A Cross-Continental Partnership

Posted on April 7, 2014May 12, 2016 by SENCER-ISE

Basic chemistry, such as chemical partitioning, is introduced early in the term to help students design strategies for separating toxins from various materials before quantification is possible. Photo: Karen Brewer

Hamilton College and the Green Science Policy Institute (GSP) are partnering to develop research opportunities for undergraduate science students that meld analytical toxicology with public policy and civic engagement. Dr. Tim Elgren of Hamilton College, and Dr. Arlene Blum and Ms. Avery Lindeman of GSP, have transformed Dr. Elgren’s existing Introduction to Chemistry course (a 2010 SENCER Model course) into a toxicology lab, which includes civic engagement elements to provide students with opportunities to share their findings with the public.

Unlike the other SENCER-ISE partnerships, which are between locally situated organizations and institutions, Hamilton College (Clinton, NY) and GSP (Berkeley, CA) are unique in that they are based thousands of miles apart. Despite the geographic and time differences, Hamilton College and GSP have created a successful partnership and lab course that examines the real-world applications of chemistry.

Toxic Posters: The campus community is invited to a poster session in which students present the results from their analytical assessment of exposure to toxic chemicals from consumer products. Photo: Tim Elgren

The partnership’s use of technology during the fall semester allowed Dr. Blum and Ms. Lindeman to become involved remotely but directly in the course and the students’ learning. WebEx, a video conferencing service, was used throughout the course to maintain communication between GSP and the Hamilton students. Dr. Blum presented her lecture Principles of Chemistry in the Context of Health and Environmental Chemistry to the class using WebEx. Click here to watch a recording of that lecture.

Dr. Blum and Ms. Lindeman also held one-on-one meetings with students using the conferencing service. After making analytical measurements to quantify human exposure to various toxins found in common household products, the students developed projects to share their findings. Students then received individualized consultations with GSP before finalizing their projects and presenting them at “The Toxic Poster Session,” held on campus.

Introductory Chemistry (Chem 125) students learning to use the gas chromatography – mass spectrometer for analyzing toxins in consumer products. Tie-dyed lab coats are signature apparel for the Chem 125 toxicology lab students. Photo: Tim Elgren

Projects included information on halogenated flame-retardants in campus furniture, bisphenol A (BPA) in instant soups and noodles, wine, packaged tuna, and infant formula, benzidine in imported garments, and perfluorooctanioc acid (PFOA) in pet food and microwave popcorn.

The partners intend for future Introduction to Chemistry students to reach beyond campus by communicating their results to decision makers in government and industry and, through contacts with media, citizens in the public, who can make or ask for changes to protect the public’s health and the environment.

Dr. Elgren says the partnership has been an extraordinary experience for both him, and the Hamilton students. Dr. Elgren explains,

The questions are beginning to extend beyond the simple act of measuring toxins to a broader consideration of the next important question, whether that be moving the science forward, considering the broader impact of the work and identifying important audiences that should be informed about the findings. GSP feedback on the structure of the projects has also been invaluable. During one of our conference calls, Dr. Blum and Ms. Lindeman suggested that each team should develop a “Fact Sheet” for their toxic compound (for “The Toxic Poster Session”). This simple assignment has improved the quality of the presentations and allowed the presenters to hand useful information to people who stop by to view the poster.

The partners are beginning to discuss how Hamilton College can assist GSP in their efforts to develop other educational materials and curricula to make it easier for more educators to introduce these topics and strategies in their classrooms.

Mariel Schneider Reflections on “Science from the Start”

Posted on March 12, 2014May 12, 2016 by SENCER-ISE

Graduate student from the Early Childhood Cognition Lab, Nadia Chernyak, conducts a study with child participant. Photo by Sciencenter.

A graduate student from the Early Childhood Cognition Lab, Nadia Chernyak, conducts a study with a child participant. Photo by Sciencenter.

Mariel Schneider, a senior at Cornell University working towards her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development, has played an integral part in Cornell University and the Sciencenter’s project, Science from the Start: Engaging Researchers, Undergraduates and a Science Museum to Research Early Learners and Set the Stage for STEM Learning. The overall goal of the project and the partnership between the Sciencenter and Cornell University’s Early Childhood Cognition Lab (ECCL) is to develop and refine tools for parents, caregivers, and educators to engage their children in STEM learning, and to motivate young Sciencenter visitors to search, question and explore the museum.

