copyright © 1998 american museum of natural history new ... · pilot advisors and reviewers...

Copyright © 1998 American Museum of Natural HistoryNew York, N.Y.

http://www.amnh.org/learn/biodiversity_counts/

Developed by the National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology of the American Museum of Natural History, New YorkEllen V. Futter, President

Copyright © 1998 American Museum of Natural HistoryPrinted in the United States of America

First Edition

Photocopying contents of this book is permitted for classroom use only. All otherrights are reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereofin any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording, orby any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writtenform from the publisher. American Museum of Natural History, Central Park Westat 79th Street, New York, NY 10024.

DEVELOPMENT TEAMMyles Gordon, Vice President for EducationNancy Hechinger, Director, National Center for Science Literacy,

Education and TechnologySharon Simpson, Project Manager and Senior Editor (1997–1999)Allison Alltucker, Project Manager (1999–2000)Eric Hamilton, Project Coordinator and Associate Editor (1998)Amy Kidd, Project Coordinator (1999–2000)Rebecca Katz, Project Coordinator (2000)Monica Chan, Production Assistant Patricia McGlashan, Senior Curriculum Developer and WriterBarbara Ravage, Writer, Essays and ProfilesWeb Site Production Team:

Elizabeth Lobato, Executive Producer and DesignerGita Dubovis, Assistant ProducerProgramming:

Joe AnninoKevin DanielElizabeth LobatoColin MitchellMatthew Tarr

AMNH Scientific Advisors: Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice-President and Provost,

American Museum of Natural History Eleanor J. SterlingAmy Berkov Kefyn M. CatleyElizabeth A. Johnson

Curriculum Advisors: Brian Drayton Charles LovittClarice Yentsch

DESIGNDavidson Design, Inc., New York

ILLUSTRATIONSDonna Evans pp. 100, 102, 102, 122, 125, 127, and Essays and Reproducibles tabsMarco Hernandez pp. 44, 45, and 91Patricia Wynne Inside cover, pp. 8, 9, 21, 22, 34, 41, 42, 57, 58, 72, 74, 81,99, 119, 133, 134, 142, 149, 161, 182, and Profiles tab

TEACHER ADVISORY BOARDLinda Beyt, Edgar Martin Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaTim O’Halloran, Holland Hall Middle School, Tulsa, OklahomaSam Neri, Hughes Academic Magnet School, Syracuse, New YorkChristie Paulsell, Tchefuncte Middle School, Mandeville, LouisianaKaren Spaulding, Morse Street School, Cambridge, MassachusettsRobert Wallace, The Harbor Academy for Environmental Studies and the Arts, NewYork, New York

2 Biodiversity CountsBiodiversity Counts

PILOT ADVISORS AND REVIEWERS

Michael J. Novacek, American Museum of Natural History

Rick Bonney, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Brian M. Boom, The New York Botanical Garden

Judy Braus, World Wildlife Fund

Steven Clemants, Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Brian Drayton, TERC and Boston University

Terry L. Erwin, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Francesca T. Grifo, American Museum of Natural History

David A. Grimaldi, American Museum of Natural History

Wanda Guzman, New Mexico State Systematic Initiative

Eric Jolly, Education Development Center

Candace L. Julyan, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University

Alison Matthews, The Dwight School

Tom Moritz, California Academy of Sciences

Nalini M. Nadkarni, Evergreen State College

Elaine O’Sullivan, National Audubon Society

Katy Payne, Cornell University

David L. Silvernail, University of Southern Maine

Talbert B. Spence, National Audubon Society

Melanie L. J. Stiassny, American Museum of Natural History

Robert F. Tinker, The Concord Consortium

Robert Wallace, The Harbor Academy for Environmental Studies and the Arts

Clarice Yentsch, Education Development Center

Thanks to the EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER and the CENTER FORCHILDREN AND TECHNOLOGY for their assistance in concept development, pilot drafts, and the initial field testing of Biodiversity Counts:

Jan Hawkins

Robert Spielvogel

Alison Matthews

Dorothy Bennett

Bronwyn Bevan

Lois Kohn-Claar

Wendy Friedman

Clareann Grimaldi

Richard Hendrick

John Parris

Julie Thompson

Thanks to the following SCIENTIFIC AND EXHIBITION CONTRIBUTORS to theReading Selections of Biodiversity Counts:

Geralyn Abinader, Film and Video Developer, Exhibition Department, American Museum of Natural History

Amy Berkov, City University of New York/The New York Botanical Garden PlantSciences Ph.D. Program

Brian M. Boom, Vice President for Botanical Science and Pfizer Curator of Botany, The New York Botanical Garden

Kefyn M. Catley, Staff Scientist, National Center for Science, Literacy, Education,and Technology/National Science Foundation Research Fellow, Department ofEntomology, American Museum of Natural History

TTeacher’eacher’s Guides Guide 3

Biodiversity Counts was produced with the support of NASA.

