Improving the quality of science education and instilling in high school students a sense of their potential as future investigators are lofty goals, especially for a busy group of research scientists. Just this summerdespite the many pressures of ongoing research projects and writing papers and proposalsa group of scientists from the Desert Research Institute and other Nevada and nearby institutions launched an innovative science teacher enhancement program with several education goals in mind.
 Archaeologist Dr. Paul Buck created the N-STEP program to expand science education opportunities for Nevada students and teachers. |
The Nevada Science Teacher Enhancement Program (N-STEP), the brainchild of DRI assistant research professor Dr. Paul Buck, is a new program funded for three years by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to increase the awareness of scientiÞc research principles and practices among high school science teachers and exceptional students.
The program places teachers and their students into ongoing scientiÞc investigations and allows them to contribute their own chapter to an unÞnished story about our natural environment. During its Þrst three years, N-STEP will provide direct Þeld experience to 90 teachers and 90 students throughout Nevada.
In the summer of 1999, a total of 56 Nevada high school teachers and students spent three weeks applying their investigative skills at Death Valley, Lake Tahoe, and the Ruby Mountains of northeastern Nevada. The geology team studied the þood potential of the Amargosa River, a major contributor of sediment and water to the Badwater Basin of Death Valley. The atmospheric sciences team characterized ultraviolet radiation at different altitudes around Reno and the neighboring Sierra. Finally, the biology team studied zooplankton variability in the montane ponds of the Ruby Mountains near Elko, Nevada.
The ultimate purpose of the program is not to turn the students or teachers into highly specialized researchers. "The message we want to convey is that scientiÞc inquiry is an activity that can and should be conducted by teachers and students alike," Buck says. "Participation in hands-on Þeld research projects results in exciting scientiÞc discoveries by teachers and students, and strengthens their understanding of how effective science really works."
For Buck, the motivation for initiating this project stemmed from his interest in promoting inquiry-based education in the state as well as his professional love for field research. Buck wants the program to expose students to scientific research in a way that might encourage more students to pursue science in school. He points out that between 1985 and 1995, the proportion of Nevada students awarded undergraduate degrees in science and technology Þelds declined from 19 percent to 14 percent.
"This trend is alarming," states Buck, "and if we want to ensure our ability to tackle the complex technological problems of the next century, we need to promote inquiry-based science education." To make progress toward this goal, Buck Þrst considered an effort modeled after the Young Scholars program in Oregon. He discovered that funding for the Young Scholars program, which was designed entirely for students, was being discontinued by NSF to focus more on improving the skills of teachers.
"I completely agree with the importance of providing learning experiences for teachers, but I also really liked the Young Scholars concept and wanted to keep the students involved," explains Buck. The N-STEP program was the result, with students and their teachers working together under the guidance of researchers to tackle an array of scientific questions. "I think it is important for students to see scientific research firsthand, and I believe that their energy and involvement will help the teachers bring the lessons back to their classrooms," Buck adds.
 At Lake Tahoe, N-STEP participants retrieve stone plates used to measure the accumulation of algae at various depths. On the boat, from left to right are students Jon Lambright of Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas and Graham Linck of Silverado High School in Las Vegas, camp manager Mike Thwing, and student Chris Cotner from Cheyenne High School. Scuba divers are DRI graduate assistant Julie Allen (left) and Dr. Raymond Kepner (right). |
The process begins months before the first team ever straps on hiking boots. In a series of meetings with the investigators and other instructors in the spring of 1999, teachers and students were initiated to the particulars of their project as well as the scientific method and investigative techniques.
"The workshops gave us a better idea of what was expected of us, and I think they made us feel more comfortable with the whole process," comments Melissa Reymer, a teacher at Clark High School in Las Vegas. In addition, each of the research scientists had to spend a day visiting high schools and observing the realities of the public school setting.
"I was immediately struck by the huge task that teachers have. The student population is very diverse, class sizes are large, class times are short, and the atmosphere seems a bit chaotic," says DRI¹s Dr. Melanie Wetzel, lead researcher for N-STEP¹s atmospheric sciences project. "Above all, I think the visits helped to prepare me psychologically for N-STEP and particularly how to communicate with students," she adds.
First-Year Field Program
After the spring meetings, several research classes taught via DRI's video network, and numerous e-mail messages giving both the researchers and the participants a glimpse into the world of the other, the first-year project groups converged on their respective study areas. For the geology group, a typical day began at 4 a.m. with the first bodies stirring in the warm darkness at the Zzyzx Desert Studies Center, a small research station near Baker, California. After a hasty breakfast, the group piled into vans and rolled out in a race against the oppressive Mojave Desert sun. On reaching the field area, one group mapped landforms, another surveyed soils, a third sampled vegetation, and the fourth measured permeability (how fast water drains into the soil) and infiltration. By 2 p.m. the field day was over, and the group retreated to the palm-shaded refuge of the Zzyzx field station.
