Read about it: International Science Literacy and Education

Science & Attitude: Solve the puzzle; Lack of Fear of Journal Articles... My Students will recognize these Ideas as Something I've encouraged.

2012-01-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

Today I heard Angela talk about her science experience. She's a high school student like any other, paying attention to shoe fashion, for example. When Angela spoke, though, she addressed two points I often bring up to my students...even elementary school students. Angela is a great role model for other students.

Here are the two points I want to highlight.

1. When you want to know something, use the journal articles with peer-reviewed research. Even though these at first seem impossible to learn, eventually...after about the fifth article, they become easier. It has been my experience to see even 4th graders (~age 9) successfully read journal articles when they want to know.

2. When facing questions, where the answer is unknown, a scientific attitude treats that like fun, solving a puzzle, looking for a video game prize, so to speak. A challenge to go after...that is the joy of science.

Angela, though not my student, addressed these two points in an interview today on ABC. I was awed by her and I think you will be too. Here is an article about Angela. Perhaps she will save your life. Learn from her attitude. You may or may not make a major discovery, but, you may excite an interest in someone else who will. You may, however, make a discovery, solve a problem. At the very least, you will have more joy in your life.

You can go back through and look at other blog posts on journal articles found within this blog. I will go back and link some below a bit later on, or, you can use the search bar if they are not yet listed. Be sure, also, to check out Angela in the link below and online elsewhere. I hope she got a patent, too. (FYI: You might check out links on patents before making your discovery public.)

More about a Terrific High School Student:

http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/17-year-old-wins-100k-for-creating-cancer-killing-nanoparticle-2011128/

Science Literacy and Journal Articles:

http://read-about-it.blogspot.com/2010/09/say-student-found-paper-on-rotted-wood.html

http://read-about-it.blogspot.com/2011/02/more-on-birds-birds-and-science.html

Oprah, Ellen, Teachers, You and Botany...Botany 2012 - The Next Generation July 7 - 11, 2012 Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, Ohio

2012-01-14T03:02:00.001-08:00

In 2008, I began e-mailing Ellen to invite her to come to the Botanical Society of America's conference. I had a harder time finding Oprah's e-mail ( Oprah’s email : oprah@oprah.com ), but wish her to come, too. In 2011, the students have picked up on that and are contacting them. It is 2012. Think about if it is now your turn.

You might ask, "Why? Why contact Ellen? Why contact Oprah?" Well, funding gets paid from taxes and taxes get spent where voters in primaries and elections want, if they are vocal. To have more botany research and more botany jobs takes more people knowing botany and its importance. How do you reach the masses? ... Oprah? Ellen?

Perhaps this activity began in fun but it has a serious side. Food comes from plants. Even if you like beef, plants are necessary. Oxygen, anyone? The air you breathe gets some oxygen from plants. The home you live in and the clothes you wear may have been dependent on plants for materials.

Botany covers many areas including, but not limited to: agriculture, horticulture, plant morphology, plant metabolism/biochemistry, biotechnology, plant pathology, plant physiology, gardening, houseplants, plant breeding, plant taxonomy, pressed leaves, pollen forensics, pollen in honey (or lack of it) indicating whether importation laws have been followed, forestry, forest pathology, urban forests, flowers, crops, international cooperation to prevent plant disease, invasive plants, environmental studies, algology, ferns, ...

Botany is the study of plants. The green revolution, sustainability, also require plants. So, let the people know the importance of botany to society. Put botany back in medical school curricula. Hire botanists at all companies using, "botanicals."

There is likely an area of botany that interests you. There are many ways we need plants to survive. Spread the word. Ask Ellen. Send Ellen an Email Ask Oprah. http://www.oprah. com/storyboard . Ask your government representatives. Support botanical research. Have doctors know, again, about the plants in the medicines they prescribe. Have a botanist at the shampoo company that has botanicals? Where is the botanist in your town government? Don't you have one defining wetlands and preserving space? The environmental impact studies need to consider plants...a major component of a healthy, sustainable environment.

For more information, contact Dr. J directly, or, look at outreach at the website of the Botanical Society of America: http://www.botany.org/outreach/ .

Oprah and Ellen, I really would like it if you would each take a group of teachers each year to the botanical society meetings. Teachers, you can come there, too, independent of Ellen or Oprah. Oprah, you are also welcome to bring some students from your school, and some American students, too. There are students here just as eager to learn as any in the World. They just need someone to believe in them. Ellen, you might enjoy plant videos... There's so much to talk about. We'll have to catch up on all the latest developments.

Botany 2012 - The Next Generation
July 7 - 11, 2012
Greater Columbus Convention Center
Columbus, Ohio

Your Special Invitation from the Program

Join the largest gathering of Botanists at the annual meeting
of these premier Scientific Societies

Botanical Society of America
American Bryological and Lichenological Society
Canadian Botanical Association/L’Association Botanique du Canada
American Fern Society
American Society of Plant Taxonomists
International Association for Plant Taxonomy

Making web pages talk...

2012-01-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

Something to check out to help make people have more access to web pages:
BrowseAloud Download http://www.browsealoud.com/page.asp?pg_id=80004

http://www.freedomscientific.com/News/Pressroom/2011/FineReader-OCR.asp

Physics Outreach

2012-01-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

NY Kestrel Banding 2011

2011-08-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

George sent this in for other viewers to share:

http://youtu.be/fBFvF3aLi3g

In the News talks today about a stem cell grown trachea used in a transplant

2011-07-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

First to Get Synthetic OrganSurgeons in Sweden have carried out the world's first synthetic organ transplant. The patient, a 36-year-old man with late-stage tracheal cancer, received a synthetic windpipe that was created in a lab using his own stem cells. The procedure could revolutionize the field of trachea transplants, making them far more accessible since it eliminates the need for a donor organ and relies on synthetic windpipes that can be created in a matter of weeks. Moreover, because the procedure uses only the patient's own cells, there is no need for immunosuppressants to prevent rejection. More ... Discuss
Source: In the News; Accessed July 8, 2011.

