Annual Report for Robin Ellwood
January 15, 2004 - January 15, 2005

Teacher Info Page | Annual Login Page

Field Experience

Were you in the field this season? Yes

Dates in the Field: 11/1-12/5/04

Approximate Number of Student E-mails: 150

Approximate Number of Teacher E-mails: 20

Apporximate Number of Other E-mails: 30

Approximate Countries Represented: US/UK/AU/NZ/

Additional Comments: For my 2004 field experience (11/1-12/15/04), my team designed a new interdisciplinary unit where the studenst will create a polar magazine. Each student will submit one page (front and back) to the magazine. Each page must include choices from a variety of polar related activities: stories/technical writing/editorials/graphs/pictures/experiments/ etc. We have provided 4 "essential questions" to the students that focus on Polar topics. The students choose one of the questions for their focus, and must fullful numerous requirements/tasks for their magazine page. We are putting on the "finishing touches" to the project. When it is in final draft form, I could submit the project to the TEA web page. My "team" of teachers has had extensive collaboration on both this years project and last years project.

Did you maintain a daily (or as often as possible) electronic journal while in the field? Yes

Is your journal complete? Yes

Continued Collaboration with Research Team Members

Type of Interaction / Outcomes / Dates / Locations / Parcticipants: Peter Doran visited on February 6th.

Deployed to the field on November 1, 2004 with Dr. Doran. This season, I headed the dive team for the dive research taking place at Lake Hoare in Taylor Valley. I was in the field for 6 weeks, sending daily journals and images to the TEA web page and holding live chats over the internet. My dive team set up and retrieved experiments from under the ice at Lake Hoare, as well as taking sediment samples from varios lake bottom positions.

Has a member of your research team visited your classroom in the last year? Yes

Transfer

How are you sharing your research experience with your colleagues, district, community, etc? During 2004 (post field experience) I presented to: - Second grade classes at Rye elementary school (48 students/ 6 teachers) - Second and Sixth grade classes at Greenland Central School (52 students/8 teachers) - Eighth grade classes at Rye Junior High- 4 presentations ... 20 students/2 teachers at each - Sixth grade classes at Rye Junior High - 4 presentations... 23 students/2 teachers at each - Seventh grade classes at Rye Junior High. 72 students, 9 teachers - Grade 12 students at Concord High School - 2 presetations... 60 students/3 teachers at each

TEA Collaborative Learning Group

Name: Sheila Adams; Molly Rothermel, Kerry Ridolfi, Ron Fortier

Active? Yes

Contact Hours: 122; 104,104,104 (Molly, Kerry, and Ron will all have well over 120 hours by mid January 2005)

Name: Kathleen Cole

Active? Yes

Contact Hours: 14

Name: Tracy Sherrill

Active? Yes

Contact Hours: 4

Name: Mary Coombs

Active? Yes

Contact Hours: 15

Have you submitted your TEA Collaborative Learning Group Annual Report? Yes

Associates Network

Number of Associates in local network: Several team members may be joining

Type of Interaction / Outcomes / Dates / Locations / Parcticipants: Miriam Sutton and I have maintained communication and may work together on presentations/projects in the future.

Presentations and Real Audio Sessions

Presentation Date, Title, Number of Attendees, Etc. During 2004 (post field experience) I presented to: - Second grade classes at Rye elementary school (48 students/ 6 teachers) - Second and Sixth grade classes at Greenland Central School (52 students/8 teachers) - Eighth grade classes at Rye Junior High- 4 presentations ... 20 students/2 teachers at each - Sixth grade classes at Rye Junior High - 4 presentations... 23 students/2 teachers at each - Seventh grade classes at Rye Junior High. 72 students, 9 teachers - Grade 12 students at Concord High School - 2 presetations... 60 students/3 teachers at each

- Roger Wood from NH Public Radio has conducted and played 2 interview sessions with me about the experience. The sessions have aired over the radio on multiple occasions.

