Bringing Cutting Edge Maine Research to the Middle School Classroom

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Bringing Cutting Edge Maine Research to the
Middle School Classroom
2009 MAMLE Conference October 22, 2009

• Tracy Vassiliev
• James F. Doughty School

FBRI Mentors Dr. David Neivandt Dr. Darrell
Donahue
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• Agenda
• FBRI Introductions
• RET program / background
• Why Middle School?
• FBRI Middle School Curricula Connections
• RET Reflections

http//blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/f
iles/2009/04/tree.jpg
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• Tracy Vassiliev
• Education
• B.S. Biology
• M.S. Marine Bioresources
• M.Ed Middle School Science GT
• Teaching Experience
• 8 yrs. Grade 8 Science Middle school GT
• RET
• Maine Sensors! (2005)
• FBRI (2007, 2008 2009)

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• Follow wood from the forest to the factory floor
  www.forestbioproducts.umaine.edu
• 6.9 million dollar NSF grant 3.45 Million
  U.Maine matching funds
• Campus wide collaborative
• RET - Research Experience for Teachers
• Develop curriculum support the goals of FBRI
• Collaborate with Maine Mathematical Science
  teachers
• Organize lead professional development
  opportunities

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• Lets be clear
• FBRI is NOT creating MORE work for teachers
• Making valid connection to current research
• Activities correlate with Maines Parameters of
  Essential Instructions
• Reading/analyzing non-fiction articles
• Data graph interpretation

http//www.rejoycenorder.com/images/paper_stacks.j
pg
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Mash-Up Maps
Research Projects
Informational Text
Data Collection
Observations
Graphing
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• Maines Parameters of Essential Instruction
  Science Technology
• A. Unifying Themes
• B. Scientific Inquiry
• C. Understanding Science Technology
• D. Physical Science
• E. Life Science

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• Why Middle School Student?
• Important to cultivate interests in science
  technology early
• Encourages students to take more STEM courses in
  high school
• Better prepared for college
• Promote science literacy
• Plant seeds of interest for future STEM careers.
• Better compete in global society

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• Data Collection
• Allowing students to construct meaning from raw
  data is very powerful
• MLTI - Technology (integrated into the
  curriculum)
• Facilitate complex tasks
• Engage in more advanced thinking problem
  solving
• How People Learn, 2000

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• Curriculum ideas
• Exploration of Nature (Sustainability)
• Wood Composites (Sustainability)
• Tree Extracts (Sustainability Wood Extractions)
• Fermentation (Wood Extractions)
• Thermal Conversion (Wood Extractions)
• Life Cycle Assessment (New Product Development)
• Non-fiction fiction in science class

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• Making Recording Detailed Observations
• Close,Closer,Closest
• naked eye sketch, hand lens x 10 pocket
  microscope x 30
• Digital Photography
• Several different perspectives
• Observations, Scientific Writing and Art
• Tree Sketches Written Descriptions
• Tree, bark, leaf seed

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• Collecting Recording Tree Data
• Diameter at breast heigh (DBH)
• Total basal area (TBA)
• Tree height
• Crown spread
• Mass spreadsheet
• Linear equations based on heigh, species DBH
• Young, Ribe Wainwright, 1980

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• Using Increment bores
• Call your local forester for samples
• Secure to graph paper
• Make tick marks on paper
• Measure yearly growth
• Graph (Data Studio)
• Estimate
• Tree age, total growth, yearly growth

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• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Explore outside
• Get to use multi-million dollar satellite system
• Global address
• Latitude/longitude
• Advantages of spatial temporal information

http//www.arrowfoundation.org/resources/1/Grant2
0Awards/SS-WHS-GPS-P20Peterson.jpg
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• Mashup Tree Maps with Google Earth
• Student generated Google maps with all tree data
• spatial
• temporal
• Map can be shared with class, school or community

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• 4 FBRI Geocaches
• Combination of hiking treasure hunting
• Gets students to explore nature
• Download lat/long from website into your GPS
• Leads you to hidden caches
• Rules
• Be discrete
• If you take something you must leave something
• Sign the logbook

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State of Maine
U. Maine Campus
Marsh Island
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• www.geocaching.com