How can your students use the news to build science literacy? Are there words in the article that they do not know yet? Can they invent a game or play one they already know to familiarize themselves with the new words?

How about the science? What do they already know that relates to the article? Are there other activities that can bolster their knowledge? How about a Nobel Prize Site game? Let's go see...

Botanical Society of America Meetings in Saint Louis: Patterns of Internet Use on the Science Education and Science Literacy Website: read-about-it.

2011-07-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Patterns of Internet Use on the Science Education and Science Literacy Website:

http://www.read-about-it.blogspot.com/

Science education plays a role in effective, "Healing of the Planet." People "wired or wireless," to the internet, are reachable by science educators. Gathering data on this use informs our e-teaching.
Developing/improving e-teaching needs data: how we use internet science sources. Data from 2004-2010 of internet use and reaction to the science literacy and education website, www.read-about-it.blogspot.com are analyzed . Data presented will include: Countries of people frequenting the site, outreach links used most often, popular topics, and how botany topics compare to other topics.
Since science outreach programs are available from numerous sources, including, but not limited to, the Botanical Society of America, NASA, and Plants Cafe, the site www.read-about-it.blogspot.com links users to these and other outreach sites. In addition, it provides discussions and tools both to encourage informal science education, botany and other sciences in the curriculum, science literacy. Such tools, provided here conveniently, foster a knowledgeable public that can act wisely to prevent/alleviate environmental problems.

Source:
http://2011.botanyconference.org/engine/search/index.php?func=detail&aid=259

Conference information:
http://2011.botanyconference.org/engine/search/

Author Contact Information:
Shipman, J

Seeds

2011-07-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

Seeds for thought...
Sometimes a video, or other medium, presents ideas from a particular point of view. To be scientifically literate, students need to separate fact from opinion. Still, for a sustainable world, we sometimes need to formulate public policies. Such policies are based on our opinions, derived with our best thinking at a given time.

The following video is about seeds. See if you can list ideas as either fact or opinion. You can also practice writing about seeds and public policy. For example, "What public policy does the film make you think about? How would you justify your ideas for a good public policy on seeds?"

Literacy in science involves interpreting what you see and hear, thinking and writing about the ideas you come across, and presenting those ideas in how you create or react to public policies where those ideas would be affected. Have a look...have some seeds for thought!

.

Greetings. Information on interruption in service

2011-06-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

You may noticed that there haven't been as many posts lately. Unfortunately both the phone and internet services I use in this part of the country have been down a lot with the stormy weather. Hopefully, with summer approaching, the service will improve. The "tech" has been out most of today and is coming back tomorrow. At least the service is working well enough that I can post this message and let you know what has been happening.

Bird Cameras...Webcams and Science Observation

2011-04-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to see baby birds
http://www.raptorresource.org/

You can use webcam posts like this one for observation on wildlife. What kinds of things do you think your students will see?

Eagles

Live video by Ustream.

(The Eagles link was submitted by an avid reader from the Northeast.
Thanks, K!)

Students can compare and contrast eagles with hummingbirds, the birds themselves, their nests, their behaviors. Exercises like this can improve science literacy and observation skills, too.

Hummingbirds

Live streaming video by Ustream

What flower is this? The difference between Field Guides, Keys, Cladistics and Asking Experts

2011-03-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Post under development.

Post under development.

Have you seen a flower like this red sub-tropical one? Do you know what it is? How could you find out?

Maybe you have a friend or relative that can tell you what it is. Maybe you can look in a field guide. Maybe you can use a taxonomic key. Maybe you can use genetic testing or biotechnology.

Scientists today use biotechnological methods to show "pictures of relationships" among organisms. This way of studying organisms genetically and grouping them is a field called cladistics. That may be a new word for many people, because the word itself is relatively new. So using a dictionary to find the meaning can help improve our understanding. It is important to teach students that they do not have to know all the words. Do you know all words? Do doctors and professors?

No one actually knows all words, so, it is important students recognize that and that they realize it is good to learn words that are new to them by using processes like context clues (In this case, we can guess from the context that, "cladistics," has something to do with relationships of organisms) or by looking up words in dictionaries and encyclopedias (and that there are specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias for different fields). It is Joan Beinetti's quote that I like to emphasize to students so they can feel good about themselves, even though they do not know all the words, "No one knows all the words." (Personal communication, 1989).

Being comfortable not knowing is very important to good science. It allows scientists to enjoy finding new information out through experimentation. It is also important to read about what other scientists have done and learn about new words through their work and through tools like dictionaries, whether on-line, electronic, or book formats. So, what is, "cladistics?" Let's have a look.

In Wikipedia (where many students start to look, we find "Cladistics (Ancient Greek: κλάδος, klados, "branch") is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants (and nothing else). ... In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life", a monophyletic group," (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladistics, Accessed March 31, 2011). Did that help? It may have helped some but not others. There are more words that may be unfamiliar. There is no need to be nervous, however.

Let's read more. I found the following historical point interesting because the words the originator chose appear to me much easier to understand (and usually we use the originators words), "Cladistics originated in the work of the German entomologist Willi Hennig, who referred to it as 'phylogenetic systematics' (also the name of his 1966 book); the use of the terms "cladistics" and "clade" was popularized by other researchers. The technique and sometimes the name have been successfully applied in other disciplines: for example, to determine the relationships between the surviving manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales [3, as cited in Wikipedia]," (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladistics, Accessed March 31, 2011). Let's get back to the flower and other methods for identifying it.