The American Museum of Natural History’s biodiversity outreach issupported by MonsantoCompany.

The Biodiversity CountsWeb site and Teacher’sGuide were developed with the support of TheLouis Calder Foundation.

FOREWORDFOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Joyce A. Cloughly, Senior Principal Preparator, Exhibition Department, American Museum of Natural History

Niles Eldredge, Curator, Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of Natural History

Phil L. Fraley, Manager of Special Projects, Exhibition Department, American Museum of Natural History

Sally Goodman, Artist

Helen Hays, Chairwoman of Great Gull Island Committee, Department of Ornithology,American Museum of Natural History

Marco Hernandez, Exhibits Director, Staten Island Children’s Museum

Melanie Ide, Project Director, Ralph Appelbaum and Associates

Christine A. Johnson, Scientific Assistant, Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History

Elizabeth A. Johnson, Manager of Metropolitan Biodiversity Programs, Center forBiodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History

Barrett Klein, Preparator, Exhibition Department, American Museum of Natural History

Alec Madoff, Senior Principal Preparator, Exhibition Department, American Museum of Natural History

Eleanor J. Sterling, Project Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation,American Museum of Natural History

Eric L. Quinter, Senior Scientific Assistant, Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History

Carlos Ramirez-Sosa City University of New York/The New York Botanical Garden PlantSciences Ph.D. Program

J. Willard Whitson, Director of Exhibits and Education, The Academy of NaturalSciences, Philadelphia, PA; former Senior Exhibition Developer and AssociateDirector of the Exhibition Department at the American Museum of Natural History

And special thanks to:

The 1997–1998 PILOT SCHOOLS:Blanche Reynolds School, Ventura, CaliforniaChelmsford Public Charter School, Chelmsford, MassachusettsCooperstown Middle School, Cooperstown, New YorkCrystal River Middle School, Crystal River, FloridaThe Dwight School, New York, New YorkEdgar Martin Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaEsperanza Elementary School, Farmington, New MexicoThe Harbor Academy for Environmental Studies and the Arts, New York, New YorkHolland Hall Middle School, Tulsa, OklahomaHommocks School, Larchmont, New YorkHughes Academic Magnet School, Syracuse, New YorkJames Wilson Inglis Elementary School, Lumby, British Columbia, CanadaKimball Union Academy, Meridan, New HampshireLincoln-Irving Elementary, Moline, IllinoisLin-Wood Public School, Lincoln, New HampshireLittle Oak Middle School, Slidell, LouisianaMorse Street School, Cambridge, MassachusettsOak Grove Middle School, Concord, CaliforniaPoly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn, New YorkThe Russell Mathematics and Science Center at the Alabama School of Fine Arts,

Birmingham, AlabamaTchefuncte Middle School, Mandeville, LouisianaVirgil I. Grissom School, J.H.S. 22, South Ozone Park, New YorkWilliam J. O’Shea School, I.S. 44, New York, New York

The 1998-1999 PILOT SCHOOLS:A. D. Lawton Intermediate School, Essex Junction, VermontAcademy of the Sacred Heart, St. Charles, MissouriAcadian Middle School, Lafayette, Louisiana


