GK-12: Exploring California Biodiversity

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The overall objective of the project is to inspire K-12 students in the study ofbiodiversity and give graduate fellows an understanding of issues in K-12 education. This project connects the museums and field stations at UC Berkeley with the local K-12 community. Early in the academic year, the graduate fellows take the K-12 students and their teachers on a field trip to one of the Berkeley Natural History Field Stations that allow access to diverse natural habitats in California. The students collect natural history items that form the kernel of subsequent classroom activities. Together with the graduate fellows, the school students curate and/or identify the specimens collected using additional information from the large BNHM collections. The K-12 students and teachers enter specimen data and associated information into a database, which is linked to the already established databases of the BNHMs, and has a web interface. They then use interpretive tools to study their data. The students develop hypotheses, based on the information collected and analyses performed, and test these in the field. The data that the students generate and associated interpretations are shared among participating schools, and the information is made accessible to schools throughout the Bay Area. There are broad impacts from this project to a number of beneficiaries. The PIs and graduate fellows benefit from (i) the expanded database on spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity, information that is critical to developing hypotheses as to historical processes responsible for biogeographic patterns, current factors affecting distributions, and future trajectories; and (ii) development of skills in communication and leadership. The K-12 teachers benefit from direct involvement in research and enrichment in the approach to, and understanding of, evolutionary biology, including a strong sense of participation in monitoring of biodiversity. The schools benefit from the enhanced access to technology, and development of their own natural history collections and associated databases coupled with interpretive tools.Project title: GK-12: Exploring California Biodiversity Institution: University of California BerkeleyPI/Co-PI: Rosemary Gillespie, Donald Dahlsteen, David Lindbergh, Craig Moritz, Mary PowerPartner School Districts: West Contra Costa Unified, Funding: $ 1,432,160 total for 3 yearsNo of fellows/yr: 6 graduate, 2undergraduate, yr 1; 8 graduate, 8 undegraduate yr 2,3Setting: UrbanTarget audience: middle-high schoolNSF supported disciplines involved: Science and Mathematics, Environmental Science