Insect Chemistry and GK12

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Insect Chemistry and GK-12

• Katy Lustofin and Susan Camasta

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Goals

• To increase student interest in chemistry by
  linking it with insects
• To show students how chemistry relates to other
  topics
• To show students how chemistry can be used as a
  tool in the real world

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Projects

• Have the students design and maintain a website
  about insect chemistry
• Provide insect-related experiments to demonstrate
  the various topics in chemistry
• Keep the students updated on my research and new
  developments
• Virtual tour of my lab

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Progress

• Student designed website is underway
• (fsfm.kbx81.net/chem )
• Students have enjoyed and benefited from the lab
  exercises
• In keeping the students up-to-date on my
  research, weve also provided them with examples
  of how scientists communicate and what they do

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Student Quotes

• Yesterday KL came to our chem. class. I think
  that its a really great idea to talk to her
  every week. It kind of shows that there are many
  different careers for a person interested in
  science.

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Student Quotes

• She brought live butterflies and some dead ones
  as well. The color on the butterflies was so
  vibrant and beautiful. It was a nice reminder of
  how wondrous nature can be.

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Student Quotes

• Another thing that amused me was her attitude.
  She was very nice and open minded- not formal.
  Even though she studied science, she taught me
  scientists are normal people that just want to
  learn a little more about the world.

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Student Quotes

• We are able to connect what we are learning to
  how it can become useful in our future. No
  longer do students feel that it is useless for us
  to know this information.

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Student Quotes

• I think that working with K has given us insight
  to what scientists really do as opposed to our
  preconceptions based on stereotypes. So far, I
  think things have been going good. The things we
  are learning in class tie in what K is doing.
  This provides the link we need to link ideas to
  really understand them.

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Student Quotes

• I feel this is a real good idea to do with high
  school students for them to get a real life
  example of what a scientist does in their career.
  It gives students a chance to ask questions they
  have about her profession and to see if they
  would want to get into it themselves.

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Student Quotes

• I feel that K is doing a good job in explaining.
  As the unit we are doing now has a lot to do
  with what K is researching some of activities we
  did with her are related to this unit. By
  collaborating with K, I have more ideas on what
  scientists are and how they live and work.

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Student Quotes

• I feel that it is going very good and that her
  teaching us something abstract from what we are
  learning is an unbelievable privilege. None of
  the other teachers I have had for science has
  ever had another student teach us something not
  related to what were supposed to do. Sure, Ive
  had other student teachers before, but K is
  different. Shes teaching us her knowledge, not
  the books.