Welcome
This program takes research issues and topics of interest to National Parks out to teachers and schools across Maine, engaging students in useful citizen science research while providing them with enriched science education. The initiative is made of a number of interconnected projects that focus on different scientific and educational research problems.News
Data season!This time of year field work is done, samples have been collected, hypotheses have begun brewing, and many samples have been submitted to the laboratories for analysis. A few results have begun to trickle in, and now things get really difficult - and really exciting. Now we have to interpret our data, summarize it, and think about all the reasons we might be seeing more or less variability than we anticipated. Or results that turn our hypotheses on their heads.
As a scientist with lots of years experience working with data, those sets of numbers that come back from the lab are highly anticipated. They are packets of evidence that support a hypothesis, or if they don't, they make us knit our eyebrows and re-think our conception of how the world works. Either way, it's data that let us move forward (even when moving forward feels like a step backward, as in the latter case).
Data - if have have designed our experiments well - confirm or deny our model of a system. They are as close as we get to an answer to a question we've posed. And that answer undeniably leads to more questions...and this is how we push back the frontier of science. Sometimes slowly, hopefully deliberately, and with the best evidence we can gather.
Our earliest eel data (not yet ready for primetime) are suggesting some very interesting patterns, and mostly supporting our ideas about how the (eel) world works - but not entirely. Stay tuned for more... See more...
Posted by Acadia Learning on December 13 2010, 1:36 pm EST
On science and luckAs a scientist with lots of years experience working with data, those sets of numbers that come back from the lab are highly anticipated. They are packets of evidence that support a hypothesis, or if they don't, they make us knit our eyebrows and re-think our conception of how the world works. Either way, it's data that let us move forward (even when moving forward feels like a step backward, as in the latter case).
Data - if have have designed our experiments well - confirm or deny our model of a system. They are as close as we get to an answer to a question we've posed. And that answer undeniably leads to more questions...and this is how we push back the frontier of science. Sometimes slowly, hopefully deliberately, and with the best evidence we can gather.
Our earliest eel data (not yet ready for primetime) are suggesting some very interesting patterns, and mostly supporting our ideas about how the (eel) world works - but not entirely. Stay tuned for more... See more...
Science relies on very carefully designed research plans. We think hard about what to sample, when, how many, how - very specifically - we will collect samples, and what it will all mean. These methods decisions are critical - if your hypothesis and your data collection don't match, of if there's something about your methods that gives you confounded information. you won't be able to find out if your idea of how the world works (hypothesis) is borne out (supported) by the data.
Over the past couple of weeks, loads of high school classes have begun their mercury research by sampling invertebrates, and UMaine scientists helped us electrofish for American Eels. All of these outings were carefully planned and designed with possible hypotheses in mind. However, there's always a bit of luck involved in fieldwork.
We've had some fantastic luck - capturing exactly the number of eels we wanted from one stream, and finding plenty of dragonfly nymphs in many sites, like our new Vermont site (where pickings seemed slim this summer - but the site really worked out great!). But, at other sites, luck wasn't with us. Our other eel stream didn't pan out, and fewer odonate nymphs were found in the New Hampshire sites. For the eel project, this has led to some interesting new ideas: for example, one stream seemed to have NO fish whatsoever. In that stream, we now wonder if the dragonfly nymphs are the top predators? This has been shown for some fishless lakes. Does that help explain why that particular stream has dragonfly nymphs with greater mercury than the neighboring stream, that did have fish?
Perhaps the thing about science that keep me coming back is that there's no end to the questions: one project leads us to a new model of how the world works, and gives us more questions than we began with. We learn a little, and wonder a lot. Embrace the questions - we're about to move on to making our research questions really concrete.
A quick note: a fairly large army of volunteers, agency staff, scientists, and technicians have already helped in the field and in discussions about these projects - so many thanks to you all!
See more...
Posted by Acadia Learning on October 15 2010, 12:00 pm EST
Sampling kick-off at Sunkhaze with Old Town High SchoolOver the past couple of weeks, loads of high school classes have begun their mercury research by sampling invertebrates, and UMaine scientists helped us electrofish for American Eels. All of these outings were carefully planned and designed with possible hypotheses in mind. However, there's always a bit of luck involved in fieldwork.
