Jeffrey Coker, assistant professor of biology at Elon University, has received funding from the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) to develop curriculum for plant biology education. Coker will collaborate on the $30,000 grant from the ASPB Education Foundation with Jane Ellis, associate professor of biology at Presbyterian College, and Mary Williams, associate professor of biology at Harvey Mudd College.
The ASPB Education Foundation awards grants to members conducting research projects that will advance plant biology through K-16 education and public outreach activities. The three researchers will use their award to develop a hands-on, inquiry-based learning program in a project titled, “Twelve Activities to Accompany the Twelve Principles of Plant Biology.” ASPB has defined the 12 principles of plant biology as a spring board for plant science education at the K-12 levels. These principles serve as guidelines for curriculum developers and teachers to ensure that students gain a thorough understanding of plant biology.
The newly-funded Twelve Activities project is the fruit of the applicants’ considerable combined experience in plant science education as well as their response to numerous requests from teachers and organizations for well-constructed hands-on, active-learning opportunities with plants.
“We envision our project as a resource for the ASPB,” Coker says. “The hands-on activities will be available for use in a variety of settings, including ASPB education booths, teacher workshops, outreach activities, and middle school and high school classrooms.”
The project has five phases. First, the team will identify activities that align best with each principle, engage students, and work well in classrooms. Next, they will adapt each activity to suit middle schoolers’ capability and interests. Lessons will be designed to meet the parameters of time and lab facilities available in most middle schools. Third, they will develop teacher and student guides. Each team member will be the lead-developer on four activities and will revise the guides as they are field-tested.
During the summers of 2008 and 2009, Coker will teach and evaluate the program during the one-month Elon Academy for talented students from the Alamance-Burlington School System. He will also train teacher assistants to teach at the Academy, thus perpetuating the cycle of experienced science educators.
Finally, the team will disseminate the project to teachers around the country, presenting their activities at teacher workshops and developing materials that will be archived on the ASPB website. When the 12 Activities are fully developed, the trio will present to the Council of State Science Supervisors at the NSTA conference with the goal of disseminating the project through this influential network of science education outreach.
ASPB, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, was founded in 1924 as the American Society of Plant Physiologists. This professional society has a membership of 5,000 plant scientists from the United States and more than 50 other nations. ASPB publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals in the world.