I am very fortunate this year to teach the same students I taught during my first year of teaching in sixth grade. This year, the curriculum is fairly new, but the students are familiar. It is beneficial knowing  the capabilities of my students and because I know they need extra reinforcement of the curriculum, I have implemented CK12 this year to review concepts. CK12 is a non-profit organization that works hard to provide resources and materials to educators and students to make a quality education accessible to everyone. Students are about to sign into CK12 using their google email address that is issued by the district. Once there, they join my science class to see the resources I have shared with them. There are a variety of materials that are geared toward different learning styles. Students can read information, watch videos, practice assignments, etc. These resources are not just for science teachers, but for all subjects. I usually give my students a guide to help keep them on track and they navigate the site.

This has helped tremendously, especially with students who struggle with English and students who have difficulty reading in general. This provides the information in a way that is easy to navigate. Students like having different tasks to complete in order to review the material. When they come to class all I have to say is today is a CK12 day and they automatically log onto their Chromebook and go to the website.

This has also helped with behavioral issues. Students who are normally disengaged are willing to complete the tasks assigned to them in CK12. Because this is independent work they do not feel pressured to perform in front of their peers. Everyone is equalized in the beginning because everyone is doing the same task. For students who cannot read, they are able to listen to the text with a Google Chrome App and no one knows the difference because everyone has headphones for the videos.

CK12 is not only helpful now, but will also be helpful throughout they year as we continue to review past concepts. With a lack of textbooks and resources CK12 is the perfect treasure trove of information that is easily accessible by students.

Throughout the summer, Team Dirt developed protocols that enable teachers to engage their students in a citizen science project, regardless of their school budget. We worked very hard to find materials that would effectively substitute their expensive, hard-to-get counterparts. We accomplished this goal, found materials that will work regardless of the budget, and even made instructional videos for teachers on how to set up the lab. This project must be introduced with some introduction as to why we care about growing bacterial and fungal colonies from the rhizospheres of invasive plants in the first place. This background can vary depending on the grade level in which the labs are being conducted as well as the specific focus the teacher would want to align the lab to in regards to the state standards. This project can be introduced with soil science, stewardship, plant reproduction with a focus on anatomical parts, ecosystems, nitrogen fixation, etc. The follow-up to the project would be an analysis of the data in relation to the focus in the beginning. For eighth grade, students will look at the nitrogen cycle and will research the history of nitrogen fixing plants that have typically been used in off-years of farming. This will introduce the lab and then students will determine if the weed they chose recruits enough bacterial diversity to be used in crop rotation.

Below are a few components that the success of this project depends upon:

Background Knowledge

Students come to us with a variety of backgrounds. I teach in an “urban” area compared to some schools in our district. While most of our students have seen a field of crops at some point, they have not experienced the process of farmers planting a field, watching it grow, and then watching it all be harvested in the fall. They have only heard about this cycle, but have never witnessed it first-hand. When explaining to students the need to replenish nutrients by planting a certain kind of plant, I really have to understand the background knowledge of my students in order for that to make any sense.

Materials

There are very specific materials needed for this project and even if a teacher chooses to use the most inexpensive items for this project, you still need basic equipment like flasks, petri dishes, scales, etc. This could be a time-consuming problem for educators without proper science equipment or without the support of their school. Equipment can be found or purchases if there is none, but this takes time and a lot of explaining as to why this equipment is so important for this project and students.

Student Buy-In

The whole point of citizen science is that the individual who is collecting the data WANTS to collect the data. When a teacher has a room full of kids who could not care less about nitrogen fixing bacteria and all that means for agriculture it makes it really difficult to “sell” why this project is worth their time. I am lucky to have 100 students who love to do science and are willing to get their hands dirty in order to investigate something. However, if this is not the case, this is going to be a huge problem in going through the procedures of this lab.

Administrative Buy-In

When observations are being mentioned on day one, the district wants you to teach in a certain way and in a certain order 48 hours before the kids start school, and your coaching team wants your standards to be vertically aligned with the other science teachers who you maybe plan with three times throughout the school year, it is hard to figure out where a project like this fits. As a teacher YOU know that this project is worthwhile, ties directly to the standards, reinforces standards taught in previous years as well as those taught in the next grade, and this project will ultimately prepare students for a career in microbiology. However, knowing this and proving it to administration are two very different things. Luckily I have phenomenal administration who support me regardless of the “crazy” ideas I come into their offices with, but I know this is not the case for every teacher. Administrative support is a huge component in whether this project will be successful or not.

Team Buy-In

Science teachers typically work with other science teachers in their building. By implementing this project, fellow science teachers who are perhaps not doing fun and fancy science may feel one of three ways: jealous, motivated, or indifferent. It is important to have the support of the science teachers who are educating the kids coming to you as well as the ones who will teach the kids you currently have. The more cohesive a science department can be, the better our students will be prepared for the STEM careers that await them. If the science department, especially the chair who will perhaps be ordering the supplies, is not on your side, there could be issues with the implementation of this project.