We've had some fantastic luck - capturing exactly the number of eels we wanted from one stream, and finding plenty of dragonfly nymphs in many sites, like our new Vermont site (where pickings seemed slim this summer - but the site really worked out great!). But, at other sites, luck wasn't with us. Our other eel stream didn't pan out, and fewer odonate nymphs were found in the New Hampshire sites. For the eel project, this has led to some interesting new ideas: for example, one stream seemed to have NO fish whatsoever. In that stream, we now wonder if the dragonfly nymphs are the top predators? This has been shown for some fishless lakes. Does that help explain why that particular stream has dragonfly nymphs with greater mercury than the neighboring stream, that did have fish?
Perhaps the thing about science that keep me coming back is that there's no end to the questions: one project leads us to a new model of how the world works, and gives us more questions than we began with. We learn a little, and wonder a lot. Embrace the questions - we're about to move on to making our research questions really concrete.
A quick note: a fairly large army of volunteers, agency staff, scientists, and technicians have already helped in the field and in discussions about these projects - so many thanks to you all!
See more...
Students in Mr. Lindsey's Environmental Chemistry class sampled at two sites yesterday within the Sunkhaze National Wildlife Refuge. The class was successful at capturing many odonate nymphs, and observed other biota such as crayfish (in Birch Stream), and a leach (in Baker Brook). The class had already studied identification of odonates, so they were able to identify each one they found to the family level right there in the field.
Erik DaSilva, a SERC Institute and Sea Grant employee who is helping to improve our curriculum materials, got out in the water and helped sample as well.
A great way to kick off this project year!
See more...
Posted by Acadia Learning on September 15 2010, 2:56 pm EST
Erik DaSilva, a SERC Institute and Sea Grant employee who is helping to improve our curriculum materials, got out in the water and helped sample as well.
A great way to kick off this project year!
See more...
More news...
The Parks
The project began at Acadia National Park in Maine. Because Acadia is the location of the Northeast Temperate Network’s Schoodic Education and Research Center, the project is reaching out to other National Parks in the region, such as Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and Saugus Ironworks National Historic Site.
The Science
Our research began with investigations of mercury biogeochemistry. In the northeastern US, mercury is found at levels of concern in many parts of the environment: lakes, streams, soils, biota – like fish – and even people. Our project investigates mercury concentrations in these subjects and looks for good indicators of mercury status. We are currently studying mercury in dragonfly larvae, earthworms, soils, fish, and people.
New research topics (in development) investigate American eel population dynamics, nitrogen, and watershed processes.
See our projects featured over on the right, which include maps of study sites, data, and project findings as well as useful links for each topic.
New research topics (in development) investigate American eel population dynamics, nitrogen, and watershed processes.
See our projects featured over on the right, which include maps of study sites, data, and project findings as well as useful links for each topic.
The Pedagogy
Teacher focus: By working with teachers, the project is able to reach many cohorts of students, broadening the population served.
Curriculum units: we have developed a teachers guide to provide activities and background information at each step of the project. Implementation ranges from a 2-week curriculum ‘plug-in’ to an entire year’s curriculum.
Workshops: In their first year of participation teachers attend a multi-day summer workshop conducted by the lead scientist and by program education staff. The workshop provides scientific concepts and background, practice with sampling protocols, and an introduction to key classroom and curriculum activities and objectives. Additional workshops are developed in collaboration with teachers as needs are identified.
Science ‘tech support’: Support for teachers in program implementation, during the school year, consists of one or more visits by science staff in addition to visits by program educators. Teachers also use a shared website to raise questions and share experiences.
Focal topic: data display. We have recognized a key need for students as they work toward understanding and interpreting their data: the ability to focus on patterns and generalizations rather than on discrete phenomena. We also found that many teachers lack confidence and familiarity in their own work with data and graphs. We are developing new professional development to help teachers acquire this knowledge and capability.
Focal topic: learning progressions. We are developing an understanding of what would be needed to expand the program to middle grades in order to create learning progressions that support successful student investigation and learning in high school.
Read the blog at http://acadiapartners.blogspot.com/.
Focal topic: data display. We have recognized a key need for students as they work toward understanding and interpreting their data: the ability to focus on patterns and generalizations rather than on discrete phenomena. We also found that many teachers lack confidence and familiarity in their own work with data and graphs. We are developing new professional development to help teachers acquire this knowledge and capability.
Focal topic: learning progressions. We are developing an understanding of what would be needed to expand the program to middle grades in order to create learning progressions that support successful student investigation and learning in high school.
Read the blog at http://acadiapartners.blogspot.com/.
