Annual Report for Tina King
January 15, 2003 - January 15, 2004

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Field Experience

Continued Collaboration with Research Team Members

Type of Interaction / Outcomes / Dates / Locations / Parcticipants: 1. Dr. Sam Bowser:

July 3-7, 2003: I met with Dr. Bowser in Albany, New York, to discuss further ways to bring Dr. Bowser's research into the classroom. I am currently working on Power Points for Dr. Bowser's education web site to collate information on Foraminifera for teachers and students.

Dr. Bowser is currently answering questions for my fourth grade students who are working on a research project on foraminifera. He also sent emails to my students from Antarctica while he was in the field during the 2003 season.

Dr. Bowser has answered endless questions for me on foraminifera. In studying foraminifera, I have come to realize that I must know more about cell biology to better understand the structures and behavior of foraminifera. Dr. Bowser and I continue to email, which has helped me gain more knowledge, as well as gain direction on where I need to go next.

My fourth grade students sent a flag again this year to fly over the Jamesway hut at the field camp in Antarctica during November 2003. The students designed and painted the flag. The flag helped the helicopter pilots judge the wind speed and direction of the wind as they landed at Explorers Cove. It was also sent to remind Dr. Bowser and the scientists of the students who were following their research from home.

2.) Dr. Neal Pollock, team member and Antarctic diver/ scientist from Duke University Medical Center came to West Elementary on April 25, 2003 to make a presentation to 158 people (4th & 5th grade students, teachers, two principals, and the Superintendent of Wilson County Schools).

3.) I have received occasional emails from team members, Dr. Sergei Korsun, St. Petersburg University, Russia and Dr. Steve Alexander, currently the Crary Lab supervisor.

Transfer

How are you sharing your research experience with your colleagues, district, community, etc? I have continued to make presentations to various organizations, clubs, schools, and conferences (local, state, and national). I have parcticipated in workshops for an "All Girl Science Day" for high school students held at the museum in Nashville, as well as been the guest lecturer in a Science and Math lecture series at a local college. To date, I have presented to 6,180 people. This doesn't include the hundreds of people that I email or encounter in the community, or while traveling throughout the year. I continue to share the TEA web site with each encounter. I mail activities and TEA information to teachers across the country. (e.g., Recently on my way to make a presentation to an Earth Science club in East Tennessee, I met with a teacher at a low-income elementary school in Knoxville to give rocks, fossils, minerals, and additional activities for a polar study. I also gave this teacher and her colleagues information about the TEAs in the field and the TEA program). Although this type of outreach is not accounted for in the numbers that I submit for TEA presentations, this type of one-on-one outreach is one of my favorite ways to bring teachers into the TEA experience. In doing so, I feel the personal connection will encourage teachers to bring polar experiences and activities to their students.

Personally, my goal is intended to go beyond the TEA experience. As a teacher, if a scientist visited my classroom, I would more than likely bring their research to my students. But as a teacher, who has parcticipated in a field experience in Antarctica, my goal is to go beyond my classroom to bring the study of foraminifera to other teachers and students. I don't see TEA as a three-year commitment, but rather as one of the greatest learning experiences of my life. For this reason, I am committed to continue bringing the study of foraminifera into today's classrooms long after my TEA contract expires. It's not about the number of people that I present to each year, but rather about making people aware of foraminifera and the value of bringing science research into their lives. My goal as a teacher is to help students and teachers see the connections between the sciences, especially since I feel that foraminifera can easily connect geology to biology and chemistry. Foraminifera research is a wonderful study that connects the paleo with the modern environment. Unfortunately, foraminifera are barely mentioned in the textbooks, and most people do not know anything about them. My intention is to continue to study foraminifera, cell biology, DNA, and the paleo-environment to better transfer what I am learning to enhance science education in the schools and community. I also feel that one of my goals is to help others see that science should be seen as an important and relevant part of everyone's lives, rather than just a subject that students learn in school. My parcticipation through this TEA experience with Dr. Sam Bowser's project has given me the dedication to continue bringing my experience and learning to others. I will always be grateful to NSF and the TEA program for encouraging my growth and learning, so without a doubt, this opportunity will continue to be transferred and shared with others for many years to come.

