KONZA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (KEEP)

Schoolyard LTER Teachers’ Workshops - 2002 Report
 
The Schoolyard LTER program, through NSF/LTER supplemental grants, provides funds for teachers’ workshops.  Teachers in local school districts are invited to learn about Konza Prairie Biological Station and the research and management necessary to conserve the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.  Workshops also give access to this LTER site and its personnel for the purpose of teaching the process of science using methods unique to the long-term research ecologist. 
 
Students from classrooms of workshop alumni carry out research projects parallel to the work going on at Konza or in addition to a particular researcher's study.  The projects allow students to give something back to the site by generating new data of value to researchers while learning how scientists work.   
 

The data collected by the students are placed in databases that accumulate through the years, showing the long-term trends unique to LTER research.  Although individual students in the early years of data collecting may not see these trends, teachers bring their classes back over several years or other teachers will continue with the same projects so that the databases grow.  The students input their results directly into KEEP databases especially designed for the purpose.  They can manipulate the data and produce graphs and reports from their classroom by logging onto the KEEP web site.

 
Twenty-two teachers have taken part in the Schoolyard LTER Teachers’ Workshop since 1999.  Their continued enthusiasm and utilization of Konza Prairie as a resource and a site to do hands-on science with their classes is gratifying. 

Their interest in the prairie and in teaching science is exceptional.  Because several alternatives are offered, they each have found one or more activities that fit with their classroom and curriculum.  To see some examples of “Teacher Profiles" go to the attachments.    
 
To date 1898 students have worked as researchers on Konza Prairie in the various science projects.  They have added species of insects to the Konza macro-invertebrate and grasshopper inventories, taken unique data in the fire reversal study and contributed in many ways to the knowledge base of the tallgrass prairie.  The student-generated databases are available for all on the Internet.

 

GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP
 

One of the major goals of the workshops is to bring teachers, researchers and education program personnel together to discuss and evaluate the program offered at Konza Prairie.  LTER principal investigators, researchers, and docents join the discussions with teachers and KEEP staff.  Other goals are listed below.

1.      Inform teachers about Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) and the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

2.      Acquaint teachers with KPBS long-term ecological research, the scientists and research results.

3.      Inform teachers about the Konza Environmental Education Program (KEEP) and how it can be a resource for their classroom.

4.      Have teachers help in the development of the Schoolyard LTER program along with researchers and docents.

5.      Carry out hands-on activities so teachers will know the inquiry-based science available for their students in the local ecosystem.

6.      Help teachers to incorporate the Schoolyard LTER program into their curriculum by sharing data via the internet and other resources.

7.      Establish long-term relationships and a network of teachers, researchers and docents with KEEP.

8.      Evaluate the Schoolyard LTER program as it stands to date (including this workshop), and offer ideas for future changes and directions.

9.      Have fun!

PROJECTS
There are nine possible activities/research projects to choose from.  The teachers carried out each of the science activities with Konza staff and evaluated it for clarity, appropriateness, and possible improvements.  The teachers were asked to decide which would be the best to incorporate into their curriculum.  The activities fall into three major categories:

  1. Long-term inventories of stream invertebrates and monitoring long-term changes in stream channels

  2. Long-term inventories and collections of tallgrass prairie insects        
    a.  Grasshoppers 
    b.  Gall insect sampling

  3. Monitoring the effect of fire on plant diversity.           

For more information on these projects go to our Science Adventures on Konza Prairie website.

Long-term inventories and collections can readily be carried out by children. The teacher ties the activity to the classroom as a regular part of the curriculum.  For example, collecting insects on a transect as done by the LTER researchers allows a real field experience for a high school entomology class, helps them develop their class required collection, helps Konza acquire a reference collection of grasshoppers and involves scientists with the students because faculty, staff and graduate students help carry out the activity, talking about their own research and teaching the students how to pin and identify the insects collected.
 

GUIDELINES

An outcome of the first workshop was a set of guidelines for teachers when bringing students to Konza Prairie.  This document outlines the role and responsibilities of teachers in the LTER science activities, the "briefing" of parents, as well as how students could be rewarded for their work.  See the complete “Guidelines” in the Attachments.
 

DOCENTS
New docent training includes the Schoolyard LTER program activities.  All docents can experience the activities themselves before helping out.  This refreshes their memories of the details of the activity and what we are expecting of the students.  The docent presence during a science activity is invaluable.   They keep the students on track, answer questions about methodology and check the data sheets for errors.  Classes coming to Konza for the Schoolyard LTER are incorporated into the regular schedule of visits so there is no increased workload for the docents. 

 

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Each teacher was asked to prepare a unit showing how he/she would incorporate a SLTER science activity into the classroom.  Time is given during the workshop and some teachers worked further on their units at home.  Examples of these units with the associated science standards are given in the Attachments.  A variety of approaches were taken, depending upon what the teacher was already emphasizing in the classroom.
 

EVALUATION

 
Each science activity and the entire workshop were evaluated by the teachers.  Comments about activities were helpful in understanding what age child could understand and handle the data collection.  It also helped the teachers to articulate how they could use the activity and in what  way it might be improved.  The overall evaluation of the workshop by the teachers was very positive.  They felt that the background information, handouts and demonstrations were helpful.  One excellent suggestion was that a vocabulary list be prepared so teachers could review terminology before and during the workshop.  A “Workshop Evaluation Summary” is given in the Attachments

Some specific comments were:

·        "The variety of jobs which could be involved with a research area like this was amazing to me, and would be exciting and mind-boggling to students." 

·        "I think the students will have more pride in their work knowing they will be helping actual researchers, rather than just collecting data ... and never putting a face on a researcher." 

·        "The knowledge to be gained from the researchers is invaluable.  Having them right here to answer questions is worth more than all the books we could buy."

In the final evaluation, teachers were particularly vocal about the importance of the positive role researchers played in the workshop, in the activities and the discussions.  The network formed is an unusual resource available to teachers, not only with each other, but also with Konza Prairie personnel. 

Another workshop will be held next year. 

Attachments

Schedule of Workshop, June 17-21, 2002

Some Teacher Profiles    

KPBS Collaborators                                                                                                                    

Guidelines for Teachers                                                                                                                   

Classroom Units by Teachers                                                                                                                  

Workshop Evaluation Summary