THE NATIONAL STUDENT RESEARCH CENTER
(NOTE: This file contains strategies for implementing the
student research and publication process in the classroom.
Examples are also provided.)
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Classroom Implementation Of The Student Research Center
Approach To Instruction
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TABLE OF CONTENT
I. Classroom Implementation
A. Introductory Fun (Whole Class/Teacher-Director
Activities)
B. Water Pollution (Small Group/Guided Practice
Activities)
C. Owl Pellets (Small Group/Guided Practice Activities)
D. The Student Researcher (Small Group Independent Study
Activities)
II. Student Research Abstracts
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I. Classroom Implementation of the Student Research Center
Approach to Instruction:
Ways to implement the Student Research Center approach to
instruction are limited only by the creativity and ingenuity of
the teacher. The following three steps are explicated as an
example of one way which may be used to implement the
instructional approach.
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A. Introductory Fun (Whole Class/Teacher-Directed
Activities):
In order to introduce students to the scientific method, the
teacher should break the process down into its incremental
parts. Each step of the process is then presented to the
students with several short whole class learning experiences.
To familiarize students with developing a statement of purpose
they will brainstorm a list of topics of interest and compose
an "I want to find out more about..." statement for each. To
help students become acquainted with the review of the
literature process, library research is conducted related to
the topics brainstormed. Students search the printed and
electronic reference materials (ie; on-line encyclopedia,
reference works in CD-Rom and laser disc formats) in the
classroom for information and write short reports with APA
style citations about the topics they listed. To help students
develop the skill of hypothesizing, they make "educated
guesses" about teacher-developed scenarios such as, "Which Alka
Seltzer will dissolve the fastest, the one I put in hot water
or the one I put in cold water?" To give students a feel for
developing a methodology and listing materials needed to test a
hypothesis, they brainstorm and write problem solving "recipes
and ingredients" in order to "cook up" a solution to teacher-
generated problems such as, "How can you move 10 ping-pong
balls from one bucket to another without touching them?" "What
do you need in order to accomplish that?" To sharpen
observation and data collection skills students are assigned a
variety of tasks such as carefully measuring and recording on a
data collection sheet the dimension of the classroom, the
blackboard, the playground and equipment, etc. To familiarize
students with the summarization and application steps of the
research process, they are asked to discuss and write summaries
of selected readings about great scientists, draw conclusions
about the scientist's life and work, and generalize that
information about the scientist to modern day life.
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B. Water Pollution (Small Group/Guided Practice
Activities):
Once the students have become familiar with each step of the
scientific method it is time to put them all together into a
continuous learning activity. At this time, the teacher
introduces the NSRC's Scientific Method Time-Line contract.
The time-line provides students with a structure for research
project completion by clearly explicating each step of the
scientific method and indicating the date upon which each step
is to be completed. After discussing how the time-line works,
the teacher can introduce students to the environmental science
topic of water pollution.
Students thoroughly explore such concepts as water quality,
industrial, municipal and agricultural run off, turbidity,
particulate matter, acid rain, and conservation, through
readings, films, group discussions, hands-on inquiry, and
community guest speakers. The teacher can then model the use
of CHEMetric's water analysis kits with self-filling ampoules
which measure different water pollutants such as chlorine,
mercury, lead, nitrate, phosphate, and water characteristics
such as dissolved oxygen, acidity, alkalinity, and hardness.
Students then divide into cooperative discovery teams to begin
their initial inquiry into water pollution. The inquiry must
follow the scientific method. First, students state the
purpose of their research. Then they use the classroom
reference materials (printed and electronic) to review the
literature about water characteristics and pollution. Then
they develop a hypothesis about the quality of the water sample
they will acquire from a source near their homes. They then
list what materials they will need to analyze the water (ie;
CHEMetric's kit, water sample, test tubes, etc.). Next, they
decide what procedure or methodology to use to carefully
analyze the quality of the water so as to ensure accurate
findings. Each student in the cooperative discovery team takes
a role (ie; lead scientist, data recorder, equipment handler,
etc.) to facilitate their research. After the water has been
tested and the data has been recorded on the data collection
sheet ,the students conduct an analysis of data and accept or
reject their hypothesis. Finally, students summarize their
experience, draw a conclusion as to what the quality of the
water sample means in regards to its source, and generalize or
apply their findings to the environment as a whole. Each step
of the process must be express in written form and edited until
it is letter perfect, grammatically correct, and scientifically
sound.
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C. Owl Pellets (Small Group/Guided Practice Activities):
Another fun-filled, small-group, guided-practice activity
teachers have used to introduce the scientific method is the
dissection of owl pellets purchased from Genesis. Students
divide into cooperative learning teams to dissect the pellets.
The dissection must follow the scientific method. First,
students will state their purpose in dissecting the pellet.
Then they will use the classroom reference materials (printed
and electronic) to review the literature about owls, their
eating habits, and their digestive processes. Then they will
hypothesize about what the owl ate prior to regurgitating the
pellet they are about to dissect. They will then list what
materials they will need to dissect the pellet (ie; probe,
tweezers). Next, they will decide what procedure or
methodology to use in carefully dissecting the pellet so as to
ensure that they retrieve all skeletal remains in good
condition. Each student in the cooperative group will take a
role (ie; surgeon, data recorder, bone collector, etc.) to
facilitate their methodology. After the bones have been
retrieved, they will be identified and catalogued. The bones
are then used to reconstruct the skeleton of the prey eaten by
the owl. Students then attempt to identify the prey. Finally,
students will summarize their experience, draw a conclusion as
to what the owl's diet is like, and generalize or apply their
findings to the owl family and its environment. Each step must
expressed in written form and edited.