TEA Collaborative Learning Group

Associates Network

Type of Interaction / Outcomes / Dates / Locations / Parcticipants: TEA Associates: Bob King, Sue Smartt, & Terry McDonald


Bob King, Computer, Math, Physics teacher, White House High School (This year: 130 + hours/ To date: 500+ hours)

Bob has continued to learn along with me by assisting in many presentations and workshops (locally, statewide, and nationally). We have attended several conferences and workshops together, including 40 hours at the TEA inquiry-based workshop in New York City on July 7-13, 2003. Since he is married to me, he has daily interactions with me regarding TEA activities, Antarctica, foraminifera research, and communications with scientists and other teachers. He has co-written two activities with me. The inquiry-based ice activity has been published on-line on the TEA activity page. We are still pre-testing a soil ecology aquarium activity that we wrote with two scientists at a workshop in the Wyoming Badlands. Our goal is to connect science. Since we both have an interest in geology, we are working to connect geology to biology, which goes right along with the study of foraminifera (Antarctic research project).


We are currently working with a Lynn Margulis kit on foraminifera, which teaches an activity on biogenic and abiogenic sands. We are interested in this because it teaches a lesson that relates to the Gateway Biology exam, as well as teaches about foraminifera. Bob and I will be presenting this lesson in an upcoming workshop (All Girls' Science Day) sponsored by the museum in Nashville. Bob has written a math activity called Tracking Dinosaurs. I added input, edited, and helped present this activity at the Tennessee Science Teachers Conference in November. This activity teaches middle school/ high school students how to measure dinosaur tracks and convert to scale to determine whether the dinosaur was walking, running, or trotting. We have parcticipated on several dinosaur digs out west over the past few years, which has enabled Bob to help bring a geological dig to our fourth grade students at West Elementary. Our study of fossils has encouraged us to begin to learn more about the fossilized foraminifera and their paleo-environment in order to relate the paleo to the modern day foraminifera. Bob edits and critiques all of my work (papers, activities, and Power Points). He taught me how to convert my Antarctic slides to Power Point presentations. He has also taught me how to make Power Points to put together information/ photos for students and teachers to study foraminifera on-line. I am currently working on these Power Points in order to make foraminifera a more teacher/ student-friendly research for a quick introduction into the study of foraminifera. All of this takes time, and Bob has offered input, suggestions, ideas, and advice, which have been quite helpful. It has been nice to learn together. It makes me a better teacher to have someone to share ideas and to act as a sounding board. I love to present with him because he adds things that I may miss, as well as gives feedback to improve my presentations. Recently, he helped when I spoke as a guest lecturer at a Science/Math Lecture series at a local college. The next night, we sat in on the college class as they learned about marine fossils and foraminifera and viewed slides of forams. Bob is a wonderful partner in learning. He has been from the beginning.


Sue Smartt: (This year: 23.5 hours/ To date: 51 hours) Terry McDonald: (This year: 23.5 hours/ To date 50 hours)


Sue began this TEA Associate experience as a third grade teacher. She moved to fourth grade the following year, then went back to school to become a media specialist at the library at her elementary school. Our goal in collaborating together was to take advantage of her teaching assignment change. Since she is now a full-time media specialist, we decided to connect science to literature to be presented at the upcoming NSTA conference in April, 2004. This presentation has been accepted, so the majority of our meetings have focused on putting together books, resources, web sites, and activities to go along with this. Our plans are to give this information to the Teacher Resource Center for our school district, as well as to present it to others at local, state, and national conferences. Sue, Terry (my other TEA Associate), and I have met in my classroom, or in the library at Sue's school for two or three hours after school on the following ten dates (2/13/03, 3/13/03, 4/10/03, 5/28/03, 7/22/03, 8/27/03, 9/10/03, 10/1/03, 11/6/03, 11/19/03). We will meet several more times over the next few months to polish and organize this activity for the NSTA conference in Atlanta. Sue is working on web sites and previewing books that relate to our topic, Life Beneath the Antarctic Ice. I am working with fourth grade students on research projects, and Terry, a seventh grade math teacher, is working on a math activity to go along with this project. When we meet, we add ideas, suggestions, or comments to make the project come together. It has been helpful to go back into the classroom or library to see if the ideas are effective.

Names of activities developed in the last year with brief description (25 words or less):

Cold Hard Facts...What Inquiring Minds Will Know. This inquiry-based activity was developed to help elementary students find the circumference and diameter of ice to determine if these factors would affect how the ice floated in the water.