Agassiz School, Cambridge, MassachusettsAlabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, Alabama Alice Harte Elementary, New Orleans, LouisianaAll Saints Catholic, Pottsville, PennsylvaniaAnadarko Middle School, Anadarko, Oklahoma Atlanta International School, Atlanta, Georgia Baraboo Middle School, Baraboo, Wisconsin Block Island School, Block Island, Rhode Island Bloomfield School, Bloomfield, Montana Booker T. Washington High School, Tulsa, OklahomaBreck School, Minneapolis, Minnesota Broken Arrow Academy, Broken Arrow, OklahomaBronte I.S.D., Bronte, Texas Brooklin School, Brooklin, Maine Broussard Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaCambridgeport School, Cambridge, MassachusettsCarencro Middle School, Carencro, LouisianaChelmsford Public Charter School, Chelmsford, MassachusettsChrist, Prince of Peace, Manchester, Missouri Clinton Middle School, Tulsa, OklahomaCountry Lane Elementary School, Broken Arrow, OklahomaCrawford Middle School, Lexington, Kentucky Crystal River Middle School, Crystal River Middle School, Florida Dr. Martin Luther King School, Cambridge, MassachusettsDarnaby Elementary School, Tulsa, OklahomaDelaware County Christian School, Newtown Square, PennsylvaniaEastchester Middle School, Eastchester, New YorkEsperanza Elementary School, Farmington, New MexicoEvansville Lutheran School, Evansville, Indiana Edgar Martin Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaEnvironmental Studies Academy, San Diego, CaliforniaFair Plain Jr. High School, Benton Harbor, Michigan Fitzgerald School, Cambridge, MassachusettsFletcher School, Cambridge, MassachusettsFoothills Middle School, Wenatchee, WashingtonFranklin Youth Academy, Tulsa, OklahomaGateway Middle School, Monroeville, Pennsylvania Gateway Regional High School, Woodbury Heights, New JerseyGeorge Washington Middle School, Wayne, New JerseyGraham and Parks School, Cambridge, MassachusettsHarbor Academy for Environmental Studies & the Arts, New York, New YorkHarrington School, Cambridge, MassachusettsHeartland Home Educators Co-op, Tulsa, OklahomaHermosa Junior High School, Farmington, New Mexico Holland Hall Middle School, Tulsa, OklahomaHommocks School, Larchmont, New YorkHorace Mann Middle School, Burlington, Iowa Hughes Academic Magnet School, Syracuse, New YorkHumphrey St. Francis, Humphrey, Nebraska Hun School of Princeton, Princeton, New JerseyHunting Ridge, Palatine, Illinois Iselin Middle School, Iselin, New JerseyJ. W. Inglis Elementary School, Lumby, BC, Canada James Stoy Elementary School, Haddonfield, New JerseyJoseph E. Soehl Middle School, Linden, New JerseyJudice Middle School, Judice, LouisianaKennedy School, Cambridge, MassachusettsKepley Middle School, Ulysses, KansasKimberly Middle School, Kimberly, Idaho King Open School, Cambridge, MassachusettsL. J. Alleman Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaLafayette Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaLakewood Elementary, Buchanan, Tennessee Lakota Public School. Lakota, North Dakota Litchfield High School, Litchfield, Connecticut Longfellow School, Cambridge, MassachusettsM. S. 54, New York, New YorkMaritime Academy of Science & Technology at J101, Bronx, New York Martin J. Ryerson Middle School, Ringwood, New JerseyMid Valley Secondary Center, Throop, PennsylvaniaMoore Public Schools, Moore, OklahomaMorse School, Cambridge, Massachusetts Morton East High School, Cicero, IllinoisMotley Staples Middle School, Motley, MinnesotaMott Hall School, IS 223, New York, New YorkMt. Hebron Middle School, Upper Montclair, New JerseyMurray Middle School, Stuart, Florida Newport Middle School, Newport, Oregon


Orangewood School, Phoenix, Arizona Oak Grove Middle School, Concord, California Orchard Valley Middle School, Sewell, New JerseyOur Lady of Guadalupe, Seattle, Washington P.S. 75, Brooklyn, New YorkPark Junior High, Beckley, West Virginia Paul Breaux Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaPeabody School, Cambridge, MassachusettsPeters Elementary School, Broken Arrow, OklahomaPhilippa Schuyler Middle School, Brooklyn, New York Pleasants County Middle School, Belmont, West VirginiaPoly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn, New YorkPorta Junior-Senior High School, Petersburg, IllinoisPortland Adventist Elementary School, Gresham, Oregon Post Falls Middle School, Post Falls, Idaho Pryor Junior High, Pryor, OklahomaRed Hills Middle School, Richfield, Utah Riley County High School, Riley, Kansas Riverfield Country Day School, Tulsa, OklahomaSchuyley Colfax Middle School, Wayne, New JerseyScott Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaSellwood Middle School, Portland, OregonSouth Hamilton Community School, Jewell, IowaSt. Jude, South Bend, IndianaSt. Julie Billiart, Hamilton, Ohio St. Leo the Great, Lincroft, New JerseySt. Marks Lutheran School, Hollywood, Florida St. Paul Lutheran School, Grafton, West VirginiaSt. Rose of Lima, Schulenburg, TexasStanhope School, Stanhope, New JerseySyracuse City School District, Syracuse, New YorkTangier Smith Elementary School, Mastic Beach, New YorkTchefuncte Middle School, Mandeville, LouisianaThomas Jefferson Middle School, Edison, New Jersey Tobin School, Cambridge, MassachusettsUnion Alternative School, Tulsa, OklahomaUnion High School, Tulsa, OklahomaUnion Intermediate High School, Broken Arrow, OklahomaUpper Township Middle School, Petersburg, New JerseyUrsaline School, New Rochelle, New YorkWest Chicago Middle School, West Chicago, IllinoisWest Covina Christian School, West Covina, California West Side Montessori Center, Toledo, Ohio West Somerville Neighborhood School, Somerville, MassachusettsWestdale Middle School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Weston Middle School, Weston, ConnecticutWheaton North High School, Wheaton, IllinoisWill Rogers High School, Tulsa, OklahomaWinston School, Short Hills, New JerseyYoungsville Middle School, Youngsville, Louisiana

