Brew,+William

Final Project William Brew Coventry High School, Coventry Rhode Island Aquatic Ecology (12th Grade) Unit Plan Invasive Species Research Project Unit Introduction: The theme of this unit is aquatic invasive species. An invasive species by definition is an organism (plant or animal) that is not a native inhabitant of an ecosystem. The problem with this type of organism is that they may have no natural predators to keep their populations in check so they may quickly proliferate and consume resources. The invasive species may out-compete native species for resources and disrupt the ecosystem. The goal of the unit is for students to do some authentic research and construct a report of their findings. I have attempted to integrate many strategies I have picked up from EDC 920, including Boolean language, search engine selection, Google Scholar, website evaluation, easybib, and blogs. Throughout the unit, I will demonstrate internet activities as I perform searches and internet research on an invasive species that is the focus of a project the students will be taking part in later this semester, the Asian clam in Lake Tiogue. The unit will provide evidence in the following State of Rhode Island Learning Standards. Technology TS-5.1 Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. Life Sciences LS2-3a. Defining and giving an example of equilibrium in an ecosystem. LS2-3b. Describing ways in which humans can modify ecosystems and describe and predict the potential impact. LS2-5b. Applying additional scientific data to develop logical arguments concerning environmental issues. LS4-9b. Providing an explanation of how the human species impacts the environment and other organisms. The timing of this unit is ideally three weeks (8-9 classes), but I will remain flexible to ensure the topic is covered before moving to the next lesson. Lesson 1: (1-2 Class Periods) Goals ·   Students will understand invasive species and their impacts. ·   Students will become familiar with the Asian clam study on Lake Tiogue. ·   Students will become familiar with    Boolean language ·   Students will utilize web search strategies to gather information. Standards: TS-5.1 Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. Life Sciences LS2-3a. Defining and giving an example of equilibrium in an ecosystem. LS2-3b. Describing ways in which humans can modify ecosystems and describe and predict the potential impact. LS2-5b. Applying additional scientific data to develop logical arguments concerning environmental issues. LS4-9b. Providing an explanation of how the human species impacts the environment and other organisms. Pre- Activities As stated in the introduction, the students will be conducting an investigation of invasive species (Asian clam) in Lake Tiogue. As a “hook” to this activity, I will present the class with an overview of the study of the Asian clam with a PowerPoint lesson on invasives. I will then present the major concern is that the living beds have not been observed; only shell remains. I will show how the students will be walking in the footsteps of Bob Ballard, as the students will design, construct and utilize underwater robots to locate these beds. As part of this project and in conjunction with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), “ROV in a Bucket” program these remote operated vehicles (ROVs) have the capabilities to explore at depth and provide a live video feed of the benthic environment in search of clam beds. Students will have hands on experience with cutting edge technology that could revolutionize aquatic and marine habitat assessment. Class Activity Students will be directed to the following website: Coastal Resources Management Council of RI   http://www.crmc.state.ri.us/news/2008_0314_invasives.html There they will be asked to choose from a list of invasive species in Rhode Island and use the internet to find information on an invasive plant or animal documented in Rhode Island. Students will be asked to find information on the history, life cycle, morphology and geographic distribution of their chosen topic. I will introduce the concept of Boolean language and selecting an appropriate search engine. I will use a modified Session #5-Internet Detective to illustrate website hazards and pitfalls of internet research. Students will then have class time to begin their research and they will record any website that they find useful in their research. Extension: Students can access Google Scholar to see what information is available on their topic in scientific publications. Assessment Each student will document the websites visited, summary of information gathered there and submit. Students will also complete and submit the following outline: Aquatic Ecology Invasive Species Research Project Proposal Sheet Name:____________________________ Topic:­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________________ What type of impact is your invasive species having on the ecosystem?

Core Question: (A sentence that describes the main concept of your research)

Where are you going to start?

