats, including glades, succession forests, and wetlands. Within each habitat study, the students were given projects that further reinforced the knowledge gained from the guest speakers throughout the week. The students participated in a forest survey, area mapping, stream analysis, water monitoring, GPS Geocache study, insect trapping, a lichen survey, and a canoe trip on an ox bow lake. The speakers included staff from the Arkansas Audubon Center as well as researchers in several different fields of environmental science. Students were asked to recognize and discuss the impact of human beings as a part of every project during the program.
One unique aspect of the program was the Audubon 24/7 Challenge which asked participants to discover more about where they live by learning twenty-four native plants and animals and taking seven steps that make an environmental difference. The steps included volunteer service, water and energy conservation as well as wildlife and resource management and learning more about human impact on the local watershed. As a way to introduce the students to an important element of any research project as well as reinforcing the lessons of the program, each student kept a daily science journal. The academy increased student interest in both science and the protection of the environment.
The Audubon Summer Academy was funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation through the STEM Summer Academy program at the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority.
Physical Science Explored by Middle School Teachers
Twenty middle school math and science teachers from Northeast Arkansas participated in an exploration of Physical Science concepts during the Science and Technology Engaging Middle School Students (STEMSS) initiative held at Crowley’s Ridge Education Service Cooperative. The purpose of the summer training was to infuse technology and hands-on inquiry based instruction within the study of Physical Science. Along with instructional strategies, the STEMSS cadre of teachers gained the tools to implement specialized labs in their classrooms. The lab activities will give students the opportunity to solve real world problems and to use new tools in examining scientific principles.
Along with the professional development, the teachers received software and Vernier probes to use in their classrooms. The workshop encompassed Arkansas education standards in physical science including Matter: Properties and Change, Acids and Bases, Newton’s Laws, and Transfer of Energy. The participants obtained the expertise and equipment to implement eight different Physical Science labs in their classrooms. They will also be hired by the cooperative to provide training for additional teachers during 2010 summer professional development.
Technology skill-building was also an area of focus for the workshop. The teachers received flip cameras and digital still cameras to use in documenting their units of study. The technology component includes a collaborative website where information and ideas for the labs can be shared throughout the school year. The workshop was funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation through the STEM Professional Development program at the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority.
Biology Teachers get Hands-on Training
Eleven high school biology teachers from across the state took part in a 3-day professional development workshop on advanced biotechnology from June 8-10, at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts in Hot Springs. Applications of Biotechnologies in the Classroom, taught by ASMSA biology instructors, Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak and Dr. Jon Ruehle, introduced the teachers to 21st century techniques and technology as well as the latest research innovations in the fields of molecular biology, microbiology, and immunology. The goal of the program was to increase the comfort level of teachers around the state with the latest equipment and technology needed to conduct labs that will prepare their students for a future in fields associated with biotechnology. The teachers participated in five different hands-on laboratory experiments including DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis, antibody immunochemistry, and microbiology isolation and culture.
In addition to the hands-on lab activities, each teacher received a kit with resource materials and lab equipment to use in their own classrooms. Each kit contained a textbook, a lecture book, a biotechnology equipment catalog, and the workshop lab manual as well as a power supply, equipment needed to run electrophoresis, an ELISA kit, a forensic DNA fingerprinting kit, and a microbiology culture kit. The workshop instructors will also be visiting each school’s labs to provide support and encourage the usage of the equipment provided by the workshop.
The workshop was funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation through the STEM Professional Development program at the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.
Audubon Arkansas Provides Natural Environment Classroom Training for Teachers
Audubon Arkansas held a weeklong professional development workshop for educators across central Arkansas.