The 1999-2000 PILOT SCHOOLS: Academy of the Sacred Heart, St. Charles, MissouriAgassiz School, Cambridge, MassachusettsAll Saints Catholic, Pottsville, PennsylvaniaBlock Island School, Block Island, Rhode Island Cambridgeport School, Cambridge, MassachusettsDarnaby Elementary School, Tulsa, OklahomaEarlywine Elementary, Oklahoma City, OklahomaEdgar Martin Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaFitzgerald School, Cambridge, MassachusettsFletcher School, Cambridge, MassachusettsGraham and Parks School, Cambridge, MassachusettsHaggerty School, Cambridge, MassachusettsHarrington School, Cambridge, MassachusettsHolland Hall Middle School, Tulsa, OklahomaKepley Middle School, Ulysses, KansasKing Open School, Cambridge, MassachusettsLongfellow School, Cambridge, MassachusettsMorse School, Cambridge, Massachusetts Paul Breaux Middle School, Lafayette, LouisianaPeabody School, Cambridge, MassachusettsPleasants County Middle School, Belmont, West VirginiaPost Falls Middle School, Post Falls, Idaho Pryor Junior High, Pryor, OklahomaSheridan Elementary, Junction City, KansasWestdale Middle School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana



Dear Educator,

Welcome to Biodiversity Counts! This book is the teacher’sguide to an exciting new approach to biodiversity education inmiddle schools developed by the National Center for ScienceLiteracy, Education, and Technology, an education initiativeof the American Museum of Natural History.

Biodiversity Counts takes students into the field. Bygathering data right in their immediate environment,students will develop a local understanding of the conceptsand issues of biodiversity.

Biodiversity Counts is based on the conviction that studentslearn science best by engaging in authentic scientificresearch. The direct connection that this project createsbetween scientists at the American Museum of NaturalHistory and students nationwide affords a unique learningenvironment for the middle school student.

Students will engage in all of the activities and utilize thetechniques that the scientists and staff members at theAmerican Museum of Natural History employ to identifyplants and arthropods and create an exhibition.

We hope that Biodiversity Counts inspires some students topursue science as a career. More important, we hope that itincreases the awareness and consciousness of the biodiversitycrisis and forms a growing community of young citizens whowill be responsible stewards of the planet.

Ellen V. FutterPresidentAmerican Museum of Natural History

FOREWORDFOREWORDFOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


10 INTRODUCTION13 SCIENCE STANDARDS IN BIODIVERSITY COUNTS

21 CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?30 LESSON 1 What is Biodiversity?34 LESSON 2 Experiencing the Outdoor Site36 LESSON 3 Reporting Back on Site Experiences

41 CHAPTER 2 WHAT MAKES A GOOD SITE46 LESSON 1 How Do Scientists Select Their Sites?48 LESSON 2 Planning How to Measure and Mark the Plots50 LESSON 3 Staking a Claim55 LESSON 4 Compiling Data about the Site

57 CHAPTER 3 PLANT IDENTIF ICATION62 LESSON 1 Beginning With Plants70 LESSON 2 Observing and Collecting Plants/

Measuring Environmental Factors75 LESSON 3 Identifying and Preserving Plants78 LESSON 4 Comparing Data

81 CHAPTER 4 PLANT ECOLOGY84 LESSON 1 Why Count Plants?87 LESSON 2 How Many Plants Are There in Each Plot?89 LESSON 3 Comparing and Entering Data

99 CHAPTER 5 ARTHROPOD IDENTIF ICATION103 LESSON 1 What is an Arthropod?105 LESSON 2 Developing a Plan for Studying Arthropods108 LESSON 3 Responsible Collecting111 LESSON 4 Observing and Collecting Arthropods115 LESSON 5 Identifying, Preserving, and Taking Care

of Arthropod Specimens117 LESSON 6 Comparing Data

119 CHAPTER 6 ARTHROPODS IN THEIR MICROHABITATS123 LESSON 1 Planning to Study Arthropods in their Microhabitats126 LESSON 2 Observing Arthropods in their Microhabitats128 LESSON 3 Analyzing Data130 LESSON 4 Displaying Data Graphically

133 CHAPTER 7 WHAT ARE THE CONNECTIONS?135 LESSON 1 Interconnectedness: The Web of Life Game137 LESSON 2 Relationships We Have Observed141 LESSON 3 Plant and Arthropod Interactions144 LESSON 4 Observing Plant and Arthropod Interactions146 LESSON 5 Analyzing Data

149 CHAPTER 8 PREPARING FOR THE EXHIBIT154 LESSON 1 Planning and Concept Development158 LESSON 2 Reviewing the Preliminary Materials

