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For Teachers
North
Temperate Lakes SchoolYard (SLTER) Program
For Teachers
Background on Limnology
What is limnology?
Limnology is often defined as the study of inland lakes,
streams, rivers and wetlands (see Stanley Dodson's Introduction
to Limnology for more background on the history of limnology.)
E. A. Birge, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
is one of the earliest pioneers of the science of limnology.
In fact, some of the instruments and sampling devices
that Birge and some of his students invented more than
100 years ago are similar to some of the same ones that
limnologists use today.
Vertical tow plankton net |
E. A. Birge began limnology
in North America |
Activities
Learn about the early
history of limnology
and research of the North Temperate Lakes LTER program
on the website of the Center for Limnology. See a large collection of historical
photos from the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections at
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/UW/subcollections/LimnHistAbout.shtml
Today, North Temperate
Lakes LTER, is part of a research network doing long-term
ecological research in 26 different ecological systems
http://www.lternet.edu/.
Did you know that there are over 1800 scientists in
the long-term ecological research network.
LTER sites - 26 different ecological
systems |
North Temperate
Lakes - LTER study areas |
North Temperate
Lakes - LTER Trout Lake Region study area |
How is long-term ecological
research different from other kinds of scientific research?
It's long-term! It's still science. LTER scientists
do research that includes observations and experiments
like other scientists. The difference is that long-term
ecological research tries to ask questions about what
happens to ecological systems, like lakes, rivers, streams,
and wetlands over long-term periods, like decades. North
Temperate Lakes LTER Scientists also do research to
try to determine what causes some of the changes that
we observe.
For example, did you
know that Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin was covered
with ice for 161 days of the year in the winter of 1881?
That's a little more than 5 months! And in the winter
of 2002, Lake Mendota was only covered with ice for
a mere 21 days. That's less than a month! By looking
at records of ice cover beginning in the 1850's and
going through to the present, we know that there has
been a trend or a pattern of decreasing number of days
of ice cover in the winter. Will this continue? Will
there be a winter when Lake Mendota is not covered with
ice? Only time and long-term ecological research will
tell. For more about this story, see http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/07/global.warming/index.html
Let's meet some North
Temperate Lakes LTER Scientists! Go to http://lter.limnology.wisc.edu/lter_pis.html
to learn more about the research of some of the North
Temperate Lakes LTER scientists.
You can also read about
some of the major findings from research of North Temperate
Lakes LTER scientists at http://lter.limnology.wisc.edu/case_studies.html.
The North Temperate
Lakes SchoolYard Limnology Explorers program is part
of thee National Science Foundation's SchoolYard LTER
Program. See http://schoolyard.lternet.edu/
for more about this nation-wide program. The North Temperate
Lakes Limnology Explorers program provides opportunities
and educational materials for K-12 students, for K-12
teachers, for science educators, for families, and for
the general public.
Resources for Teachers
Inquiry-based_Teaching_and_Learning_Community
See
http://144.92.111.242/people/index.php/Inquiry-based_Teaching_and_Learning_Community
for information about the course, selected readings on how inscriptions
(e.g. graphs, equations, models) lead to conceptual development, and summary of
teacher research projects on Friends of Lake Wingra LTER research questions, and
their proposed classroom applications.
What is Long-term Ecological Research?
See http://www.wisc.edu/cbe/cbe_pubs/lterresearchoverview2.ppt
for a slide show about ways that you might use long-term
ecological research in education. This provides an overview
of long-term ecological research, background on the
LTER network, examples of North Temperate Lakes research,
and background on the NSF SchoolYard Program.
A Guide to Doing Inquiry with your
Students
This paper describes
research on how to motivate students to ask scientifically
productive questions and provides background for teachers
for classroom applications. See http://lter.limnology.wisc.edu/MotivatingQuestionsBESA2005.pdf
Pond Study Curriculum
Most teachers include
some form of field study in their curriculum. Many teachers
use pond investigations. We created a set of resources
for teachers to use with their students that incorporate
longer-term field and laboratory investigations of aquatic
systems. These resources may be used as a series of
investigations beginning in the fall and continuing
over several class periods throughout the entire year
or teachers may selectively use parts. The resources
include background, a bibliography, recommendations
for classroom use, worksheets that may be directly used
or modified, and rubrics for assessment. See http://www.wisc.edu/cbe/cbe_pubs/aquaticcurriculum.zip
to download these files.
Investigating Invasive Organisms
We have also developed
a set of background information and investigations on
rusty crayfish, an invasive organism throughout the
Great Lakes Region. These materials provide background
for teachers, guided and open-ended investigations on
the behavior and ecology of crayfish, and a list of
additional resources about crayfish and other invasive
organisms. See http://www.wisc.edu/cbe/cbe_pubs/crayfishstudy.zip
to download these files.
Opportunities for Teachers
Professional Development
North Temperate Lakes
Limnology Explorers in partnership with the University
of Wisconsin-Madison Center
for Biology Education offer professional development
workshops and or courses for K-12 teachers that combine
ecological research with classroom practice that emphasizes
students asking and investigating their own questions
about ecological systems at or near their school.
See
http://www.wisc.edu/cbe/cbe_pubs/schoolyardsciencemodel.ppt for a slide show that describes our professional development
model and research on student learning from a case study
in one of our participating schools.
Research Experiences for Teachers
NTL scientists at the Trout Lake Biological Field Station
and at UW-Madison routinely host teachers in their research group.
Research Experiences for Teachers participants typically spend part
of their summer actively conducting research and developing instructional
materials related to their research, followed by academic year
field-testing in their schools.
Contact Dr. Robert
Bohanan if you're interested in learning more about this opportunity.
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