We've been discussing cladistics, now, we'll look at more traditional Linnaean nomenclature. Wait, look at those two words:

nomenclature
cladistics

Do you see what I see? I emphasized parts of each word in red. When learning new vocabulary, it is helpful to look at word parts. Earlier we looked at the Greek background of the word, "cladistics." Remember? κλάδος, klados, "branch." Hmmm! Students can think about the word parts as they learn new words. (Scientific literacy involves learning new vocabulary and the related techniques.)

"Most taxonomists have used the traditional approaches of Linnaean taxonomy and later Evolutionary taxonomy to organize life forms. These approaches use several fixed levels of a hierarchy, such as kingdom, phylum, class, order, and family. Phylogenetic nomenclature does not feature those terms, because the evolutionary tree is so deep and so complex that it is inadvisable to set a fixed number of levels," (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladistics; Accessed March 31,2011).

Linnaeus was famous for, among other things, binomial nomenclature... a two-name naming system. You know it...genus and specific epithet...genus and species names. These days, people recognize them with organisms familiar to most:

Escherichia coli or E. coli
Lactobacillus rhamnosis
Clostridium difficile

These names are in Latin and follow the grammatical rule for words in foreign languages, that is they are underlined or italicized. There are two words to each name: The genus and the species names.

Taxonomic keys can be used to identify organisms to genus and species based on visible characteristics or other features of the organisms.

The technical literature discusses the difference between cladistics and Linneaen taxonomy. Here are a few examples. (Literacy notes: Remember that some students in any class will have lower, or higher reading levels than others. Some students like a challenge. College students should be capable of reading the journal articles, but, depending on the quality of the library education at their high schools, they may not yet have been exposed to journal articles. Thus, especially in undergraduate classes, it is a good idea to bridge the students up to "college level reading" of the refereed journal articles.)

http://research.amnh.org/vz/ornithology/pdfs/1983c.Vicariance%20Biogeography.pdf Cladistic analysis and vicariance biogeography [PDF] from amnh.org J Cracraft - Am. Sci, 1983 - research.amnh.org Linnaean classification schemes - contrast with cladistics...

Taxonomy versus cladonomy, a fundamental controversy in biological systematics [PDF] from wisc.edu RK Brummitt - Taxon, 1997 - JSTOR... with cladistic taxonomy, which would be the naming of taxa (including those found to beparaphyletic) in association with cladistic analysis. ... That is inherent in Linnaean classification.

[PDF] Cladistic analysis or cladistic classification [PDF] from cornell.edu E Mayr - Z. zool. Syst. Evol.-forsch, 1974 - courses.cit.cornell.edu... In contrast to the flood of defenses of cladistics published in recent years (by Bigelow, Brundin ...proposes “that the phylogenetic system should be expressed by revision of the traditionalLinnaean system rather than by proposal of a separate classification.”

" >Under development
(c)2011 J.S. Shipman

Flowers from "Botanical Gardens, Arboretum and Special gardens." Portal to Tay Ninh's World; Also, Pictures contribute to Science Literacy

2011-03-31T07:39:00.000-07:00

I will add to this post a few of Tay Ninh's images from Saint Louis and remind botanists and teachers to join the Botanical Meetings there in July. You can take some of your own pictures! (http://www.botany.org for details; Click on, "Meetings.")

Link to
Tay Ninh's Flower Pictures:
http://www.flowerpictures.net/garden/botanical_garden.html

Tay Ninh's flower pictures were used with the following permission: "All pictures are free for personal use only. If you use my pictures for your web page, please make a link to this page: http://www.flowerpictures.net ."


Climatron	Children Garden	Chinese Garden	Chinese Garden	Camellia Garden	Flowering cherry

Flowering cherry	Japanese garden	Japanese garden	Japanese garden	Japanese garden	Japanese garden

Bulb garden	Tulips	Tulips	Tulips	Tulips	Star Magnolia

Sauce magnolia	Mausoleum	Japanese garden	Japanese maple	Bulb garden	Crabapple

Crabapple	Crabapple	Azalea	Azalea	Azalea	Pansy garden

Source:
http://www.flowerpictures.net/index.html and http://www.flowerpictures.net/garden/MBG/index.htm; Accessed 3-31-2010

Link to
Tay Ninh's Flower Pictures:
http://www.flowerpictures.net/garden/botanical_garden.html

Remember that pictures can enhance science literacy. In addition, pictures are enjoyable. Spring has come, but, in the North, we are still having snow. The spring flowers are starting to come out. Anticipating the meetings of the Botanical Society of America is enhanced by taking a preview of the Missouri Botanical Garden. In reading, anticipation is also important, contributing both to total comprehension and enjoyment.

Happy Birthday, Mom
(c)2011 J S Shipman

STEM Quotes and Commentary

2011-03-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

Post under development. Check back later.

"Anyone who’s done work in STEM education has a special spot on their bookshelf for copies of the Holy Grails of science ed standards: the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science for All Americans and Benchmarks for Science Literacy. But as valuable as these documents are, they are getting a little dogeared and in need of being spruced up."

Source: http://ocess.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/conceptual-framework/, Accessed 4-30-2011.

When teaching with research in the classroom, the year Science for All Americans was first published, students were saying, You're not teaching us. Why do we have to do this? Why don't you lecture more?" When I gave them assignments to read in Science for All Americans, the students did a complete turn-around. You are exactly like this book. They then loved the class. They started designing and doing experiments. The book helped them with a necessary attitude change. Unfortunately, at that time, not every college was ready for the research-supported teaching methods. Even today, teachers are being told, "Why don't you lecture more? Why are the students out of their seats? (Getting lab supplies), Why don't you just have them copy things from the book?" Can you believe it? The lesson here is that teachers who adapt research-supported new science education techniques should be supported so that their careers don't get off-track by administrators and parents who are not yet current with the successful new pedagogies. Good teachers were lost by their not getting support as they taught science well.