161 CHAPTER 9 INSTALLATION AND EVALUATION163 LESSON 1 Final Design and Installation166 LESSON 2 Developing an Audience Evaluation Tool169 LESSON 3 Evaluations

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS


173 ESSAYS173 Drawing as a Way of Looking at the Natural World176 Keeping a Field Journal 1179 Keeping a Field Journal 2180 Selecting a Site182 Collecting Plants185 Plant Identification187 Plant Inventory189 Responsible Collecting192 Collecting Arthropod Specimens195 Maintaining an Arthropod Collection199 Sorting Arthropods for Identification201 Investigating Plant-Arthropod Interactions205 Saving El Imposible: A Biodiversity Puzzler209 How to Design an Exhibit with Passion211 Planning an Exhibit215 Organizing an Exhibit: It’s All About Teamwork219 Making an Exhibit

225 PROFILES225 Barrett Klein226 Sally Goodman227 Eleanor Sterling229 Eric Quinter231 Helen Hays233 Liz Johnson234 Brian Boom236 Kefyn Catley238 Christine Johnson240 Amy Berkov242 Carlos Ramirez-Sosa 244 Niles Eldredge245 Willard Whitson248 Melanie Ide250 Phil Fraley252 Alec Madoff254 Joyce Cloughly256 Marco Hernandez257 Geralyn Abinader

259 REPRODUCIBLES259 Establishing Rules for Field Trips260 Site Report261 Plot Report263 Plant Report265 Weather Report266 Arthropod Report268 Some Clues to Describing and Understanding Organisms270 Types of Oak Leaves271 Plant/Insect Interactions272 Museum Exhibit Specialists273 Visitor Questionnaire274 Tasks/Focus Questions for Fieldwork


What is Biodiversity Counts?

Biodiversity Counts is a supplementary unit for middle schools that can beused in conjunction with a core life science curriculum or other biodiversity andenvironmental curriculum materials. It is an inquiry-based program that inte-grates hands-on science education with telecommunications technology andpromotes collaborative learning. The goal of the project is to introduce stu-dents to the vast diversity of living things, especially plants and arthropods (agroup that includes insects and spiders). Biodiversity Counts allows studentsto learn science through the direct observation of nature. They learn howMuseum scientists conduct scientific investigations and then apply this knowl-edge to their own fieldwork. Students go out of the classroom to conduct a fieldinventory at a site near their school and use fundamental scientific researchskills: observation, data collection, classification and identification, data analy-sis, and the communication of research findings. Most important, the projectoffers an exciting and creative context for involving students in the scientificprocess while introducing them to the rich diversity and beauty of their localecosystems.

The companion to this teacher’s guide is the Biodiversity Counts Web site,http://www.amnh.org/learn/biodiversity_counts/. Students learn technologicalskills through the use of on-line resources and tools for recording and analyz-ing data. All visitors can view the Resources Area of the Web site, whichincludes reading selections (essays, profiles, and other science articles),resource listings and Web links (for other biodiversity-related books, class-room materials, and Web sites), dichotomous keys and other tools, and pro-fessional development tools for the curriculum.

The results of field testing in schools across the country have informed this lat-est version, developed by a national team of teachers working with curriculumdevelopers, educators, and scientists at the Museum.

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

CONTENTSCONTENTS

Why did the American Museum of Natural History develop a biodiversitysupplementary curriculum?

The American Museum of Natural History is a world renowned center for sci-entific research. Over the past 130 years the Museum has proved itself a leaderin interpreting science for the public in its exhibition halls, and in providingeducational programming for a very diverse audience in the New York Cityarea. We have a scientific research staff of over 200 who take part in more than100 expeditions around the planet each year in an effort to discover, describe,and analyze the natural world.

The Museum believes it has a fundamental responsibility to raise the level ofpublic understanding of the importance of biodiversity and its loss, and to sug-gest means to protect and conserve it. We are trying to achieve this in differ-ent ways. Through the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, weare rededicating our efforts to carry out effective research that tackles theglobal biodiversity crisis. In May 1998 we opened the Hall of Biodiversity, apermanent exhibition produced by a collaborative team of Museum scientists,exhibition, and education staff to increase awareness of biodiversity. We haveestablished the National Center for Science Literacy, Education, andTechnology to develop materials and programs to take the Museum’s messages,including biodiversity, beyond our walls and out to a national audience by shar-ing the Museum’s extensive resources, scientific research, exhibitions, and thespecimens and artifacts of the collection.

The AMNH connection

Biodiversity Counts models the fieldwork carried out by the Museum’s ownsystematic biologists. There are essays available as black-line masters at theback of this guide and in the Resources area of the Biodiversity Counts Website. By reading these accounts by Museum scientists and other staff andtheir colleagues at the New York Botanical Garden, students learn how tochoose a study site and identify, collect and care for specimens. By structur-ing the project in this way we aim to reinforce the idea that students learn sci-ence best by engaging in authentic scientific work. Profiles of these personneloffer students insight into the diverse career opportunities in science and theinterpretation of science and the variety of ways people come to science as acareer.

