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Book Chapter
Natural Forces of Decay and Renewal
Through biodegradation, dead plants and animals get broken down and so do the waste products they produce while living. For plants, these waste products include dead leaves and the remnants of seeds and blossoms. For animals, wastes include excrement...
Book Chapter
This section covers understanding biodegradation, including biodegradation protocols providing specific instruction on research. The section also provides techniques in interactive research for developing experiments and field studies using the proto...
Book Chapter
This section outlines possible assessment criteria for student research, as well as example assessment rubrics for posters and written reports. Engaging in peer review provides both opportunities and challenges for assessment. Some of the assessment ...
Book Chapter
Decay and Renewal presents an inquiry-based approach to studying biodegradation, the assortment of biological processes that cause organic matter to decay. Biodegradation occurs in nature and in human-engineered systems to prevent or clean up envir...
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Biodegradation Protocols: Introduction to Research
This section presents 14 research protocols. Using one or more of these protocols, students will be able to design and carry out their own experiments. Students will also experience some of the ways in which scientists work together to discuss ideas,...
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Interactive Research: Experiments and Field Studies
This section provides advice to help students choose from a wide range of ideas for research projects. It also provides a series of worksheets designed to guide progress through the various steps of designing and carrying out an experiment, presentin...
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Interactive Research: Wastewater Treatment Design Challenge
When engineers and scientists design systems for wastewater treatment, they must meet certain criteria concerning treatment effectiveness, and they must work within specified constraints such as cost. This section gives step-by-step directions for an...
Book Chapter
Understanding Invasion Ecology: Introduction
How can a single species of insect pose a threat to millions of acres of forests, orchards, and street trees? What can we do about the Asian longhorned beetle and other plants and animals that invade our farms, cities, and forests? The study of ecolo...
Book Chapter
Understanding Invasion Ecology
This section emphasizes one of the three main branches of ecology—population, community, and ecosystem. Extensive, real-life examples of how ecological concepts and principles can be applied to problems with invasive species are included. It also i...
Book Chapter
In assessing student research, clearly defined "right" or "wrong" answers rarely exist. Instead, the goal of assessment is to evaluate the process used by students and the conceptual understandings they have achieved through research experiences. Thi...
Book Chapter
Why Ecology of Invasive Species?
Students may think of ecologists as people who pick up trash and protest for a cleaner environment. In this book, the term ecologist is used to refer to scientists who study ecology—the study of relationships among organisms and between organisms a...
Book Chapter
Invasion Ecology Protocols—Introducing Research
This section is designed for students to learn some of the basic principles of ecology and how they can be applied to studying and managing invasive species. It will also help students experience some of the ways in which scientists work together to ...
Book Chapter
Beyond Protocols—Conducting Interactive Research
This section provides instructions for two research projects that students have carried out in cooperation with Cornell scientists and these projects could be of interest to other students. It also suggests ideas for research projects to conduct usin...
Book Chapter
Setting the Scene: Basic Rules for a Safer Science Classroom
Six classes, six teachers—just navigating middle school is a voyage of discovery for early adolescents. Students are offered a confusing array of choices, many in science. Sometimes it seems teachers spend too much science class time teaching organ...
Book Chapter
The Kitchen Sink: A Potpourri of Safety Tips
Middle school teaching isn’t just about the curriculum. When students rotate from class to class, minutes are precious. Teachers must plan to structure a class period to everyone’s best advantage, anticipating a myriad of issues that will have to...