"Exploring the NAS Framework for New Science Education Standards
"On July 12th, the National Academies of Science released a draft of the Framework for New Science Education Standards. The framework consists of seven chapters and almost 200 pages. It clearly identifies three “dimensions” of science education that must be woven together into standards, instruction and assessment: 1) Disciplinary core ideas in life science, earth and space sciences, physical sciences, and engineering; 2) Cross Cutting Elements including cross-cutting scientific concepts and topics in science, engineering, technology, and society; and 3) scientific and engineering practices.
"Learning progressions are central to the framework. Learning progressions provide a coherent description of how core ideas in science and engineering build throughout K-12.

The framework embraces the mantra, less is more, and states, 'Reduction of the sheer sum of details to be mastered give time for students to engage in scientific investigations and argumentation and to achieve depth of understanding of the material that is included.'"

Source: Eric Brunsell, http://www.teachingscience20.com/2010/07/exploring-the-nas-framework-for-new-science-educatin-standards/

Learning progressions are important. Let's first explain what they are so that everyone reading starts with the same concept in mind:

Telescope Types and Telescopes at the Winter Star Party

2011-03-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

By Bob Nonnemann

A note on the different telescope types --

There are variations on all these designs, but for the most part, telescopes fall under 3 categories:

1. Refractors -- these telescopes bend light to a focus using lenses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refracting_telescope

2. Reflectors -- these telescopes bend light to a focus by bouncing the light off a curved mirror: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflecting_telescope

3. Catadioptric -- use a combination of lenses and mirrors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catadioptric_system

At the WSP, many of the telescopes taking pictures were refractors or catadioptric systems --

The link below illustrates a number of telescopes and their attached CCD (charge coupled device) cameras:
http://www.starimager.com/Primary%20Pages/Equipment_Page.htm

The cameras on these telescopes are quite expensive -- since the light is extremely faint, the camera must have very low internal 'electrical noise' or else the images would look kind of like 'snow' analog TV pictures. The easiest way to avoid noise is to cool the sensor -- many of the cameras operate at -20 or -30 C when they are taking photos.

The 'other' camp is the visual observer -- many people who observe deep sky objects (nebula, start clusters and galaxies, as we were doing) use large reflecting telescopes -- the bigger the diameter, the more light that is gathered, which allows our eyes to see these objects well despite them being faint. All the telescopes from our group were reflecting telescopes. The ones most commonly used were a 20" diameter (the short one that Al liked to use where you could often sit down and use it), a 25" (the one with the medium ladder), and the 32" -- the biggest one. These telescope were mounted on simple wood, teflon, and metal setups known as Dobsonian telescopes -- a short writeup on this type of telescope can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobsonian. An ad for the 32" scope can be found at: http://www.webstertelescopes.com/32_inch_f36_telescope.htm

In general, the larger scopes are always reflectors -- the mirrors have their coating on their first surface, so light never travels through the glass, so the glass does not to be of particularly high quality for a mirror blank. Plus there is only one surface that must be figured to a high degree of precision. Refracting telescopes have other advantages (for photography in particular) and they don't require optical alignment before using. They are typically restricted in the amateur arena to be under 7" diameter or so. It typically takes 2 or 3 main lenses to form the image, meaning that 4 or 6 surfaces that must be accurately polished. Plus the glass must be very high quality, as the light traverse through the glass (unlike with the reflector). These factors mean the cost of the refracting telescope escalates extremely quickly, much more so than a reflecting telescopes.

(c)B. N. 2011 Used with permission.

Poetry and Science: Mangrove Reclamation, Geography and Science, ELA and Science

2011-03-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Poetry and science seem separate fields but, together, used in science education to broaden the science knowledge base and improve science literacy, they can help engage students in deeper pursuit of science.

Students can write poems about a science topic.
Students can interpret their own poems and poems others have written.
Student can use the poems to bridge to research articles.
Students can get interested in a particular organism based on its use in a poem.

In the poem below, "Calling on You", mangroves are mentioned in a few lines about Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Let's use the mangrove as an example of how an idea in a poem can lead to expanding a student's science knowledge base while concurrently improving science literacy.

A trip to MiaSci, the Miami Science Museum, there is a display on mangrove restoration. I have included two pictures that I took of the exhibit. Students in temperate regions might not have seen mangroves. Some students, though, might have moved to your school from Haiti or other areas where mangroves grow and might be very interested in reclamation projects. Some students may be interested in the role mangroves play in fishing. Students may know of mangroves but not know of their role in ecology, their role in saving lives. Thus with so many links to student interests, such a, "discovery," of mangroves may engage your students in new learning. Let's look at a poem first. Do you see links to science, geography and ELA?

Calling on You

by J. S. Shipman

Earth is calling loudly with great waves crashing into Florida.
Earth is sweating salty with Chesapeake crabs moving to New York.
Earth is crying sadly with western desertification.
Trees falling.
Earth is bulging cruelly through weak places;
Haitian mangroves down,
Haiti swept into the sea; Dominican's still standing.
Earth is toasting darkly with wars burned/burning
Here and there.
Liberia rebuilding war torn children.
That war's over, others are still on.
Earth, is calling, crying, bulging, toasting.
You hear all that noise, heat,
Flames and darkness, don't you?
So, change a light bulb, take a walk, don a sweater,
Use less oil, more sunshine and vote wisely.
Earth will smile with medicine, food, clean water,
Health and peace,
All thank you's for your gifts of thought and time.

Source: Shipman, J. S. 2005. "Calling on You"
In: A Surrender to the Moon.
International Library of Poetry.
Watermark Press. Owings Mills, MD . P 3.

The poem, "Calling on You" motivates us to action, to do something. The following pictures and videos and journal articles show people working in different ways to solve a global environmental problem. I hope you enjoy them and select some to share with your students.