The STEM Leadership Academy, led by Audubon Arkansas Director of Education, Mary Smith, focused on hands-on integration of field techniques as well as the real life connections to conceptual, classroom-based science. Participants were encouraged to develop collaborative connections with other local teachers in hopes of creating a team of educators dedicated to incorporating science education with the study of the natural environment. The diverse habitats located in the Audubon Center allowed teachers to develop outdoor projects for students in a variety of locations such as glades, forests, wetlands, and oxbow lakes. The workshop also trained teachers in using field equipment including GPS devices for geocache projects, handheld maps for topography and watershed education, water sensors to measure pH and turbidity, and insect traps. The educators were matched with professional mentors for long-term projects to incorporate students into high level, ongoing research. Among the daily presenters were entomologists, ornithologists, and limnologists, who introduced their own experience as field researchers as a tool for educational outreach.
The group held discussions on the current challenges with science education and ways to improve it as well as new ways to bring advanced field techniques into a classroom setting. Teachers were encouraged to collaborate in promoting advanced classes in ecology and environmental sciences both in their own schools and across the state and Audubon Arkansas will provide further training and support for these initiatives.
The workshop was funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation through the STEM Professional Development program at the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.
Classroom Teachers Get a Spark for Physics!
Electricity and magnetism were the topics of instruction for high school physics teachers for a weeklong workshop held at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Dr. Al Adams, the instructor for Sparking Interest in High School Physics Laboratories, increased teacher-conceptual understanding of the principles of electricity and magnetism by utilizing 10 laboratory exercises. The content of the exercises included skills from the Arkansas Department of Education Science Frameworks for Physics. Teachers participated in hands-on laboratory inquiry using state-of-the-art computer measurement systems. The tools for the workshop included Vernier software and a variety of electric, magnetic, and electronic sensors. Guest speakers throughout the week provided information on career opportunities in Arkansas related to physics.
Dr. Adams modeled instruction for the inquiry learning environment as the teachers participated as students. One physics teacher was very enthusiastic about taking the lessons back to his students. He credited the value of the workshop experience to Dr. Adams by stating “he’s shown us how to not let the technology hide the physics.”
Along with receiving lesson plans and supporting material, the participating teachers were awarded funds to purchase lab equipment for their classrooms. The teachers will meet again with Dr. Adams during the school year for follow-up activities.
The workshop was funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation through the STEM Professional Development program at the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.
Robotics for Middle and High School Students
BEST Robotics’ vision is to excite our nation's students about engineering, science and technology to unlock their imagination and discover their potential. This is accomplished through a series of robotics games based upon an annual theme with four teams competing at once in a series of three-minute, round-robin matches. In addition to the robotic competitions, teams compete for awards on their project summary notebooks, oral presentations, table displays, and spirit and sportsmanship.
Leveraging funds from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority has been able to fund four new robotics hubs. These hubs will join the three existing Arkansas BEST Robotics Hubs to expand BEST robotics to all areas of the state. Each hub can serve approximate 25 schools. These school teams can participate in the local hub competitions at no costs, with 10 teams advancing to the regional competition. It was through the direct support of the grant funds to the hubs that permitted these teams to become involved in the BEST Robotics program.
The BEST Robotics Program supports the goals and Arkansas ASSET Initiative to create new outreach methods and expand existing programs to increase the Arkansas science, engineering and technology student-pipeline with special emphasis on minorities and women to address the workforce issues of regional and national relevance. Programs such as this one assist students with building their critical thinking and collaborative skills which supports the Arkansas goal of creating a knowledge-based economy for a brighter future.
STEM education outreach is a priority of the Arkansas ASSET (Advancing & Supporting Science, Engineering & Technology) Initiative, a National Science Foundation EPSCoR RII grant awarded to the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority (Authority).
High School Students Conduct Research with UALR Mentors
High school students from 11 schools across Arkansas presented research projects in high-level math and science disciplines, the results of their participation in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock High School Research Program.
The program pairs high school students with a UALR scientist for one-on-one mentoring in a focused research environment. The mentoring guides the high academic achieving students in selecting the high school courses needed to pursue future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Providing informal peer mentoring by engaging students in faculty research projects allows high school students to establish early contact with college students and professors in specific areas of their interest.
