KBS GK-12 Program
I was a graduate fellow in the GK-12 program through MSU's Kellogg Biological Station (KBS). This NSF funded program paired graduate fellows with partner teachers and partner school districts from rural communities surrounding KBS. The main goal of the program was to improve graduate student communication skills. As a fellow, I developed lesson plans for students of various age levels, practiced using these lesson plans in the classroom, and presented aspects of my research to area teachers at the triannual science institutes that we host.
Although the main goal of the program was in training us to be better communicators, I am hopeful that our participation also improved scientific literacy in the classroom. We incorporated inquiry-based learning so that students got experience thinking like a scientist and solving problems on their own. Many of the lessons involved performing real experiments, such as the use of the schoolyard BEST plots, a network of schoolyard plots, where students ask questions about the sustainability of growing biofuels.
Lessons I created for the KBS summer science institutes were inspired by my research. Click here to see a lesson plan about the importance of genetic variation (SSI 2013) and here for a lesson plan on soil properties and their effects on plants.(SSI 2014).
Although the main goal of the program was in training us to be better communicators, I am hopeful that our participation also improved scientific literacy in the classroom. We incorporated inquiry-based learning so that students got experience thinking like a scientist and solving problems on their own. Many of the lessons involved performing real experiments, such as the use of the schoolyard BEST plots, a network of schoolyard plots, where students ask questions about the sustainability of growing biofuels.
Lessons I created for the KBS summer science institutes were inspired by my research. Click here to see a lesson plan about the importance of genetic variation (SSI 2013) and here for a lesson plan on soil properties and their effects on plants.(SSI 2014).
Teaching at MSU
I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach a number of courses for undergraduates at MSU. These have included serving as a teaching assistant for Organisms and Populations (BS 162, formerly BS 110); three semesters of Evolution (ZOL 445); a summer online Evolution course (ZOL 445); a Tropical Biology course (IBIO 485); and an instructor for a Plant Biology Laboratory (PLB 106). Having such a variety of teaching experiences has greatly improved my abilities to communicate science and I have learned how to teach using a variety of different approaches such as lecturing, individual and group problem solving, hands-on laboratory activities, classroom discussions, and student presentations, to name a few. In all of these teaching experiences, I have been given the freedom to design and lead classroom activities independently.
SpartaNature
During the summer of 2013, members of our lab participated in SpartaNature, a program for incoming MSU freshmen that introduces students to field biology and all of the resources at Kellogg Biological Station. My advisor, Doug Schemske, former graduate student Mike Grillo (both pictured at left) and I, ran an activity to study the effects of time and area on species richness of forest invertebrates.
Graduate Women in Science
The MSU chapter of Graduate Women in Science has been active in many outreach activities throughout the community. In addition to serving as chapter president, I have also participated in several of these outreach events, such as bringing monthly science activities to a summer daycare for low-income kids (age 7-15) in the Lansing neighborhood (pictured at right) and volunteering at a 6th grade girls Math and Science event aimed at showcasing the variety of careers available in the STEM fields.
A short video of my research made for the GK-12 program:
Video and Photo credits: M. Kuczynski, C. Baskett, C. Dittmar, H. Stadden, A. Potvin, Scientific American