The slide above is one aspect or the Recovery Project display. It mentions the partners involved in the project. One of those is Miami Dade County Extension. I did a search on them and, "mangrove," and found the following:

http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/MangroveID_000.pdf

The link sends you to a slide set which shows mangrove swamps and characteristics needed for identification of different mangroves and their propagules.

More mangrove publications from the Miami Dade County Extension can be found here:

http://miami-dade.ifas.ufl.edu/Pubs_SG.shtml

Further searching led to the following link:
http://www.nhmi.org/mangroves/rep.htm

A Haitian Mangrove Reclamation project is discussed in a film at the following link:

http://www.linktv.org/video/5201/haiti-mangrove-protection

The Dominican Republic is also working to preserve mangroves. Here is a You-tube video about that:

Here is a Japanese music video with pictures of mangroves. (I am not sure what the song says. I did learn that, "マングローブ," means, "mangroves." Any readers might help with further translation and post to the comments or e-mail me.)

Perhaps the Japanese video might be good to enhance a class where students work on Haiku. Then, you can lead the class into further studies on the environment, or, more about mangroves.

And, here, from Treasure Cay, Bahamas, another video:

Students wanting to know more often start with textbooks, random web pages, and online encyclopedias, For example:

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Haiti

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Dominican_Republic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove

Bridging students up from textbook, random web pages and encyclopedia levels to original source laboratory reports and review articles in the refereed (peer-reviewed) journals, improves student science literacy. (I use the Reach Reading TM technique I developed. Workshop available.) Even if students only get the gist of the article, they are exposed to a higher level of writing and their science literacy increases. Remind them that they do not need to get everything in the article. As Joan Beinetti says, "No one knows all the words." In fact, in journal article reading, outside ones own field may require even PhDs and MDs to learn lot of new words, so, students should not be upset if every other word looks unfamiliar or even impossible to them. If they know that at the outset, they don't get discouraged. If they manage to wade through 5 journal articles on the same topic, they will become quite knowledgeable on that topic. (I am aware of L+1 but realize that we will not be leaders in science if we don't have people that can read science at a high level. I have data from my own classes that reading journal articles with my Reach Reading TM technique does not discourage students. Their science literacy improves.)

So, lets look for journal articles on mangroves. Here are some to get you started. Check with your librarian or e-mail me if you need help finding more.

Sherman, R. E., Fahey, T. J. and Battles, J. J. (2000), Small-scale disturbance and regeneration dynamics in a neotropical mangrove forest. Journal of Ecology, 88: 165–178. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2745.2000.00439.x

Here is a quote from the summary of the article cited above:

Mangrove forests are affected by a variety of natural disturbances that differ in scale, intensity and frequency. Small canopy gaps, although common, have not been well studied. We examined the role of lightning-created canopy gaps in the dynamics of a 47-km² intertidal mangrove community in the Dominican Republic, by quantifying the spatial patterns of overstorey tree distributions, spatial and temporal patterns of gap formation, and tree regeneration in gaps and beneath the closed forest. We hypothesized that regeneration in these gaps would maintain and reinforce species’ distribution patterns across the intertidal gradient in this mangrove ecosystem.

There are perhaps words you and your students won't know. Good! Success! This look at a part of a journal article means you/they have successfully lept (leaped) to a higher level of reading.

Sherman, R. E., Fahey, T. J. and Martinez, P. (2001), Hurricane Impacts on a Mangrove Forest in the Dominican Republic: Damage Patterns and Early Recovery. Biotropica, 33: 393–408. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2001.tb00194.x

Feller, I.C. , C.E. Lovelock, U. Berger, K.L. McKee, S.B. Joye and M.C. Ball. Biocomplexity in Mangrove Ecosystems. Annual Review of Marine Science, Vol. 2: 395 -417 (Volume publication date January 2010). First published online as a Review in Advance on October9, 2009. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.marine.010908.163809

Rather than feeling lost or overwhelmed by journal articles, encourage new journal article readers to enjoy the challenge, much as one enjoys new levels in a new video game. The unknown is part of the fun. Students can often relate to the video game analogy, but, the thrill of any challenge can be related to the experience of bridging into journal articles. Even though an article may have a lot of words the new journal readers don't know, they can get the gist of this paragraph, or, at a minimum, learn that research articles exist, depending on grade level.

Elementary students have enjoyed seeing the pictures and graphs in journal articles, and, also, knowing that scientists write papers. Undergraduates and graduate students should already be familiar with the existence of journal articles, and already have read at least some. Graduate students should develop the ability to read and digest these articles at a steady, productive pace. College and university students that haven't been at least exposed to refereed journal articles when in elementary and high school, start college at a disadvantage. I hope therefore, that this post has encouraged you to look at journal articles, even if they are hard for you, even if you only get a word or two of their meaning.

Comprehension comes with increasing exposure and time. Having at least seen a copy of a journal article in elementary school, and attempted to read the few words a student can in elementary and middle and high school gets students ready for deeper reading in the sciences. Students in early primary grades need to feel successful just for looking at a journal article, almost as though it were a show-and-tell item.

Some graduate students are seeing them for the first time on entering graduate school. They end up feeling so pressured and overwhelmed when they start to search the literature. Earlier exposure prevents or lessens such anxiety. In the lower grades, you have to make it fun to prevent that same anxiety feeling. The success at the K-12 levels should be just in looking at a tough article and knowing that with work, someday, one could read it. A kindergartener can be amazed that scientists write about the experiments done, for example.

Of course a student with great interest in a science topic will work at reading the article at an early age, even if he or she takes hours on a paragraph of reading, as Einstein reportedly did with his schoolbooks at a young age. Taking your time to read difficult material, even days, has great intellectual company, and can be more recreational than one might think at first. Reading above level in this way can be enjoyable, so, have fun with it.

