| Abstract Detail
Active Learning in K-16 Classrooms Lally, David [1], Kowalski, John [2], Dolan, Erin [1]. PREP: Active Learning and Mutual Benefit. The Partnership for Research and Education in Plants (PREP, www.prep.biotech.vt.edu) is a mutually-beneficial and scaleable mechanism for encouraging active learning in high school and college classrooms. PREP brings together teachers and scientists to guide students in designing and conducting authentic investigations (i.e., experiments that have no known outcomes and that are of interest to the broader scientific community) using the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Scientists provide wild-type and mutant (T-DNA insertion line) seeds and experimental know-how to students, and students design experiments to examine the effects of abiotic stressors (e.g., drought, salinity, soil pH, etc.) on wild-type vs. mutant plants, thereby helping to determine the function of each altered gene. Students, teachers, and scientists alike benefit from participating in PREP. Students learn about plant biology, scientific inquiry, and the nature of science, and have the unique opportunity to make scientific discoveries. Teachers update their knowledge of plant biology, genetics, and genomics while learning a model for conducting inquiry with unknown outcomes. Scientists gain scientific insights from the students’ work, and have the opportunity to broaden the impact of their research. PREP also serves as a context for investigating how students can learn the process of scientific inquiry, especially determining how data constitute evidence, generating alternative explanations, and making connections between evidence and explanations, by conducting authentic investigations. PREP is funded by a Science Education Partnership Award from NIH NCRR and an NSF 2010 grant.
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Related Links:
Partnership for Research and Education in Plants
PREP Fellows Program
1 - Virginia Tech, Biochemistry, Fralin Center MC 0346, West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
2 - Roanoke Valley Governor's School for Science and Technology, Science, 2104 Grandin Road, Roanoke, VA, 24015, USA
Keywords:
Active Learning
Investigative labs
Broader impacts
Teacher-scientist partnership.
Presentation Type: Education Forum Session:Breakout Session
Session: F2004
Location: Stevens 1/Hilton
Date: Saturday, July 7th, 2007
Time: 3:15 PM
Number: F2004001
Abstract ID:751 |