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• Properties of matter
• Alloys - a homogenous mixture of two or more
  elements (one of which is metallic)
• Brass (Cu Zn)
• Steel (C Fe)
• Composites - Engineered materials made from two
  or more constituents materials with significantly
  different physical or chemical properties
• Matrix Reinforcement
• Straw Mud (Ancient bricks)
• Fiberglass

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• Wood Composite Investigation
• Wood Dough hybrid planks
• Flour (matrix), Sawdust (reinforcement), salt,
  water
• Inquiry
• Experiment to determine if a wood composite is
  stronger then dough
• To differentiate
• provide wood composite recipe
• Allow students to develop their own

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• Thermal Conversion
• Produce Biodiesel
• No. 6 Plastic Shrinky Dinks

Pearson, Ashley. "Fuel for Thought." Bangor Metro
March 2009 9. Print
Hopper, Cindy. "Skip to My Lou." How to make
Shrinky Dinks with recycled 6 plastic. January 7
2009. 12 Aug 2009 lthttp//www.skiptomylou.org/2009
/01/07/how-to-make-shrinky-dinks-with-recycled-6-p
lastic/gt.
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• Leaf and Bark Extracts
• Students use a rice steamer to obtain an extract
• Determine if extract is a solution, colloid or
  suspension using observations, filter and laser
  pointer tests
• Paper Chromatography

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• Test the Antibacterial Effects of Tree Extracts
• Measure inhabitation zones
• Water as the control
• Discover compare the antimicrobial properties
  of tree (bark leaf) plant extracts.
• Yong-Suk Kim and Dong-Hwa Shin, 2005. Volatile
  components and antibacterial effects of pine
  needle (Pinus densiflora S. and Z.) extracts.
  Food Microbiology. 22(1) pp 37-45.

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• The Fungus Among Us!
• Yeast - Fermentation
• Brewing Spruce Beer
• Making bread in a bag/pretzels
• Fungus Terrarium

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• Why Life Cycle Assessments?
• Through the Eyes of Photographic Artist, Chris
  Jordon
• Depicts 2 million plastic bottles, the number
  used in the US every 5 minutes.

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• The Story of Stuff - Annie Leonard
• Extraction to disposal
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Life Cycle of
• Cell phones
• DVDs/CDs
• Soccer Balls

www.thestoryofstuff.com
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• Invention Convention
• Promotes creative problem solving
• Identify a problem
• Brainstorm a solution
• Build a prototype
• Market the product
• Include a simple LCA

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• People are naturally curious, but curiosity is
  fragile - Dr. Daniel Willingham
• Background knowledge is necessary for cognitive
  skills
• Acquisition of incidental factual knowledge
• Young Adult Books Fiction/Non-fiction
• The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (fiction)
• The Octopus Effect by Michael Reisman (fiction)
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (fiction)
• Grayson by Lynne Cox (non-fiction)

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• FBRI Middle School Teacher Blog
• http//fbri.edublogs.org/
• Provides a collaborative community
• Warehouse of FBRI curriculum ideas
• Web resources
• Teacher development opportunities
• Links to professor and REU interviews
• Ask an expert

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• Continued Work in Progress
• Working with the University of Maine Middle
  School Collaborative
• Second Year
• GK-12 Fellow Proposal
• Graduate students in the classroom
• Additional Presentations
• Maine Conference on Gifted Talented
• Friday, November 13, 2009, Bangor
• Submitted an abstract to NSTA
• National Conference, March, 2009, Philadelphia,
  PA,

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• RET Reflections
• Amazing learning opportunity
• Share with students
• Professional Growth
• Identify more connections
• National science standards PEI
• Insight into FBRI research
• Appreciate the importance of collaboration

http//eirikso.com/2005/07/06/more-reflections/
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• Email
• Work tvassiliev_at_bangorschools.net
• Gmail tvassiliev_at_gmail.com
• Cell
• 207 299 0879
• Home
• 207 942 2291

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Acknowledgements National Science
Foundations Funding for this work was provided by
The National Science Foundation under grant
numbers EEC- 06 48793 and EPS-05
54545. EPSCoR Dr. David Neivandt Dr. Darrell
Donahue FBRI Professors REUs