Biodiversity Counts is unique among other life and environmental science pro-grams because of its connection to the Museum—developed and produced hereat the Museum based on the actual work of working scientists. Unlike pro-grams which ask students to collect data for scientists, Biodiversity Countsfocuses on student learning. All the activities that students are engaged in,individually and collectively, address the national science standards. They alsoemulate the core activities of research in systematic biology carried out byMuseum scientists in the following ways:


• Hypothesis forming

• Observation: recording measurements, notes, and drawingsin a scientific field journal

• Data collection, including building and maintainingspecimen collections for study

• Classification/sorting/identifying

• Data analysis

• Discussion of findings and interpretation of data withcolleagues

• Curating and preparing an exhibition

Observational Drawings

Scientists not only record data by writing their observations, taking measure-ments, and collecting specimens, but also by drawing. Representational draw-ings are used in scientific study both as an additional observational tool and asa recording device. Biodiversity Counts includes instruction on the techniquesof scientific illustration. Students can use the illustrations as part of theirreports, journals, presentations, or exhibitions.

Multiple pathways through the curriculum

The design of Biodiversity Counts allows you choose a pathway through thecurriculum that meets your requirements. The options are:

• Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9—to study plants only andproduce a classroom exhibition

• Chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9—to study arthropods only andproduce a classroom exhibition

• Chapters 1 through 9—to study both plants, arthropods,the interaction between them, and to produce a classroomexhibition

Making your own pathway

Within each chapter we clearly state which lessons and activities are integral tothe unit and which are optional. You can make your own decisions about usingthe latter depending on the time you have available and the needs of your class.

Assessment

Throughout this teacher’s guide there are suggestions for assessment. Wehope that you will also develop your own assessments to reflect the particularneeds of your classroom.


SCIENCE STANDARDS IN BIODIVERSITY COUNTS: AN OVERVIEW

The National Science Education Standards (NSES) define criteria for quality in sci-ence education. Content standards for grades 5-8 do not prescribe a curriculum, butdescribe “what students should know, understand, and be able to do in natural sci-ence.” The Standards include both broad concepts students should understand andskills students should develop.

In keeping with the fundamental thrust of the Standards, Biodiversity Counts pro-vides an environment in which students develop a firsthand understanding of basicscientific concepts, processes, and skills. Rich knowledge and experience is derivedfrom relevant, engaged learning with practical application in the real world. Throughresearch activities, focused and Socratic discussion questions, and development of astudent-designed museum exhibit project, Biodiversity Counts meets many of thespecific Standards in a broad range of areas.

Presented below is a brief description of the Standards and selected indicators thatare addressed in Biodiversity Counts, together with a summary explanation of howeach is addressed in Biodiversity Counts. The Standards are presented in order ofimportance to the Biodiversity Counts curriculum unit. Following this summarydescription, a correlation matrix provides a chapter-by-chapter correlation betweenthe NSES and Biodiversity Counts at the level of specific NSES indicators.

LIFE SCIENCE

The Life Science standard refers to levels of complexity of organisms and theecosystems in which they live. The interactions between the organisms within themicrohabitat are studied and analyzed in Biodiversity Counts.

Structure and function in living systems refers to the complementary nature ofstructure and function at levels from the cell to the ecosystem.

Biodiversity Counts engages students in higher-level system analysis of habitats andecosystems, and encourages students to note how the structure of organisms con-tributes to the function they serve within the ecosystem.

Regulation and behavior refers to how organisms regulate their internal environ-ment and interact with their external environment.

Students’ in-depth investigations of habitats in Biodiversity Counts provides ampleopportunities for them to observe how organisms behave and interact with their envi-ronment. The program prompts students to make meaningful connections betweenwhat they observe and possible environmental causes, including both physical condi-tions and the actions of other organisms.


Populations and ecosystems focuses on the functions of specific species with-in ecosystems, including the parts they play in the transfer of energy from organ-ism to organism through food webs.

This represents a major focus of Biodiversity Counts. Students develop theirunderstanding of population as all the individuals of a particular species thatoccur together at a specific time and place, and learn to analyze the functions ofdifferent populations within the ecosystem. Biodiversity Counts further promptsstudents to probe the abiotic factors (such as weather conditions) necessary forthe success of the organism and to explore the relationship between the numberof organisms in a specific population and the available resources of the ecosys-tem.

Diversity and adaptations of organisms focuses on the interaction betweenthe diversity of organisms and biological adaptation to specific circumstances,including the role played by evolution and the phenomenon of extinction.

