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Ists, November 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

ISTS Newsletter

In this issue:

--Notes and News

--Thoughts

--Opportunities

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V07n3, Fall 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Welcome Corporate Members

--IAS Corporate Memberships

-- 124th Annual Meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science

--Academy seeking Tech Savy students/teachers for service project

--Iowa Math & Science Coalition Funds pass to ISTS

--REAP-CEP Grant Awards value Natural Resources and Science

--Academy receives GLOBE Grant to pilot Webinar GLOBE Workshop

--Wanted: Saylorville Gift Shop Coordinator

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

Ists, September 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

ISTS Newsletter

In this issue:

--Notes and News

--Opportunities

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V07n2, Summer 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--2011 Friends of Science & Outstanding Service Award Winners

--IAS Corporate Memberships

--2011 Distinguished Science Awards

--IAS—Iowa DNR Pilot Workshop bucks national trends

--Wanted: Saylorville Gift Shop Coordinator

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

Ists, May 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

ISTS Newsletter

In this issue:

--Notes and News

--Opportunities

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V07n1, Spring 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--123rd Annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science

--Candidates for Iowa Academy of Science President

--Candidates for Iowa Academy of Science Board of Directors

--Candidate for Iowa Science Teaching Section Vice Section Chair

--Iowa Science Teaching Section Fall Conference

--Iowa Academy of Science – Election 2011

--Welcome Corporate Members

--IAS Corporate Memberships

--2011 IAS Speaker Series at the Saylorville Visitor Center

--IAS Welcomes Executive Assistant, Debbie Dean

--Wanted: Saylorville Gift Shop Coordinator

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

Ists, February 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

ISTS Newsletter

In this issue:

--Notes and News

--Opportunities

Proceedings Of The 123rd Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2011], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Program Summary --- 2-3
Acknowledgements --- 4
Table of Contents --- 5
Welcome --- 5
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Competition --- 6
Geology Special Event Using Geographic Information Systems in Iowa's K-16 Classrooms --- 7
General Session I-Roaming Mars, a Personal Perspective --- 8
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Award Luncheon --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Business Meeting --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Volunteers for 2010-2011 --- 10
Symposium A-Unintended Health & Environmental Consequences of Confinement Agriculture --- 11
Symposium B-Investigating Forensic Science --- 12
Symposium C-150th Anniversary-Science and the Civil War --- 13
Symposia Speakers …

Iowa Academy Of Science 123rd Annual Meeting [2011]: Advance Program, Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contains information about the schedule and presentations for the 2011 annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science.

Title Page - Table Of Contents

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

No abstract provided.

One Big Bite: Teaching Elementary Students To Classify Objects Using Animal Teeth, Katelyn Boser, Nicole Eberhard, Amanda Gerhardy

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This activity helps students learn the skills of sorting, organizing and classifying using images or models of various animal teeth. The authors used this activity in a Second Grade classroom, however it could be modified for other primary grades. This activity promotes National Science Education Content Standards A and C, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What’S My Motivation? Ideas For Rethinking Student Assessment, Jerrid Kruse

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Three of the articles in this issue of the Iowa Science Teachers Journal address assessment in the science classroom. Jesse Wilcox and Frank Noschese each discuss standards-based grading (SBG). Frank provides examples of his approach to SBG in his physics classes and makes a strong case for SBG while Jesse adds detail by sharing the frameworks he uses to inform and implement his SBG practices. Joe Bower goes a bit further by encouraging readers to consider why we assign grades at all. Each of the articles raises important, and related, points about the connection between assessment and motivation.

Holding Ourselves To A Higher Standard: Using Standards-Based Grading In Science As A Means To Improve Teaching And Learning, Jesse Wilcox

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Standards-based grading (SBG) has grown in popularity over the past few years. However, many teachers wonder why they should switch from a traditional grading system. This article explores how standards-based grading can more accurately reflect what students learn and encourage changes in students’ attitude toward learning in the process. This article promotes Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

The Trouble With Grading: From Concealing To Revealing Real Learning, Joe Bower

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Traditional grading, such as multiple choice and bubble filling testing, cannot provide the sort of information needed by the teacher to assess a student’s understanding. There is a better way. This article explains the author’s move to break away from traditional grading and replace it with a zero-question project-based assessment strategy.

A Better Road: Improve Teaching And Student Morale Through Standards-Based Grading, Frank Noschese

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This article explores the benefits of using a standards-based grading system. Examples of how such a system is used in a high school physics course are also provided.

Title Page - Table Of Contents

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

No abstract provided.

Wiggling Worms: Using The Learning Cycle In An Elementary Classroom To Study Variation, Lori Marie Ihrig, Jennifer Nicole Prindle

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

In grades K-2, students are at an age when they start to look closely at living things around them. They can comprehend that while individuals may be of the same kind (i.e., kittens from the same litter), they possess differences. This article uses the learning cycle to engage students in making observations and measurements about plants and animals in order to help them understand “there is variation among individuals of one kind in a population” (AAAS, 1993, p. 107). This article promotes National Science Education Standards A and C, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Hot Conceptual Change - You’Ve Got To Have Faith, Jerrid Kruse, Michael P. Clough

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

In the last editorial (Kruse and Clough, 2010), we addressed some common concerns educators raise when considering inquiry-based instruction. Addressing such concerns is of utmost importance to address the plausibility, intelligibility and fruitfulness of inquiry-based teaching. Unfortunately, such issues are not all that affect willingness to enact inquiry-based teaching. More personal and contextual factors also play a part in all learning, including learning how to teach more effectively.

