Blog entries
GMRI MSSM SERC acronyms galore add up to good times!
I had the chance to go catch up with students from the Maine School of Science and Mathematics for a weekend of learning and sharing about research careers here in Maine. The students left the potato fields of Limestone, and I left the bustling metropolis of Portland, and we met up at the Schoodic Education Research Institute along with scientists from the National Park Service, MDIBL, Jackson Labs, and GMRI. Katie Wurtzell (of Team Gastropoda fame), Graham Sherwood, and I (aka SuperStar) were the researchers representing GMRI and sharing their work with the students.
Belgrade Workshop Video Blog
A video sharing what we did on November 5, 2011 at the Maine Lakes Resource Center. Find the great blog post that describes the workshop here: http://vitalsignsme.org/blog/belgrade-workshop
Vital Signs Advance Training - Worth the Trip!
I recently attended the teacher/educator advanced training to get kids engaged in Science and to become citizen scientists. Being both a 4-H leader as well as a homeschooling mom involved in several co-ops, I found the training to be invaluable. They combined in class lectures with hands on, on location practice of the skills learned. In addition to introducing games to play, projects to do and talking points for discussion, we walked away with the necessary equipment to implement the projects with our students.
Fish Need You!
Our fish need you! If you enjoy “fishin” for bass and want to continue, consider being a citizen
scientist for your favorite lake. Get hooked on the Vital Signs citizen scientist program and learn about
invasive aquatic species that may be inhabiting your lake. Our Maine scientists need your help keeping
these invaders out of our lakes.
Watch Out, It's Vital Signs Time!
What to say about Vital Signs? It's been a great experience both as a teacher and as a learner. My students showed an amazing amount of growth between the first and second investigations. While part of it was painful (it turns out that almost none of them actually took notes outside the first time), they learned a very valuable lesson and did much better the second time around. It took me longer than I had originally anticipated, but then again what new ideas/programs ever take up the exact amount of time we originally think.
Student drivers, watch out.
Okay. No knotweed at the lodge. Back to the reason I started this--- getting kids to be more self driven and conducting more independent research. The super hard thing. Letting kids conduct student driven research. Augh.
I told them "now what?" Could they come up with meaningful, important investigations of their own, and be trusted to go out and conduct them? Together, during science class? Everyone started yammering at once.
So, as a result, we have several new investigations in the works. I tried to hold back on guiding except as needed.