Don't let anyone feel stressed by looking at these articles. Take a week or two to do a paragraph if needed. Develop vocabulary first. Go slowly. No one should feel bad about this activity. It is a success just to know these articles exist and that they represent the kind of reading scientists do to find answers and suggest solutions. To know that such articles are original source laboratory reports is a major step in improving science literacy. At higher levels, students can , of course, do more. Yet, the reading should be stress free. Have fun. Now, back to mangroves...

How do you fit mangroves into your science class and still cover the curriculum? There are many standards that can absorb a mangrove study. The poetry is used to engage students. Now what? Let's look at a few science learning standards where mangroves might fit. These are selected as examples.

From a K-4 (ages roughly 5-9) http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/sci/documents/elecoresci.pdf In Standard 1, Key Ideas 2 and 3, students study scientific inquiry and write experimental design plans, share their results and use suggestions from others. Journal articles, such as those on mangroves, can be passed around to show that they will be doing the same kind of thing professional scientists do, of course they will do it on their own grade level, nut they will see they are learning the skills used by scientists and that the results of experiments are shared, just as they are doing.

In Standard 2, Key Ideas 1, , and 3 have to do with information systems. Having students learn to access information on line, in print and through conversations to share scientific information. Do you see how you could fit in something on mangroves here? This part of the standards also has to do with separating fact from fiction. You could use it to separate opinions from data and where they are located in laboratory reports on mangroves. For example, the data about mangrove restoration experiments is data...these are facts. Deciding what to do and suggesting public policy is opinion. Now, compare these to a pretend story that the children write about mangroves and fairies, for example, they will readily sort out, fact, opinion, and fiction.

Standard 6, Key Idea 2 is about using models. Students could build a model of a mangrove or mangrove swamp, just as they build a model of the classroom, or, the solar system, or a cell.

Standard 7 is about problem solving. A study of mangroves fits in here. Students can discuss mangroves after watching a video or reading about them and glossing over a journal article or two. Then, students can brainstorm ways to solve decreasing fish populations, or, reducing future storm damage. This problem solving could empower students after natural disasters, too.

At intermediate levels (5-8, approximately ages 10-13 ), Performance Indicator 7.1 encourages students to learn about populations, communities and ecosystems. A study of mangroves can fit in here, for example. They include people along with other organisms, so, how do mangroves affect people? Students will love to answer that.

National Science Standards, on which many state standards are based, encourage inquiry based learning. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962. You can use the journal articles on mangroves to serve as a starting point for designing experiments. Do the journal article discussions suggest any future research? Or, watch a video on mangroves, or a news clip on a tropical storm or on fish populations. You might want to look at environmental issues in your own area, too, linking to them from the mangrove study. For example, the students might look at a video on invasive plants that have come into your area and are threatening native plant populations. You might even to be able to bring in a speaker on invasive species. Then teach about planning experiments. Let students design experiments. then, you bring one, or approve what they have designed. This would be appropriate for 4th-12th grades (approximately ages 9-18), modified by the teacher for his or her students' levels and experience.

College biology, chemistry, Earth science, ecology and other classes can also use mangroves in different studies. The professor and/or students just need to think about it and see how mangroves fit into the particular course. Again, poetry can be used as a point of entry to the topic. (Interested in the poem above, e-mail me telling me what you plan to do with it and I can send you the necessary permission.)

Mangroves are found in coastal areas of tropical and sub-tropical regions around the World. They are of international interest because of their botany, their effect on fish populations, , their ability to lessen damage of tropical storms, among other reasons. Because of the international interest, I have decided to add, "mangroves," in several languages (Thanks to freetranslation.com). If your language isn't here, please add the word, "mangroves" in your language to the comments below. Thanks.

Chinese: 红树林 (simplified), 紅樹林 (traditional)

German: Mangrovenbäume

Italian: Mangrovie

Japanese: マングローブ

Russian: Мангровые деревья

Spanish: Manglares (European, Latin American, Mexican)

Speaking the science of mangroves is international: Have fun. Learn a lot. Prevent or solve problems. The poetry just adds to the fun.

Photos (c) 2011 J S Shipman
(c) 2011 J S Shipman. All rights reserved.

Post under development. Check back later.

Circadian Rhythms, Monthly Cycles... Science Literacy and science "In the News"

2011-03-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

Students who have been in class with me may remember doing a circadian rhythms lab... and another lab on lunar cycles...

I hope some of them read this and I hope others of you find it interesting, too. We did it around this time of year. Students who did the lab before the clocks changed for daylight savings time got sinusoidal graphs of their data. Students who did the lab after the clocks changed would have erratic data. Hmm! "Why do you think that happened?" I would say.

Men were surprised to find that they were also influenced, "by the moon." Everyone knew women had monthly cycles. Data showed them more things about themselves. Data helped them make decisions in their personal lives.

We discussed, then, how when they reached the time in their lives where they or their siblings or friends were having toddlers, how the time change could affect them. Those that had been using the toilet might suddenly go back to wetting the bed. They were sleeping when they would have been up. It took the toddlers, and for that matter, it takes us, about 5 weeks to re-adjust to the time change.

We also discussed shift work. Business decisions based on numbers of customers in the store at any given time may not account for the biological effect of shift work. Students can look up data on accidents related to shift work.

In the post, "In the News," today discussed technology items ruined sleep. Think about the following in light of the results from the laboratory.

Do you see that something in the news, like this topic, can stimulate students to read more science (increasing science literacy), to think about experimental design, to think about applying data to life. Would looking at data help the teen agers make better decisions? Perhaps if they did a circadian rhythms lab before looking at data on how electronic gadgets adversely affect sleep, the students would make better choices about sleep. Perhaps we would, too.