Cold Hard Facts…What Inquiring Minds Will Know, High School version is a similar ice investigation with modifications for middle school and high school students. Soil Ecology Aquarium: This activity is a yearlong activity that enables students to observe whether organisms, such as plants and worms, affect the soil (or the ecology).

Presentations and Real Audio Sessions

Activities Development

Other Classroom Connections: My reading students are using an activity I wrote last year, which has questions that involves using my TEA web site to scan for information about my research experience in Antarctica. A fifth grade classroom at my school is also doing the same. It enables the students to learn how to scan for information, as well as to find out about science research in a safe manner while using the Internet. I am still getting questions from students and the general public from my web site. Two weeks ago, a middle school student from California wrote to ask about my experience for a class report. A meteorologist from New Orleans found my web site and wrote. I told her about the other TEAs in the field. One teacher from a neighboring school borrowed books and other resources from me to teach about Antarctica. I have four students who are researching the Weddell Seal. They are corresponding with TEA Kolene Krysl. One teacher, Tina Coleman, that I met in West Tennessee when I made a presentation to her school last year has since become a TEA Associate. I encouraged her to join the Tennessee Earth Science Teachers, and she is now an active member helping to present Earth Science at state workshops. I have also corresponded and exchanged activities with a teacher from Alabama who has become a TEA Associate (Martha Mackay). I sent her the ice investigations, along with other activities and polar resources. I met with TEA Betty Trummel in Chicago this past summer. We continue to email and swap ideas. The TEA workshop in New York City this past July offered many wonderful ideas and activities to pass along to other teachers. Teacher networking is invaluable. It always promotes new ideas and enthusiasm.

NSTA, 2003: I made three presentations: one inquiry-based hands-on ice investigation with TEA Associate, Bob King. One presentation with TEA Kolene Krysl from Nebraska, and one Presidential Awardee Poster Share-a-thon with a polar activity. Hosted TEA booth and helped with the SWAT team for other TEA presentations during this conference.

TSTA, 2003: I made two presentations with TEA Associate, Bob King, as well as helped with a Tennessee Earth Science Teachers Workshop.

I will be the acting president for the Tennessee Earth Science Teachers for the next two years, and my hope is to pull the study of foraminifera into the study of Earth Science through a teacher workshop.

NSTA, 2004: Proposals accepted for three presentations, including the Presidential Awardee Share-a-thon poster session with my focus on foraminifera.

ECW gear monitoring for Southeast region

Corresponded with TEA Robin Ellwood while she was in the field.

TEA Mentoring Phone Conferences every other month have been most beneficial. This allows TEAs to work in small groups to discuss ideas, and to make suggestions to encourage ways to mentor each other and our TEA Associates.

NYC TEA Inquiry-based workshop enabled TEAs and TEA Associates to work together to improve lessons by applying an inquiry-based approach to learning.

Release Days

Dates: 5 days: March 27 & March 28, 2003; November 13 & November 14, 2003; August 28, 2003 (county science kits)

Reasons for Release: NSTA Conference (Philadelphia) and TSTA Conference (Nashville, TN), one day meeting in home school district to implement and give input on how to quickly refurbish and get science kits out to schools.

Approximate Daily Rate of Substitute and Number of Substitute Days: 5 days at $60

TEA Meetings Covered by School/District/Corporation

Names of Meetings: Registration & Membership to TSTA; Hotel and Food for TEA Summer Workshop in NYC, Pre-Registration paid for 2004 NSTA Conference for myself and TEA Associate Terry McDonald

Dates: November 13, 2003, July 7-13, 2003

Approximate Cost of Travel Expenses Covered: $1,180

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

Other Grants

Other Shared Costs
Dr. Don Byerly and teacher Virginia Cooter provided lodging and food for presentations in Knoxville and Greeneville, TN. The Wilson County School District makes copies of all handouts and activities to be distributed to teachers at conferences and workshops.

All Girls' Science Day workshop at the Adventure Science Center, in Nashville, TN, Feb. 7, 2004

NSTA (Atlanta) and TSTA(Nashville), 2004 Science conferences: presentations and workshops

I would like to host a TEA Regional Workshop, Spring 2004