Ecology Research Experiences for Teachers: A Summer Program of Independent Research in Ecology for K-12 Teachers Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York www.ecostudies.org
Two Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Fellows will join the unique IES research and education community in 2008 to carry out cutting-edge investigations of their own design, working closely with a mentor scientist. Fellows also will work with members of the IES education staff to develop applications of their research to their teaching. The program emphasizes the community nature of the research and education enterprise. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the activities of the IES Research Experiences for Undergraduate program (REU, see www.ecostudies.org/reu.html), including seminars, workshops, a case study of a regional environmental issue, and a career forum. Dates: Equivalent of 7 weeks during the summer of 2008 and following school year. Schedule is flexible. Eligibility: K-12 teachers. Must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. or its possessions. Stipend: $6,600 stipend, plus $1,000 allowance for supplies, travel or other expenses to support implementation with students in the 2008-9 school year. Other support: Research expenses and, if needed, some assistance for housing are available. Projects for 2008 (detailed project descriptions are at the bottom of this message): ● Hudson River wetlands and tributaries. Dr. Stuart E.G. Findlay, mentor. ● Investigating people’s ideas about ecosystems. Dr. Alan R. Berkowitz, mentor. For more information and to apply (applications should include a letter of interest explaining how the research experience will benefit your teaching, names and contact information for three references, and a brief resume, and must be received by 15 January 2008), contact: Alan R. Berkowitz, Ph.D. Head of Education Institute of Ecosystem Studies PO Box R (181 Sharon Turnpike) Millbrook, NY 12545 Phone: (845) 677-7600 ext. 311 Fax: (845) 677-6455 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] NOTE: Our ability to run the RET program in 2008 is contingent upon funding of our proposal to the National Science Foundation. Confirmation should be available by March 2008. Detailed Project Descriptions for 2008 IES RET Program: ● Hudson River wetlands and tributaries. Dr. Stuart E.G. Findlay, mentor. The Hudson River has a large number of diverse tidal wetlands along its shores and important vegetated shallow areas. In many cases tributaries deliver their loads of nutrients and sediment into these wetlands and shallows. Although a few sites and streams have been studied extensively there is not a general understanding of how these marshes and littoral areas contribute to food webs, serve as habitat or modify water chemistry. Simple procedures for determining some of these functions could be applied to a range of sites. Or, a teacher might study sediment yields during storm events in various streams differing in land-cover. Aside from the direct benefits of carrying out the field work and lab analyses the teacher could develop materials for the classroom related to water cycle, run-off relationships, frequency of storm events, etc. Some of these materials would be direct products of the res! earch (e.g., hydrographs from different streams) while others could use Web resources such as USGS data on water yield and suspended sediment concentrations. ● Investigating people’s ideas about ecosystems. Dr. Alan R. Berkowitz, mentor. Understanding ecosystems is increasingly vital for decision making and citizenship, yet ecosystem literacy still eludes students, educators and the public. The IES Ecosystem Literacy Initiative is developing a “language” of ecosystems for the public - a way of thinking about and understanding the ecosystems we depend upon - that people can use in their day to day lives. To help guide this effort, we are studying how people think about and come to understand ecosystems, with two projects for potential exploration by a Research Experiences for Teachers Fellow. In the Earthworms and Ecosystems project, we are developing an educational web-based resource about the ecological roles of worms. The goal is to build on the public’s general interest in earthworms and willingness to think about their effects on ecosystems. Research can be designed by the teacher t! o reveal what different groups of students and/or teachers know, or think they know, about the ecology of earthworms and to discover where their understandings came from. In the Webs on the Web project, IES scientists and educators are working with local teachers to build a web-based series of “lessons” that will take students along a learning progression towards a sophisticated understanding of how food webs function in the real world. Research associated with this project can explore the different ways students think about and can conceptualize increasingly complex interactions between species in space and time. The RET Fellow will have access to a diversity of groups for interviews, focus group discussions and/or surveys. This research will make a useful contribution to our understanding of how people develop ideas about ecosystems, and will give the Fellow experience in social science research linked to biological inquiry.