"Gadgets Interfering with a Good Night's Sleep
"Despite the fact that exposure to artificial light before bed can increase alertness and suppress the release of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone, nearly 95% of respondents in a recent US study said they used some type of electronic device in the hour before going to bed. In addition, because people are not turning off their mobile devices when they go to sleep, many are... [awakened]... during the night by cellphone calls, texts, and emails. One in 10 kids report being ...[awakened]... by texts, and researchers believe this is taking a toll, as teens were also found to be the most sleep-deprived age group surveyed. More ... Discuss"

The above quote is from today's, "In the News," posted in the left-hand column (but it will change when the day changes. That is why it is quoted here. It is provided by, "The Free Dictionary."

(c)2011 J S Shipman

Science "In the News" on Plant-based Plastics and Science Literacy

2011-03-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a quote from, "In the News," which I have quoted here because otherwise it changes on a different day. It is provided by The Free Dictionary and on todays date is found in the left hand column.

Using current events is helpful in science classes. I was going to address plant-based plastics because at the canteen in the Everglades, they used cups made from plants and that was exciting. Then, here the plant based plastics are being used for the soft-drink industry.

I am not pushing soda (You must use your own science knowledge and skills to make a decision about soda in your diet, but I am commending the company for moving toward a renewable resource-based bottle. That is a good thing.

Quoted material and photograph follow:

"Pepsi Unveils Fully Plant-Based BottlePepsiCo has unveiled what it claims is the first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based, renewable sources. It is not biodegradable or compostable, but it is fully recyclable. Traditional PET plastic is made using fossil fuels, but the new "green bottle" is made from materials like switch grass, pine bark, and corn husks. In the future, it may incorporate orange and potato peels, oat hulls, and other byproducts from the company's food production lines. By drawing on existing plant waste rather than growing plants specifically for this purpose, Pepsico will be making use of some of the estimated 2 billion tons of agricultural waste produced each year. More ... Discuss"

How can you use an article like this to engage students in science classes?

How can such an article enhance science literacy?

Could you use it to encourage students to design experiments based on the ideas they get from reading it?

Can students find related information to help them make judgements based on facts they find out about these bottles? Or, about sodas (pop)?

Could they speculate on making plastics from different plants?

Note that such an article could also give students career ideas:

"The new bottle looks, feels and protects the drink inside exactly the same as its current bottles, said Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of advanced research at PepsiCo."

Did you ever think of doing research at Pepsi or a company like Pepsi? What kind of company would you like to do research at?

Such open ended questions can start students thinking about the role of science in their lives. It can get them excited about learning more science.

.

Here are Links to Images and Information on Some of the Sights I was able to see at the Winter Star Party Astronomy Conference 2011

2011-03-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

I cannot convey the excitement of seeing the stars the way they appear from the WSP. I linked to images and information found on the web because these links can give you more of a feel for what I was able to see first-hand.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2003/28/image/a/ (Sombrero Galaxy)

http://www.starrycritters.com/eight-burst-2/

http://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/omega-centauri-milky-ways-prize-star-cluster (Omega Centauri)
Watching this large, luminous star cluster together with Al and Judi Nagler was an extra special treat. You capture their enthusiasm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades_%28star_cluster%29 (Pleides)

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_762.html (Eskimo Nebula)
Compare my avatar to the Eskimo Nebula.
J S Shipman

Create Your Badge
Did the comparison make you smile?

http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/ngc2392_18cass_6303.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crux (Southern Cross)
This was only the third and fourth times in my life I was able to see the Southern Cross.

http://www.omniscopic.com/blog/archive/2006_12_01_archive.html (Orion nebula)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn

http://observing.skyhound.com/archives/mar/NGC_3242.html (The Ghost of Jupiter)

http://www.astrosurf.com/antilhue/NGC2261.htm (Hubble's Variable Nebula)

M82, M83
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82

http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/science/m83_high.html

...among others.

"Wishing You Clear Skies and Sunny Days" -WSP 2011

2011-03-08T01:35:00.000-08:00

Under development...more coming...

Under development...more coming...

The Winter Star Party, long anticipated and suddenly gone, puts us back in the mood of waiting for next year's event. Still, while looking forward to next year, we have plenty of time to reflect on the night sky observations and the talks. We've had our, "Omega Centauri Fix," (Thanks, Al and Judi) , the, Best Brownies in the Universe," (Thanks, Micki), and can go back home satisfied that we had such wonderful nights, despite the wind. And as Jack Horkheimer (1938-2010)always reminded us, we can "Keep looking up."

Tippy D'Auria delighted us with, "Amateur Astronomy- Frustrations and Rewards," ...The tales of different astronomers and their observations and tools, told in a way that still makes us feel part of each spell-binding saga.

Sheldon Faworski gave us an insightful historical perspective with. 'Amateur Astronomy - through the Prism of "Sky and Telescope."' Sheldon pointed out that "Sky and Telescope" archives are available at a very reasonable price ...He showed how they would make a great addition to any school or home library.

Alan Friedman's talk, "Catching Sunlight - The Art and Science of High Resolution Solar Photography," brought us the expertise of an amateur whose photographs are featured on NASA websites and in their exhibitions. More details are found at avertedimagination.com.

Warren Keller

Mark "Indy" Kochte

Al Nagler

Donald C. Parker spoke tales of the Gas Giants in, "The Gas Giants put on a Show."

Mike Reynolds' talk, "Are [You] Sure This Isn't Astrology? Crazy Astronomy Adventures from Around the World," culled adventures from over 30 years experience in astronomy...academics (teaching and research), museum work, NASA, writing... Plenty of exciting experiences were shared.

Russell Romanella gave a talk that should call us to action: "NASA - Exploration at a Crossroad." While he spoke from his experience at NASA of all the accomplishments, he also spoke of the shuttle's last missions. Having grown up in the Space Age, Russell Romanella's talk had me glued to my seat.