Mariel was recently asked to reflect on her experience with the partnership and its project. She writes:

I have been involved with the SENCER-ISE project, taking place at the Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY, for over 6 months now. It has been a unique experience partnering with the Sciencenter through the Cornell University’s Early Childhood Cognition Lab (ECCL) because I have been a research assistant in the lab since my freshman year. The ECCL is a research lab in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. As stated in our lab’s website, we study how children develop their understanding of cause and effect through their everyday experiences. ECCL researchers play games with children in our lab, local schools, and day care centers, using toys and stories we design, to discover how children learn. I have been able to apply the ECCL’s findings, as well as the results found in other young childhood research studies, to the project at the Sciencenter.

Visitors at the Sciencenter splash around in a Curiosity Corner exhibit- an area specially designed for children 4 years and younger. This will be one of the water exhibits featuring the new signage. Photo by Sciencenter.

One of the foundational ideas of early childhood cognition is that if a trusted adult labels two things with the same word, young children expect these things to have commonalities. We are applying this idea by labeling different exhibits at the Sciencenter, which have a common theme of “water,” with the same signage. I first collected initial observational data on child-caregiver interactions, the number of people visiting the Sciencenter, and which exhibits were visited most in a given area of the museum. Michelle Kortenaar, Director of Education at the Sciencenter and Co-PI on the SENCER-ISE partnership, and I designed potential new signage for these exhibits.

I have begun to get feedback from children on their understanding of the concepts we are working with. By showing child visitors pictures of the signs we want to use to demonstrate “water,” we can get an idea if the pictures and words we want to use are comprehended by young children. The purpose of the new signs is to indicate to visitors that there is a connection between the labeled exhibits.

Based on the children’s reactions, I am going to put up the sign they most consistently identified as “water.” The sign, which shows a picture of water and the word “WATER” spelled out, will go up in five exhibits that feature water.

The next step will be for the current students in Tamar Kushnir’s, Evalyn Edwards Milman Assistant Professor at Cornell University and Co-PI of the SENCER-ISE partnership, class to collect observational data on the use of the signage by visitors. Michelle and I have come up with guiding questions, with Tamar’s approval, on what the students should look and listen for from visitors regarding their interactions with the new signage, and the interactions between child and caregiver. Since regular museum visitors are being used in the study, the groups of children being observed interacting with exhibits labeled with old signs and new signs will be different.

The best part about working with Cornell University’s ECCL and Sciencenter is seeing how research is applied in a venue that serves the greater Ithaca community in educating its young children. The partnership has informed the direction I would like my career to take after graduation. I have learned that I enjoy designing projects after coming up with a vision that benefits the health and education of people –both children and adults. After graduation, I will be working in healthcare where some of my main responsibility will be in helping hospitals become more efficient in order to provide better care to patients.

Forest Restoration Underway at Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center

Posted on February 26, 2014May 26, 2016 by SENCER-ISE

An OEC naturalist teaches 5th graders about bush honeysuckle as an invasive species. Photo by Linda Fuselier.

The Biodiversity, Invasive Species, and Forest Restoration project is engaging groups from the Yellow Springs Senior Center, Antioch College, and grade schools from across the region in western Ohio in forest restoration at the Glen Heleh Outdoor Education Center (OEC).

Last year, adults at the Yellow Springs Senior Center propagated plants native to the OEC during two workshops offered prior to the inception to the SENCER-ISE grant. These workshops were funded by the Llewellyn Foundation and became the basis for the work now being done in the SENCER-ISE project.

Last fall, Antioch College students planted over 300 of the propagated native plants in the demonstration restoration area at the OEC. This first planting included spicebush, shagbark hickory, zig-zag goldenrod, bluestem goldenrod, heartleaf aster, bottlebrush grass, Greys sedge, tick trefoil.

Kelly and Katie Quigley participate in a native seed propagation workshop. Photo by Linda Fuselier.

The cycle is continuing with fifth and sixth grade students enrolled in the Outdoor School at the OEC. The students come from different schools across the region, many there on scholarship, to spend 3-4 days at the OEC studying various topics related to the environment and forest ecology. Last fall, students in the Forest Ecology lesson collected thousands of spicebush seeds for propagation, which students of the Environmental Problem Solving lesion will be planting this winter.

Corinne and Daniel Pelzl propagate plants in a workshop funded by the Llewellyn Foundation. Photo by Linda Fuselier.

Forest restoration depends not only on the propagation and planting of native plants, but also on the removal of invasive species. Environmental Science students at Antioch College are learning about invasive species in relation to biodiversity, bush Honeysuckle being the most obvious and influential invasive species in Glen Helen. Areas that have been invaded by bush honeysuckle have been shown to have lower diversity in amphibian species, depleted growth of native plants due to resource competition, allelopathy, and depleted soil seed banks, altered patters of pollinator visitation, higher deer populations, which increases the risk of incidence of tick-borne diseases, and many other negative impacts on a forest.1-7

Antioch student, Sarah Goldstein, installs native plants in a restoration area in Glen Helen. Photo by Linda Fuselier.