Lesson 2: (1-2 Class Periods) Goals ·   Students will utilize web search strategies to gather information. ·   Students will learn how to evaluate websites. Standards: TS-5.1 Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. Pre- Activities Continuing the activity from lesson 1, students will evaluate the websites that were identified as useful, reliable sources. A list of websites will placed on the board and as a class students are to cooperatively discuss the merits of each. Class Activity Students will be asked to evaluate three informational websites using the following Evaluation Tool. Before you include this informational website as a reliable source, complete the following checklist. If the website satisfies each criteria place a check in the box, if not, leave the box blank. //__The more “Checks” the more reliable the website.__// □ Visit the HOME PAGE of the website and identify who is responsible for the information provided. □ You can identify the purpose of the authoring agency. □ You can identify contact information (besides email address) phone number / address □ The author has qualifications to write on this topic. □ Any copyrighted information can be linked to copyright holder. □ The URL ends with .edu, .gov. □ The facts are backed up by links to sources. □ There are no grammatical, spelling, typographical mistakes. □ Graphs, data tables, charts are labeled and easy to read. □ The information is presented as a public service. □ There is no advertising on the website or if there are advertisements, it is easily distinguished form the factual content. □ There are dates that tell you when information was written, published to the web, revised. □ Any data collected and / or organized in graphed or charts contains date collected information. □ If information is from different editions of a page, the edition is clearly labeled. □ The page is complete and not under construction. □ If there is a printed version of the information, there are directions how to obtain a copy of the entire piece or only parts. □ If the information is out of copyright, there has been an effort to revise it. Extension and Adaptation Extension: Student will be asked to evaluate ONE of the following websites and include at least on in their research. Rhode Island  Invasive Species Council http://odonata.edc.uri.edu/cgi-bin/page.cgi/?page=invasives&head=home Coastal Resources Management Council of RI   http://www.crmc.state.ri.us/news/2008_0314_invasives.html ** National Invasive Species Information Center ** http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/unitedstates/ri.shtml Adaptation: This research will have a cooperative learning component as well as an emphasis on independent learning. Cooperative learning will take place as students evaluate websites. Students will be encouraged to share ideas, problems and successes throughout the class. Assessment Each student will submit three completed evaluation tool for the three websites chosen. Students will also complete a Works Cited page for their research paper with five internet sources. Students may access [|www.easybib.com] for formatting help. Lesson 3: (1-2 Class Periods) Goals ·   Students will be introduced to blogs ·   Students will learn how to evaluate blogging websites. ·   Students will create a blog Standards: TS-5.1 Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. Pre- Activities Students will be introduced to blogs and to the advantages of blogging to share scientific information. Class Activity To begin class, I will show the Aquatic Ecology Blog that I created through EDC920. Students will brainstorm ideas of how a blog might be a useful toll to share information. I will introduce students to the “how to’s” of blogging and appropriate servers using a modified version of Power Point Session 10-11 of EDC 920. After the introductory lesson students will have time to evaluate at least three different blog websites and choose the one to create a blog. The goal of the blog is to ask (or post) an essential or core question for others to respond to. Students will gain points by posting thoughtful responses to others blogs. Extension Extension: Students will link their blogs to the Aquatic Ecology Blog created by me for the class. Students will be encouraged to contact professionals in the field of aquatic ecology and ask them to post responses to their core questions to be cited in their papers. Assessment Students will peer assess the blogs created in class. By visiting each others blogs they will complete a rubric that evaluates each blog on the following criteria: visual attractiveness, clarity of core question, ease of use, blog participation. Lesson 4: (1-2 Class Periods) Goals ·   Students will begin written research paper Standards: LS2-3a. Defining and giving an example of equilibrium in an ecosystem. LS2-3b. Describing ways in which humans can modify ecosystems and describe and predict the potential impact. LS2-5b. Applying additional scientific data to develop logical arguments concerning environmental issues. LS4-9b. Providing an explanation of how the human species impacts the environment and other organisms. Pre- Activities The unit will culminate with a written research paper that summarizes the student centered research. Students will integrate all research strategies to complete the assignment. Class Activity Students will be given time to begin construction of their research paper. Students will be encouraged to peer edit outlines and rough drafts. Students are to follow the paper guidelines: Aquatic Ecology Invasive Species Research Project Proposal Sheet The goal of this project is to take information presented on invasive species and apply it to a local water body. I would like to see issues dealing with the Town of Coventry, The State of Rhode Island, or our New England area. There will be three parts to the project: Research of topic and local issue (Including an interview / blog) Written paper PowerPoint Presentation of “Abstract” //__ Step 1: Research of topic  __// This step should entail a thorough examination of the invasive species that may have stirred some interest from class or an outside source. Be sure there is enough information for adequate research and that you can identify a SPECIFIC invasive species and local water body. ALL research must come from approved sources including websites that have passed the evaluation tool. Once you isolate a specific invasive species, __you must contact__ someone currently involved with dealing with the issue. Phone interview, personal interview, blog or email correspondence is sufficient. You must include a question and answer log (or blog entries) with the written report. //__ Step 2: Written Paper  __// This should represent all information dealing with the invasive species as a whole and the localized water body you identified. I am not looking for a 10 page research paper here, but enough to “teach” me what you have learned through the research process. Include current, relevant examples that illustrate problems and solutions. Remember to include a question and answer log of your interview. //__ Step 3: PowerPoint Presentation   __// In scientific journals and abstract is a summary of an entire research project. The abstract is relatively short in length and provides the reader with the major points of the report. This presentation will teach the class of what you learned about the invasive species and its local importance. Extension and Assessment Extension: Students will post their papers to their blogs and encourage feedback / peer editing of their work. Assessment Student papers will be graded using the following rubric:
 * Authority – Who is responsible for the information on the webpage? **
 * Accuracy – How reliable is the information contained in the website? **
 * Objectivity – Is the website presenting only one point of view? **
 * Currency – How recent has the information been posted / updated? **
 * Coverage – What topics are included in the page and how in-depth does the information get? **
 * Aquatic Ecology Invasive Species Research Project **

Student Name: ________________________________________ CATEGORY  || 4  ||   3   ||   2   ||   1   ||  Amount of Information   || All topics are addressed and all questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. ||  All topics are addressed and most questions answered with at least 2 sentences about each. ||  All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1 sentence about each. ||  One or more topics were not addressed. || Quality of Information   || Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples. ||  Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples. ||  Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given. ||  Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic. || Mechanics   || No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. ||  Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors   || A few grammatical spelling or punctuation errors. ||  Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. || Professional Contact / Blog  || Successfully uses professional contact and information. Utilizes this information expertly in body of report. ||  Successfully uses professional contact and information. Refers to this information in body of report. ||  Successfully uses professional contact and information. But does not refer to this information in body of report. ||  Did not contact a professional. || Sources   || All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format. ||  All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. ||  All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format. ||  Some sources are not accurately documented  ||