I will add the following comment outside the scope of what was presented in the talk: Since we live in a Democracy, we have the power and ability to contact our elected representatives in the White House, Senate, and Congress. Space has created innovations, excitement, industries, jobs, and a national focus, a striving to be top in math and science, and many other great things. These are things we need today as much as when NASA started. Let your voice be heard on this matter: Continue our Space Exploration. You can now even, "tweet," the government, so, there's no excuse. From snail mail, to e-mail, to tweeting, and beyond, let your voice be heard.
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml.

Bob Summerfield

Keith Venables spoke on, "Preserving Dark Adaptation," and let us experiment, too. He gave us a better understanding of bright lights at night. Take a look at lights all over the World. See if you can put any lights out at night. He spoke to us of a movement to darken the night skies that began in the Netherlands and moved to the UK. He is encouraging everyone the World over to join the Dark Skies movement.

Dan Joyce is greatly appreciated for teaching the skills of mirror grinding needed for reflecting-telescope-making.

In addition, we were able to have informal discussions with ...
Matt Baum and Al Nagler who both worked on the flight simulators NASA used to train the Apollo astronauts for their safe flight to the moon and back, that is, their safe flight, descent, ascent, rendez-vous, and, what we all waited for on the edge of our seats, the return home. Matt worked on the electronics, especially the cameras and displays, while Al worked on the necessary optics.

Special thanks go to the vendors and manufacturer's representatives that provided wonderful door prizes and who participate in the WSP in many other ways. I invite them to submit their links either to me (Dr. J ) or in the comment lines below for readers to "click: at will.

Astro Gizmos
Astronomic's
Astronomy-toGo
APM Telescopes
ATIK Cameras
IP4AP
Bootleg Astronomy
Apparel
Camera Concepts
DiscMounts, Inc. &
SFAAA
Explore Scientific, LLC
Galileo Visions, Inc
Hamilton's Name Game
Howie Glatter's Laser Collimators
Infinitees
Meade Instruments
Micki's Kitchen
Model Optics, Inc.
Normand Fullum Telescopes
Software Bisque
Spirit of the Mountains
TeleVue Optics, Inc.
Vernon Scope/Yeier Optics

more coming, so come back

Winter Star Party Teaching Ideas

2011-03-08T01:16:00.000-08:00

Post under development
Come back later

Here is a review of the posts on the 2010 trip to the Florida Keys to see the stars and get some teaching ideas. I want to link them here and review them before posting new ideas from the WSP 2011.

http://read-about-it.blogspot.com/2010/02/build-astrolabe-from-paper-and-few.html

+++++
A reader left this comment. It is listed below, but I thought more people might see it here.

Mr said...

For younger kids, especially when outdoors, the 'toilet paper' universe is fun activity that is designed to show just how distant the planets and nearest star are. I have used this a number of times with younger scout troops, and it works well.

Check it out at:
http://starryskies.com/try_this/tiolet.paper.html

Monday, March 28, 2011 2:34:00 PM PDT

Botany Meetings coming Soon; Register Now!

2011-03-08T00:43:00.000-08:00

Botanists from around the globe will meet at the 2011 BSA meetings in St. Louis. School teachers are especially encouraged to attend. Scientists get together and provide exciting opportunities for teachers to keep current in science and for them to understand research better by talking directly with the researchers.

Here's a video invitation. There's a fair amount of, "hype," in the video, but, the meetings are a great place to be.

Here's a link to the Botanical Society of America's website so you can register:

http://www.2011.botanyconference.org/

And, another link for some teaching ideas:
Education & Learning
» BSA OUTREACH UPDATES & INFORMATION

Astronomy from the Keys...

2011-03-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures taken at the, "WSP." More posts following the astronomy Winter Star Party coming soon!!!! Interesting talks were presented and I will discuss some ideas I got that can be applied to activities for students.

Note, that the 'scopes I looked through the most, are those of which I didn't take photographs. Maybe that was because the night sky images I was seeing were so exciting. Or, maybe I didn't see palm trees and ocean in the background (We had these nestled in a relatively wind-free area between a row of cedar trees and two or three camper trailers and trucks... to give fantastic viewing of the night skies...More on these telescopes later!)

I did take these pictures on the way to Micki's Kitchen, the canteen at the Winter Star Party, and the source of the best brownies in the Universe. Lucky for me I am not a chocolate fanatic since these brownies are hard to pass up even if you only like chocolate a little... But, if you crave chocolate...You are in the right place. (I'll look for Micki's Kitchen's contact information in case you need to send anyone a care package and I'll add it here.)

cay /key/quai/quay/cayo... See: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cay
" a small low island or bank composed of sand and coral fragments,...[ especially]... in the Caribbean area Also called key"

Tribal Colleges and Science...Link in here:

2011-03-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

"...America's tribal colleges are
rapidly expanding
their own research."

.
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110302/full/471025a.html
.

Portals to birds...And what do the birds eat? Where do they live? Are the trees and fields by you still there or are they gone?

2011-02-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some portals to birds on different continents:

Links from http://birdingonthe.net/

World
North America
Middle and South America
Europe, Africa
Asia,Australasia
Regional/Specialty
List Archives Index
Rare Bird Alerts

Protein Science: Research is fun!

2011-02-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

Proteins are present in all living things, [...] plants, bacteria, and viruses[, fungi, and animals].

Here is the portal to a game about protein folding.

http://fold.it/portal/info/science

What is protein folding?
Why is this game important?
News Articles about Foldit

Proteins are a part of science standards on many states. Can you guess why? Write down your guess, then, do some reading or play the game and see if you can back-up your prediction.

You can link to other information on specific proteins from the game website. For example, http://www.pdb.org/pdb/static.do?p=education_discussion/molecule_of_the_month/pdb79_1.html, is a link to proteins related to Alzheimer's.

What do you know about proteins already? How do you know that? Have you done any laboratory activities or experiments on or with proteins?

See http://www.njit.edu/precollege/competitions/olympiad.php for competitions on proteins.