Wednesday, August 5, 2009: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
San Miguel, Albuquerque Convention Center
OOS 22 - Providing Ecological Knowledge to High Schools and Professional Organizations
Our collaboration between sites in Oregon, Puerto Rico, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona has resulted in a series of successful teacher courses that rain high school teachers to conduct ecological research. We have used conceptual modeling to document the gains in knowledge these novice scientists acquire as well as how they have proceeded to apply their learning and change their own teaching. In addition, we have begun to work with staff at Nature Centers and government offices who desire to provide their own teacher ecology training to use our methods of providing teachers with relevant field experimental training. While many nature center educational staff are trained in the sciences, they typically lack the opportunities and resources for professional development in ecology. By using relevant current ecological research and proven techniques for professional development, this collaboration creates new locally relevant opportunities for teachers to incorporate field work at local sites into their students’ work. This authenticity is the “hook” many teachers find successful in generating student interest in ecology. In addition, we provide online training material to supplement the existing technical knowledge local organizations' programs require to either improve their existing teacher training or to implement new ones. We will report on how the teachers and their high school students benefit from the training provided. We will describe how participating teachers implement successful student field projects and how ecological field work raises both understanding about how ecosystems function and enthusiasm for ecology among the students of participating teachers.
Organizer:Marion Dresner, Portland State University
Moderator:Kimberly Melville-Smith, Colorado State University
8:00 AMOOS 22-1Using the experience from the HJ Andrews Forest Research to develop ecological inquiry research models in the high school classroom
Sally Kirkpatrick, Gresham-Barlow School District
8:20 AMOOS 22-2Cross-site comparisons of leaf litter decomposition rates
Andrea Anderson, Gresham-Barlow High School
8:40 AMOOS 22-3Working with community natural resource organizations
Kala Gonsler, Portland State University
9:00 AMOOS 22-4Developing teachers' ecological systems understanding, and how it changes teaching practices
Marion Dresner, Portland State University
9:20 AMOOS 22-5Field equipment, field sites, teacher workshops, and/or online resources: What does it take to promote field ecology experiences for high school students?
Stephanie V. Bestelmeyer, Asombro Institute for Science Education
9:40 AM Break
9:50 AMOOS 22-6Understanding the relationship between climate and vegetation: Field experiences change Puerto Rican teachers perceptions
Maria Fernanda Barberena-Arias, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, Jorge Ortiz-Zayas, University of Puerto Rico
10:10 AMOOS 22-7Developing an environmental literacy framework by connecting teacher professional development to field research and practice
John C. Moore, Colorado State University, Kimberly Melville-Smith, Colorado State University
10:30 AMOOS 22-8Lessons learned:   Urban ecology summer teacher internships
Monica M. Elser, Arizona State University
10:50 AMOOS 22-9Remote sensing and anthropogenic change: Bridging the scientific and literary communities
Patricia L. Hackbarth, Hunter College, CUNY
11:10 AMOOS 22-10Designing watershed-based education and extension efforts through a mental model research approach
Deborah K. Hersha, The Ohio State University, Robyn S. Wilson, The Ohio State University, Anne Baird, The Ohio State University

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See more of The 94th ESA Annual Meeting (August 2 -- 7, 2009)