ASPB collaborates with www.PlantingScience.org, a learning community where scientists provide online mentoring to student teams in middle school through undergraduate settings so students can design and think through their own inquiry projects. Scroll to the end of this post for an impressive list of who is doing what. The fall 2015 online meeting space was filled with some great conversations between mentors and teams; some very interesting questions were investigated. The student research teams finished a busy session by posting conclusions, lab reports, presentations, and saying their goodbyes (at least until they meet again in some other plant science lab).
Student teams posted some final thoughts (clever research team names included):
I wanted to thank you for helping us with our science project. I really learned a lot throughout this project and plan on continuing this project for my schools science fair. I also think it’s really cool how we can interact with you, even though you are half way across the world from us! – The ATOMS Family
…I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help. It’s been quite a blast, this journey of ours. Every last moment will be in my memories for years to come. Without your help, we would have been very lost on the expedition. I hope you get many more great groups to come, and that you succeed in your efforts of research. All the best for you… – John Seed-A
Teachers shared their appreciation for the mentors. One stated:
My students, without exception, enjoyed their first high school team challenge/mentoring experience. Needless to say, your interactions with them made that possible. Thank you. -Anonymous
Classroom teacher Michael T. Roche reported:
Your efforts have added so much to this introductory biology course and the introduction to research mini-course that I present to these academically motivated young people.
A student reflectively responded to Michael’s class survey:
In the past, I have had many teachers who taught me how to conduct experiments. But they always spent less than a period on it, and never talked about it again. It’s only thanks to the year-after-year repetition that I can even remember what the scientific method is. Planting Science was a project that forced me to understand the scientific method and go through the process of designing an experiment. There were also many things about drawing up an experiment on our own that I never had to do before, like deciding on an independent and dependent variable instead of blindly following directions. ~Ivy, PS student-researcher
Thank you, Scientists! Scientists serving as mentors to the student research teams make this program possible. Over 60 members of ASPB served as mentors in the fall 2015 session alone. Hundreds more have volunteered since this partnership was established in 2006. To get involved as a PlantingScience Scientist see http://bit.ly/1N7DNFd or email Katie@aspb.org.
Who’s doing what? PS Modules and Mentees
Arabidopsis Genetics
High School
David & Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute Toronto, Canada
Monroe Technology Center Leesburg, VA
Brassica Genetics
High School
Springfield Central High School Springfield, MA
JC Harmon High School Kansas City, KS
Service High School Anchorage, AK
Shroder Paideia High School Cincinnati, OH
C-Fern
Middle School
Alaska Native Cultural Charter School Anchorage, AK
Pollination
Middle School
Stark County Jr. High Toulon, IL
St. Sebastian School Akron, OH
Nottingham Elementary Nottingham, NH
Power of Sunlight/Photosynthesis
College
Western State Colorado University Gunnison, CO
High School
Central High School Cheyenne, WY
Wellsboro Area High School Wellsboro, PA
Eureka High School Eureka, IL
Middle School
Long Branch Middle School Long Branch, NJ
Key Destiny Academy Huntsville, AL
Wonder of Seeds/Germination
Middle School
Millennium Middle School Tamarac, FL
Alaska Native Cultural Charter School Anchorage, AK
Sebastian Charter Jr. High Sebastian, FL
Weir Middle School Weirton, WV
St. Thomas Aquinas Woodbridge, VA
St. Michael School Orland Park, IL
Bangor Christian School Bangor, ME
Nottingham Elementary Nottingham, NH
Murray Avenue Middle School Huntingdon Valley, PA
High School
Northwest R1 High School Cedar Hill, MO
Cumberland Regional High School Bridgeton, NJ
High Technology High School Lincroft, NJ
Monroe Technology Center Leesburg, VA
Glenbard East HS Lombard, IL
Waimea High School Waimea, HI
Service High School Anchorage, AK
Mount Saint Mary Academy Watchung, NJ
Suncoast High School Riviera Beach, FL
Sibley East High School Arlington, MN
Springfield High School Springfield, MN
Medford High School Medford, MN
Glencoe-Silver Lake High School Glencoe, MN
Eureka High School Eureka, IL
This post was written with significant input from Catrina Adams of PS.