Through in-depth study of a microhabitat, students in Biodiversity Counts gaina greater appreciation and understanding of the diversity of life and of how spe-cific adaptations promote the success of organisms in particular environments.Several chapters also discuss the threat and reality of extinction. All of the com-ponents of Biodiversity Counts work together to build an understanding of bio-diversity from a variety of perspectives.

SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

To understand science, students must possess not only scientific knowledge, butalso the skills and attitudes scientists use in inquiring about the world. Studentsmust understand not only scientific facts—the results of scientific investiga-tion—but the processes and principles according to which scientific investiga-tions are conducted. Biodiversity Counts strongly supports this standard, withinvestigations that provide students practice in constructing questions, observa-tion, analysis, application, and communication of what they have learned.

Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry include identifying questions forinvestigations; designing and conducting investigations; using appropriate toolsand techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data; developing descriptions,explanations, predictions, and models based on evidence; making logical rela-tionships between explanations and evidence; working with alternative explana-tions and predictions; communicating procedures and explanations; and usingmathematics.

Each chapter of Biodiversity Counts contributes to the development of these abil-ities. Students identify questions, make plans and determine conditions for inves-tigations, utilize a variety of tools and techniques to assemble and interpret data,



and enlist critical thinking skills to make predictions and show relationships amongorganisms, habitat, abiotic factors, and effects of society.

Understandings about scientific inquiry include recognitions that different typesof questions suggest types of different investigations; current scientific knowledgeguides investigations; mathematics is important for scientific inquiry; technologyenhances accuracy of investigations; scientific explanations emphasize evidence, log-ical consistency, and scientific principles, models, and theories; science advancesthrough legitimate skepticism; and scientific investigations can lead to new ideas,phenomena, methods, and technologies.

Such understandings arise naturally as students complete their investigations inBiodiversity Counts. Each chapter of Biodiversity Counts contributes to the develop-ment of these understandings. New ideas are developed and shared with otherschools on the website, creating a miniature scientific community in which explana-tions can be offered, defended, and critiqued based on scientific standards, encoun-tering both approval and legitimate skepticism. Students experience firsthand howtechnology can enhance the collection and interpretation of data, providing a widersampling as well as offering interpretive analysis tools. Additionally, essays andinterviews with scientists, included as part of the material in Biodiversity Counts,provide students with real-life accounts of scientific inquiry and many of its key ele-ments.

UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES

The developers of the Standards recognize that despite its application in many dif-ferent enterprises and disciplines, science at its heart represents a fundamentallyunified way of understanding and exploring the natural world. The UnifyingConcepts and Processes standard refers to the basic concepts and processes thatprovide science its fundamental unity. These concepts and processes are bestexpressed when deftly woven throughout the fabric of the entire science instruction-al program, across topics and grade levels. Biodiversity Counts provides many oppor-tunities for students to develop their understanding of these fundamental elementsof science.

Systems, order, and organization refers to an understanding of the universe as acomposite of many parts, of nature as adhering to basic laws that are the same every-where, and of the power of prediction based on knowledge.

Biodiversity Counts provides opportunities for students to develop these under-standings as they break down an ecosystem into successively smaller units, observecommonalities and differences, analyze data, and make predictions regarding theecosystem. Information gathered from first-hand experience, research articles, andelectronic references reinforces students’ sense of the fundamental unity amongobservations from many different sources.

Evidence, models, and explanation refers to the need to observe and collectdata, then to use the information as a basis for developing scientific explana-tions.

Biodiversity Counts involves extensive practice with key observation and data col-lection skills. Hands-on individual and group activities throughout the programrequire students to make both qualitative and quantitative observations.Construction of models in the museum project provides an opportunity for stu-dents to interpret the information they have acquired and to share it with thewider community.

Change, constancy, and measurement refers to the tension between contin-ual change in the natural world and the existence of constant properties.Measurement, the means of quantifying the changes in systems, relies on anappropriate understanding of both change and constancy, as well as of the par-ticular purpose of the measurement. Within Biodiversity Counts, studentsengage with the concept that underlying the diversity of living organisms, thereis a constancy of basic needs that must be met in order to sustain life. As part oftheir observations and data collection, students use a variety of measurementsystems and tools, such as the quadrat study for counting and cataloging plantsand a variety of collection and counting techniques for profiling the highly mobilearthropod population.

Evolution and equilibrium focuses on the interrelationship between evolution—the concept that form and function in nature result from changes in the past—and the tendency toward equilibrium, in which forces offset each other to main-tain existing conditions.

Although Evolution and equilibrium is not a major focus in Biodiversity Counts,biological evolution is noted as an explanatory factor in accounting for the diver-sity among organisms.

Form and function refers to the relationship between the form or shape of anobject, organism, or system and the way in which it operates.