- NH Chronicle also conducted an extensive interview with me, the students, the principal and superintendant of Rye Junior High. The show aired in December.







Board of education presentation is tentatively planned for February.

Have you presented to your local board of education this year? Yes

Activities Development

Title: Polar Sculptures and Scientific info cards

Description:
Joint Science/Art project: Students choose a polar animal to research, an information card with basic range/habitat/diet/size etc. In art class, they create scultpures to model their animal.

Has this activity been submitted to the TEA Web Site? No

Title: Polar Magazine by students

Description:
Students will create a magazine showcasing interdisciplinary studies of polar topics

Has this activity been submitted to the TEA Web Site? No

Title: Pond Profile

Description:
Research conducted in Antarctica is mimicked in the local pond in Rye. Depth/temerature profiles are created and species diversity and distribution identified.

Has this activity been submitted to the TEA Web Site? No

Other Classroom Connections: Extreme cold weather gear is used to demonstrate and discuss proper protection for extreme environments. Probes are placed within the clothing to monitor temperature at various layers under various conditions. Students wear the gear during the experiments. New equipment obtained because of the TEA experience (such as probes, water sampling/collecting bottles, depth finders, etc.) are used to offer hands on experience with the information being studied. Polar Magazine created

I hosted the booth at the Philadephia NSTA convention and attended the TEA presentations. I also helped set up and take down the TEA booth at the convention.

I am submitting journals/images to the TEA web page during my field season this November/December.

Have you submitted all press-related materials concerning your TEA experience to the TEA Archives? Yes

Have you submitted 20 digital images to the TEA Archive with electronic captions? Yes

Have you submitted 6-8 photos to the TEA Archive? Yes

Release Days

Number of Release Days Covered by School/District for TEA Program/Activities: 40

Dates: 11/1/04-12/15/04

Reasons for Release: 2004 Field season, presentations, development of iMovie about the field experience. Second field season opportunity.

Approximate Daily Rate of Substitute and Number of Substitute Days: $70 - 40 substitute sdays

TEA Meetings Covered by School/District/Corporation

Names of Meetings: presentations to schools/field season

Dates: 2004- Fall

Approximate Cost of Travel Expenses Covered: $390

Permanent Materials and Equipment Provided by Institution/Corporation/District for the TEA Program

Type of Equipment: Several books have been pruchased to support the interdisciplinary unit. Money was also granted to have several photos from the field experience enlarged and framed for school display. The school budget process also supported the acquisition of multiple PACO and HOBO probes so that the students could mimic Dry Valley experiments in Rye.

Date of Purchase: September, 2003 books/ January 2004 pictures

Approximate Cost of Equipment: $200- books, $250 pictures, $1500 probes

Other Grants

Type of Grant / Grant Title: Local

Purpose of Grant: To purchase books/videos/cd's/probes/ water sampling bottle/ depth finder/ ECW gear to support mimicking the research being done in the Dry Valleys at a local pond in Rye, NH

Title of Grant Competition: Ice Chests, and TIP (Technology in Practice)

Granting Institution/Corporation/District: Rye Education Foundation

Date of Application: April 2003; April 2004

Date of Notification: May 2003; May 2004

Grant Total: $3800 awarded

Other Shared Costs
Atlantaic Aquasport in Rye, NH refitted my dry suit with new hood/valve, supplied new dry suit gloves, and other dive supplies at about 1/4 the normal price!

I hope to be involved in as many TEA activities as possible. I would really like to host a regional workshop for TEA.

I hope to attend NSTA - perhaps do presentations for TEA/ work the booth/ etc.

I hope to work with new (?) TEA's and support TEA's/Associates/ and others interested in inquiry based and polar science. My team's interdisciplinary unit (Polar Magazine) will run in January 2005. I am hosting a regional workshop in May, 2005. I will continue presenting all my field experiences and designing lessons that continue to bring polar research and the process of science to my students.