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D. The Student Researcher (Small Group/Independent Study
Activities):
Now the students are ready to begin their independent research
projects. First, students will form cooperative research teams
at the local, national, or international level utilizing the
NSRC's Electronic School District. Next, students choose a
topic of study in which they have a personal interest and
complete a Scientific Research Contract. The topic must be
related to the curriculum content or thematic unit being
studied. Then the students complete a Scientific Method Time-
Line for completion of the research project. They also write a
statement of purpose or research idea. Next, students complete
a review of the literature related to the research topic.
Afterward, students develop a hypothesis to be tested. Then
students develop a methodology utilizing a control and
experimental group in which they clearly identify the dependent
and independent variables. A list of materials needed to
conduct the research is also developed. Students usually spend
two to three weeks actually conducting the experiment, making
observations, and recording data in a systematic way.
Afterward, students will compile and complete an analysis of
all data using simple statistics and present the data in chart
and graph form. Then students will accept or reject the
hypothesis and write a summary and conclusion. They will then
apply their findings. Each step of the process must be express
in written form and edited until it is letter perfect,
grammatically correct, and scientifically sound.
Students then make a formal presentation of the research
project to an audience at their respective schools which is
video taped for review at a later date by teacher and students.
Next, students will write an abstract of the entire research
project for publication in the local and/or national scientific
journal. Students then complete desktop publication of their
school-based journals and circulate them throughout the school
and local community. Students will then form a student action
committee to apply the information they have generated towards
the amelioration of the social or scientific problem they
studied.
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II. Student Research Abstract:
For example, Matthew, Sharon, Todd, and Guillet formed a
cooperative research team when they all decided that they
wanted to conduct research on the topic of water pollution
during our thematic study of ecology. Matthew and Sharon are
sixth grade students at Mandeville Middle School. Todd and
Guillet are third grade students at an elementary school in a
neighboring district. The cooperative research team members
communicated with each other using the NSRC's Electronic School
District. They decided to conduct experimental research
related to the effect of water pollution upon the growth of
plants. Students at each school conducted the research
independently and then compiled their data. The abstract
explicating their research which was published in our
scientific journal of student research, The Student Researcher,
follows:
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TITLE: Pollution and Lake Pontchartrain
STUDENT RESEARCHERS: Matthew Kline, Sharon Smith, Todd Berger,
and Guillet De Loga
SCHOOLS: Mandeville Middle School Mimosa Park Elementary
Mandeville, Louisiana Luling, Louisiana
GRADES: 6 3
TEACHERS: John I. Swang, Ph.D. Virginia Lawson, M.Ed.
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS:
We wanted to know how polluted Lake Pontchartrain water affects
plant life. Our hypothesis stated that plants watered with
distilled water would grow taller than plants watered with
polluted lake water.
II. METHODOLOGY:
We planted a total of twenty control and twenty experimental
lima bean seeds. Growing conditions were the same for both
groups. We planted them one and one half inches under the soil
held in identical paper cups. All seeds received the same
amount of sunlight and water. The experimental seeds were
watered with polluted lake water and the control seeds were
watered with distilled water. We observed the two groups of
seeds for 14 days. All observations were recorded on our data
collection sheet. The following data were recorded: date of
germination, height, number of leaves, color, and general
health of plants. After we collected all our data, we combined
it and then we analyzed it via the NSRC's Electronic School
District.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA:
The majority of the control and experimental seeds germinated
on the same day. The control plants watered with the distilled
water grew to an average height of 7.3 cm. The experimental
plants watered with polluted lake water grew to an average
height of 4.9 cm. The leaves were green and healthy on the
control plants. The leaves were smaller and not as green and
some were deformed on the experimental plants. The control
plants had an average of three leaves per plant and the
experimental plants had an average of one.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:
Polluted lake water has a negative effect on plant life. The
plants watered with distilled water grew taller than plants
grown in the lake water. Therefore, we accepted our hypothesis
which stated that plants watered with distilled water would
grow taller than plants watered with polluted lake water.
V. APPLICATION:
We believe that the "Save Our Lake" campaign, the cities and
the chemical companies near the lake, and public interest
groups should all combine efforts to clean the lake. We will
write letters to the above groups informing them of our
research and encourage them to clean up Lake Pontchartrain.
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John I. Swang, Ph.D.
Teacher/Director
National Student Research Center
Mandeville Middle School
2525 Soult St.
Mandeville, Louisiana 70448
U.S.A.
Tele: 1-504-626-5980
Tele: 1-504-626-8778
FAX: 1-504-626-1640
America OnLine: NSRC MMS
Internet: nsrcmms@aol.com
This e-publication is made possible through grants provided by
the United States Department of Education, South Central Bell
Telephone, American Petroleum Institute, Intertel Foundation,
Springhouse Publishing Corporation, Graham Resources, Inc.,
Central Louisiana Electric Company, Louisiana State Department
of Education, National Science Foundation, Mandeville Middle
School Parent Teacher Association, Northern Life Insurance
Company, Gustav Ohaus Company, and Chevron Oil Company.
The National Student Research Center thanks these organizations
for their generous support of education.
© 1998 John I. Swang, Ph.D.