In the context of biology, this includes how the form of an organism relates toitems such as habitat, feeding habits, enemies, and locomotion. As part ofBiodiversity Counts, such adaptations are noted and compared both in class andon-line, and students make predictions regarding location, population, and suc-cess of organisms within the quadrats and microhabitats.

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES

The Standards recognize that science does not exist in isolation as an abstract


pursuit. Rather, it has implications in many human arenas, from personal health toenvironmental challenges, natural hazards, the assessment of risks and benefits, therole of technology, and ethics. On a broad level, Biodiversity Counts addresses thisstandard by challenging students to develop their awareness of the effects of ecolog-ical crises, the role of humans and machines in society, and the power and synergis-tic effects of technology.

Populations, resources, and environments refers to the negative impact of over-population on the environment and to the various causes of environmental degrada-tion from region to region and country to country.

As part of Biodiversity Counts, students are asked to speculate regarding the chancesfor survival of the organisms in their plot if the site were to be damaged ordestroyed.Students also consider related questions such as the impact on larger habi-tats. These issues may become a focus for a museum exhibit.

HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

Basic to the Standards is the recognition that even though science has the naturalworld as its object, it is a fundamentally human endeavor, with its own socially con-structed standards and history. Furthermore, despite the popular image of the iso-lated scientist, science is basically a communal endeavor, in which individuals andgroups from many diverse circumstances build on each other’s contributions.According to the Standards, “Experiences in which students actually engage in sci-entific investigations provide the background for developing an understanding of thenature of scientific inquiry.” Biodiversity Counts provides just such experiences forstudents.

Science as a human endeavor refers to the diverse interests, talents, qualities,and motivations of the women and men who engage in science, both individually andcollaboratively; the extensive communication among them; and the reliance of scienceon a variety of basic human qualities such as reasoning, insight, energy, and creativ-ity, together with scientific habits of mind such as intellectual honesty, tolerance ofambiguity, skepticism, and openness to new ideas.

In Biodiversity Counts, students are exposed to essays and profiles of practitionersof science that present a diverse group of scientists as real people and address a vari-ety of topics from multiple perspectives. Students gain perspective on science as ahuman endeavor by acting as scientific investigators themselves. Appropriate scien-tific habits of mind are nurtured throughout the program. Collaboration among teammembers is essential for the optimum learning experience, and group efforts arefacilitated throughout, building an understanding of the social and communicativenature of science.


Nature of science refers to students’ understanding that scientists use a vari-ety of tools to formulate and test their observations of nature, that disagreementamong scientists is normal, and that evaluation by self, peer review, and supervi-sors is expected and sought.

Starting in Chapter 1 of Biodiversity Counts, students experience these aspectsof science firsthand as they begin to formulate and test explanations.Throughout the program, students are challenged with frequent self and peerevaluations, and are periodically stimulated to re-examine their explanations inlight of new evidence. Comparison with data from schools in other parts of NorthAmerica provides sources of information and analysis that may contradict stu-dents’ own research, possibly requiring additional personal communication forfurther clarification. Final evaluations by the students themselves and frompeers, teachers, and visitors to the exhibit provide additional perspectives on stu-dents’ work, direct students toward further development of their knowledge andskills, and reinforce the message that science is an ongoing process.



SCIENCE STANDARDS IN BIODIVERSITY COUNTS

The subject matter, the assignments, and the assessments in Biodiversity Counts aredesigned to meet the major national science standards.* The overarching approach inBiodiversity Counts is “Science as Inquiry,” a process by which student and teachersuse the following processes:

• Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigation• Design and conduct investigations• Use appropriate tools and techniques to collect, analyze, and interpret information• Use evidence to develop descriptions, explanations, and models• Recognize alternative explanations• Communicate their findings• Pose additional questions

The following chart will help you to identify the core content standards and the relat-ed skills and attitudes that are addressed in each of the nine chapters of BiodiversityCounts.

* These standards are included in the following standards documents: NRC National Science EducationStandards, Project 2061, AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy, New York State Learning Objectives, andThe New Standards Project.

LIFE SCIENCE CONCEPTS

SCIECE AS INQUIRY

UNIFYING CONCEPTS & PROCESSES

NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS

CHAPTER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Structure and function in living systems

Regulation and behavior

Populations and ecosystems

Diversity and adaptations of organisms

Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

Understanding about scientific inquiry

Systems, order, and organization

Evidence, models, and explanation

Change, constancy, and measurement

Evolution and equilibrium

Form and function

Populations, resources, and environments

Science as a human endeavor

Nature of science

SCIENCE IN PERSONAL & SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES

HISTORY & NATURE OF SCIENCE

ee e e

e Applies only at the ecosystem level

copyright © 1998 american museum of natural history new ... · pilot advisors and reviewers...

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