Over 80 community members participated in honeysuckle removal at Glen Helen and the work continues with field crews made up of land managers and students. In spring term, Plant Ecology students will work more directly with honeysuckle removal to create plots for their research projects. They will examine the survival of the native plantings relative to biotic and abiotic features of the habitats.

This spring term, Environmental Science students will also become “assistant naturalists” in the workshops. To gain an understanding of formal science education, the work done at the OEC, and become experts on a particular native plant of their choice, students have been visiting the OEC and going on Naturalists hikes with grade school students and naturalists.

The Biodiversity, Invasive Species, and Forest Restoration project has several goals, including the restoration of biodiversity in Glen Helen, improved understanding on the parts of students and community members of the basic principles of ecology related to biodiversity and invasive species through hands-on intergenerational interactions, and the increase of strong community connections. Continued monitoring of the demonstration restoration area at the OEC, participants’ self-reported attitudes toward forest restoration, and formative and summative evaluation to track understanding of subject matter will be utilized in assessing the overall success of the program.

1-7 [1] Arthur et al. 2012. Plant Ecology 213:1571-1582. [2] Cipollini et al. 2008. American Midland Naturalist 160:117- 128. [3] Cipollini et al 2009. Invasive Plant Science management 2:45-54. [4] McKinney and Goodell. 2010. Biological Invasions 12:2751-2763. [5] Bauer et al. 2012. Plant Ecology 213:19-7-1916. [6] Watling et al. 2011. Biological Conservation 144:2597-2601. [7] Allan et al. 2010. PNAS 107: 18523-18527.

Teens Share Their Research on Project TRUE Blog

Posted on February 11, 2014May 12, 2016 by SENCER-ISE

Project TRUE is a research internship program for high school students in the New York City area. The students choose between two fields of study, invertebrates or birds, to focus on during the ten-week internship.

Project TRUE teens search for birds in Prospect Park. Photo by Sabryna John-Charles.

A Project TRUE teen searches for birds in Prospect Park. Photo by Sabryna John-Charles.

The first cohort of teens participated in the project from October 2013 to mid-January 2014. A blog was created as part of the civic engagement aspect of Project TRUE. The teen interns generated the content for the blog and decided what should be posted. Jason Aloisio, Fordham University PhD Candidate and City Zoos Urban Ecologist, and Debbie Dieneman, Coordinator of Volunteers a Prospect Park Zoo, facilitate the internship activities and manage the Project TRUE blog.

Blog posts include photographs of field research expeditions, video presentations, and open letters of thanks to visiting researchers. The Cohort 1 teens created much of the content for the blog using iPads, which were used “as journals, field guides, interview guides, mapping, and much more.” Karen Tingley, Co-PI from the Wildlife Conservation Society, says, “These tools helped them engage in ways that we don’t always see.”

The Project TRUE team is in the process of selecting the teens for the second cohort. These teens will also contribute to the blog using iPads and Go-Pro cameras. Tingley says, “We are really excited for the students to document their process and exploration through the use of photo and video. These videos and images will be uploaded to the blog, YouTube, and Instagram- all great placed for additional teens to learn more about what we are doing.”

To spread word about the work that the teens in Project TRUE are doing, the blog is featured on the WCS Project TRUE website page, found here, and is used in school presentations that each of the interns give at the end of the semester.

Sentinels of Shoreline Change- Field Trip to Plumb Beach

Posted on January 9, 2014May 26, 2016 by Luz-Angelica

Teachers learn techniques in vegetation survey

The team looks for benthic invertebrates

On November 9th the Sentinels of Shoreline Change, which consists of a team of Brooklyn College professors, middle and high school teachers and National Park Service staff- all convened at Plumb Beach in Jamaica Bay for a data collection field trip. It was a windy, gloomy day, but the goals of the Sentinels were clear- to familiarize themselves in data collection techniques and to develop ideas for project-based lesson plans that would incorporate data collection as well as activities with a focus on civic engagement. The long-term plan for the Sentinels is to create a citizen science field observation program to monitor the shoreline of Jamaica Bay for shifts due to climate change and human activity. The Sentinels will ultimately fill the need to detect early warnings of marsh loss, shoreline erosion, the spread of invasive species and other changes to the Bay’s ecosystem.