According to Dr. Diana Anderson, assistant professor of geology at Northern Arizona University and lead researcher of the geology project, the research teams are helping explain the flooding history of the Amargosa River. "With the contribution of each team, we will try to understand how soil permeability varies between surfaces with different soils. Then we can extend our observations to the entire basin," says Anderson. The goal is to be able to predict flooding under future climate conditions.
 characterizes the soils exposed by erosion along the Amargosa River near Death Valley. From left to right are teacher Matthew Schultz and students Cassandra Bracco and Meighan Doyle. |
According to Frank Aldridge, a teacher at Hug High School in Reno, the experience in the desert with Anderson gave him the tools to see a picture that he couldn¹t appreciate in the past. "I now have a sense that I can look at the landscape and start to visualize the processes that formed it," he says. "Overall, I¹d say that I learned far more than I contributed in data."
"I honestly think that this was the best experience of my life," exclaims Meighan Doyle, a student at Hug High School in Reno. "Our first choice was biology because that is what we were most familiar with, but I can't find the words to describe how happy I am that we were given this project," Doyle adds. She is now seriously considering pursuing a geology degree when she begins college at the University of Nevada, Reno. "One lesson that this has taught me is to keep my mind open to new opportunities and experiences."
For Alyssa Worker, a student at Silverado High School in Las Vegas, N-STEP provided exposure to the limitless opportunities that research science offers. "I originally thought we would be given a project design and told what to do," says Worker, who participated in the atmospheric sciences project. Instead, Worker was challenged to develop her own questions by team leader Wetzel.
"Melanie made an effort to concentrate more on biology since that is what our group was interested in," Worker notes. During the Þrst meeting between researchers and participants, Wetzel asked if any of the teams were interested in studying algae. Worker says, "We jumped at it, and then she worked with a biologist at DRI, Dr. Ray Kepner, to have algae collection plates placed underwater at Lake Tahoe more than a month before we arrived. It seemed like all we had to do was express an interest in something, and they would find a way to help us study it."
According to Wetzel, allowing the teams to ask and investigate their own questions is the most exciting part of the N-STEP process. "I want them to know that a person can develop and pursue his or her own interests in a research career," Wetzel says. ³In order to bring that message home, I had to give them a lot of latitude and not pigeonhole them into working for me," she adds.
 micro-milliliters with pipettes. N-STEP students first had to master routine laboratory procedures before they could conduct actual analyses of samples they would collect in the field. The two are seniors at Carlin High School in Carlin and particiated in the Ruby Mountains biology project. |
Visits to other sites were also planned to allow students and teachers to contribute to additional research efforts. According to Magdelano Llamas, a student at Wells High School in Wells, Nevada, "The archaeologist we visited showed us how to identify pottery shards and worked¹ rock fragments and then asked the entire group to search the site for artifacts. We were given þags for marking the location of artifacts, and experts evaluated our discoveries."
"I found five pieces," exclaims Llamas. "We had just a crash-course lesson, but it helped us to really pick the artifacts out from the rest of the rocks. It made us feel important like we were being useful, and that made it a lot more fun."
While the field season has ended for all the projects, the energy and excitement of discovery has not been left behind. For Steven Feasel, a science teacher at Carlin High School, the start of the new school year offers opportunities to include the rest of his class in study that began in the summer. Feasel says that his two N-STEP students will help him lead a field trip back up into the Ruby Mountains to sample more zooplankton with the entire class. "We are fortunate that we are close enough to the field area to make such a trip, and I see this as a perfect opportunity to share some of this experience with all of the students," Feasel adds.
Other teachers are also finding ways of bringing their lessons back to the classroom. Karlene McCurry of Silverado High School in Las Vegas has worked with her two students to design a poster telling about the ultraviolet radiation study. She is using the project as a "carrot" to show the other students that these kinds of opportunities are available for those who are involved and motivated.
Frank Aldridge plans to incorporate more geology research into his teaching agenda at Hug High School. "I don¹t think we need to get too high tech with our methods," says Aldridge. "The point is to show the kids that we can make simple observations and draw some conclusions from them." Aldridge says that word about the N-STEP project has already spread around the school, and he has been approached by many students who would like to participate in the future. "When we apply again next year, I think there will be a problem in deciding which students we can bring," he observes.
 camp managers - everyone involved in N-SSTEP - were required to turn out for the "All Hands Meeting" at DRI in Las Vegas May 1, 1999. UNLV safety officer Courtney Kerr explains N-STEP's safety program for the coming summer field operations. |
According to Dr. Claudia Miner, DRI¹s executive director for institutional advancement and a co-investigator for N-STEP, "the task that lies before project coordinators is to convince other donors that this program needs to be continued. At a cost of about $250,000 per year to run N-STEP, we have a long way to go; but there are already signs that people recognize the potential beneÞts of the program." Elko Assemblyman John Carpenter, for example, donated $2,000 to support the team from Elko County High School. According to Miner, "This community-based support is what will carry N-STEP beyond NSF funding, and we hope others will follow Assemblyman Carpenter¹s lead."
While convincing donors of the value of the program may require more time, the teachers and students who have experienced N-STEP are already sold. "DRI's researchers and their colleagues have made a great impression on me," comments Feasel. "They have shown themselves to be caring and concerned while making a great contribution to the Nevada teachers and students in this program."
- Dennis McMahon -
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