The three-week residential experience comes at no cost to the participants. Students from the central Arkansas area who attended include Shelton Hale of Parkview High School, and Priyanka Murali and Helio Liu from Little Rock Central High School. Students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts include William Anthony, Jesse Thomason, Megan Trett, Andrew Seel, and Jake Berry. Other students include Stephen Sivils from Arkadelphia High School and Karan Batra of Bentonville High School.
Combining Technologies to Heal Patients, Virtually
By Melissa Blouin
University of Arkansas researchers seeking new ways to make healthcare more efficient and cost-effective have built a new kind of hospital: one that uses location aware systems, sensors, smart devices, radio-frequency identification and virtual reality.
Anyone can visit this hospital on “University of Arkansas” island in Second Life, a free online 3D virtual world. About 40 university students and six high school students from the EAST Initiative worked with professors Craig Thompson and Fran Hagstrom to create the virtual hospital and supply chain in Second Life.
The students have visited local hospitals to understand what needs to exist. They have created a building with patient rooms, intensive care, a diagnostics suite, a pharmacy and supply rooms. In Second Life, professors and students can create things that they believe will exist soon in the real world, and then interact with those items to see how they work.
“Students in my artificial intelligence class developed smart pill bottles that only the owner can open and that know their pill count, smart shelves that know when to re-order, a restocking robot, wheelchairs that follow way points and virtual RFID readers and tags,” said Thompson.
The students also created something that most avatars, or virtual beings within Second Life, lack – internal organs. Now the virtual doctors can perform virtual organ transplant operations.
“We feel there is huge potential here – well beyond health care or the groups we have touched so far,” stated Adam Barnes, a staff member on the project. “The project is really about the future world we will all live in -- where every object is a network object and humans can communicate with things as well as they do with each other.”
“This program cuts across the boundaries of departments and colleges, with participants and ideas from the colleges of engineering, business, education and arts and sciences,” said Malcolm Williamson, who works with the project. Partners in the project include the Center for Innovation in Healthcare Logistics, the RFID Research Center, the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority and the EAST Initiative.
Please visit http://vw.ddns.uark.edu for more information on the project.
Future Engineers Experience Summer Program
UALR’s systems Engineering Department hosted 17 high school students at a two-week summer camp. The program, headed by Dr. Seshadri Mohan, offered students some insight into several branches of engineering study.
The 2008 Summer Engineering Scholars Program is funded by the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. The residential program included hands-on experiences in mechanical engineering, computer and electrical applications, robotics, and telecommunications.
Besides introducing the students to an experimental approach to stimulating engineering education, the program included counseling and advising sessions to help students find financial aid resources that are needed to support their educations.
Building robots was just one example of the projects these students worked on. Other activities included two lectures by practicing engineers from Southwest Power Pool and Alltel Wireless, as well as a visit to Molex, a local plant that manufactures cable connectors and other electrical connectors.
ASU CSI Camp: Solving the mystery of “Who Dunnit?”
Arriving at 6:02pm Monday, June 16th, the CSI Team finds two bodies lying at center field of the football stadium. It’s a double homicide……And so begins the fourth annual CSI Summer Camp for high school students at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro! High school students from around the country come to ASU for this 5 day camp, live in the dorms, and immerse themselves in learning the tools needed to solve the mock crime. This intensive, realistic, hands-on science-based camp challenges campers to learn and use the technology and database tools of forensics and criminal investigation and the reality and importance of proper evidence collection and custody procedures. Exercises include collecting evidence, securing a crime scene, conducting interviews and using computer forensics.
This CSI Summer Camp was originally designed in part as a recruitment tool to build the new Forensic Science undergraduate interdisciplinary program at ASU. Not only has this camp succeeded in attracting young investigators to forensic science but it has also served as an effective recruitment tool for the university, drawing students from as far away as Arizona, Texas, Michigan and Rhode Island.