One Touchy Topic: Targeting Students’ Sense Of Touch Through Multiple Activities, Ally Shinar, Rabihah Simmons, Megan Ross

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This article provides exploratory experiences for First Grade students to refine their understanding of their sense of touch and develop their observation skills. The activities scaffold from open-ended exploratory investigations to application activities in which students categorize items using their understanding of touch. The activities also make explicit links to help students develop language and writing skills. This activity promotes National Science Education Content Standards A and B, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Title Page - Table Of Contents

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

No abstract provided.

Learning Under Pressure: Teaching Boyle’S Law Through Inquiry, Meagan Woestman, Adam Kent

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Boyle’s law is commonly addressed in chemistry and physical science textbooks, but rarely in a manner consistent with what we know best promotes learning (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000). We present the standard syringe activity as an exploratory inquiry experience followed by a more formal development of the relationship. The activity starts and concludes by having students examine how the volume of a crushed pop bottle changes in a vacuum. Through iterative concrete experiences and guided discussions, students construct Boyle’s law to account for the class data. This article address National Science Education Standards A, B, E, G, and Iowa …

Growing Minds: Planting A Lasting Seed Using The Learning Cycle, Jennifer Nicole Prindle, Lori Marie Ihrig

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This article highlights modifying a common early elementary activity to move instruction beyond isolated activities into a full unit of instruction using the learning cycle. The unit is designed to tackle students' misconceptions and deepen their understanding of scientific inquiry and the growing requirements of plants. This activity promotes National Science Education Standards A and C, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

All Bottled Up: An Inquiry Activity Using Bottles To Teach The Effect Of Water Temperature On Dissolved Gas, Collin Reichert, Curtis Titter

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This article describes an inquiry activity that promotes an accurate and deep understanding of key components of the carbon cycle, namely the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas between the atmosphere and the ocean, and how temperature affects this exchange. The crucial role of the teacher during this activity is described, including key questions and interactions that help students arrive at deep and robust understandings of the carbon cycle and nature of science ideas. This article promotes High School National Science Education Content Standards A, B, D, and G, Iowa Core Curriculum 1 and 3, and Iowa Teaching …

How Do You Mass What You Cannot See? Using Paper Clips To Help Students Learn How Electron Mass Was First Measured, Rob Hingstrum, Jacob Pleasants, Shannon Mclaughlin

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Many students wrongly presume that scientific knowledge is mysteriously discovered and often believe the development of this knowledge is beyond their ability to comprehend. The activity presented here – appropriate for high-school chemistry and physics students – challenges these misconceptions. Students are engaged in thinking and creativity similar to how the first scientists accurately measured the mass and charge of an electron. Through this process, students develop a deep understanding of how the mass and charge of an individual electron was determined. This activity addresses National Science Education Standards A, B, E, and G and Iowa teaching Standards 1, 2, …

Cloudy Judgment: Helping Students Deeply Understand Cloud Formation, Katie Borton, Hallie Satre, Jesse Wilcox

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Weather is ubiquitously experienced, yet generally misunderstood by students. We present the well known “cloud in the bottle” activity, but do so in a manner that mentally engages students to a greater extent, identifies commonly held misconceptions, and moves students to a deeper understanding of cloud formation. This activity promotes National Science Education Standards A, B, D and G and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The Buds And The Bees: Inquiry Into The Sexual Reproduction Of Plants, Timothy D. Goodman, Laurence H. Woodruff

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Many students have few significant experiences investigating flower structure and function, yet are expected to understand sexual reproduction in angiosperms. We present here an inquiry-based hands-on activity where middle school students compare plant reproduction to more commonly understood animal reproduction. This provides a foundation to more deeply understand topics related to plant reproduction. This activity also provides many opportunities to explicitly address the nature of science and how science works. This article addresses National Science Education Content Standards A, C, and G, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Maggie And Her Students: Talking And Reasoning In A Reform-Based Mathematics Classroom, Debra Louise Semm Rich

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In this qualitative case study, I explored how Maggie, the teacher, and her students used language to advance students' conceptual understanding of mathematics in a reform-based mathematics classroom. Specifically I sought to describe how Maggie's reform-based mathematics classroom environment impacted the quantity and quality of mathematical language spoken by her students. Maggie's eighth-grade mathematics classroom was observed during a course of study on data and statistics. Three semi-structured interviews with Maggie, artifacts provided by her, and fourteen 52-minute classroom lessons, supported with field notes, were analyzed.

Environmental themes were revealed as they related to Maggie, her beliefs, goals, knowledge, and …

Providing Preservice Teachers With Worthwhile Field-Based Experiences In Mathematics, Glenn Nelson

Faculty Publications

Providing preservice teachers with worthwhile field-based experiences is recognized as an important component in their development as good teachers. Because mathematics instruction in general has moved from a teacher-directed, procedurally-focused process to a more student-centered, conceptually-oriented approach, preservice mathematics education classes – especially methods courses - should reflect this shift as well. Field-based opportunities can be instances for preservice teachers to personally experience such a shift to real-world relevance.

Flood Frequency Estimation By Neyman-Scott Rectangular Pulse Rainfall Model And Topmodel, Richard Bernatz

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

A spatial-temporal Neyman-Scott Rectangular Pulse (NSRP) stochastic rainfall model is developed for seasonal-continuous simulation to project annual discharge probabilities from a relatively small watershed, the 1395 km2 Upper Iowa River watershed upstream from Decorah, Iowa. NSRP rainfall data is used as rainfall input to TOPMODEL, a conceptual, semidistributed rainfall runoff model, to calculate river discharge at a site common to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauging station in Decorah, Iowa. Annual peak flows based on simulated rainfall are used to fit a log-Pearson type III distribution to project 1 %-, 0.2%-, and 0.1 %-annual discharges. These results are compared …

Current Status Of Lichen Diversity In Iowa, James T. Colbert

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.