Putting Children First - 2010/2011 Science Grant Winners

	2010/2011 Science Grant Winners
Teachers Name and School	Grant Title and Brief Synopsis

Kristie Shelton / 4 Carters Valley Elementary	Sizzling Science With science often being overlooked in the classroom by the demands of increased reading and math instruction, the best way to give our students a love for science is to approach it in a way that meets the students' learning needs. The focus of this proposal is to provide our fourth grade students with a week of exciting, hands-on science so that they can discover the joys of the scientific world. Students will travel in mentoring groups to stations set up among the four classrooms. Among these four classrooms, there will be a total of 17 scientific stations. These stations will be hands-on, and/or technology based and will cover a variety of fourth grade state standards. Each classroom will have a different scientific theme: life science, earth and space science, physical science, and chemistry. After students have finished each station in their area, they will participate in a quick review quiz using the Promethean boards and their clickers. Students will also use a self-scoring rubric at the end of the week in order to rate their experience and learning growth.
Kevin Armstrong / 4 Kingsley Elementary	Current and Beyond! Current and Beyond! is designed to instruct students in the interaction between electrical currents and magnetic fields. The scope of the project will include investigations to give fourth grade students hands-on opportunities that will lead to mastery of content. The investigations will include: identifying how magnets attract and repel one another, building a simple circuit to determine the flow of current, and identifying how electrically charged materials interact with other objects. The design of the unit is to partner with other grade levels to engage all students in scientific discovery. After completion of experimental design, students will then demonstrate and explain concepts to other grade level classrooms using existing webcam and SMART Bridgit technology. With this technology, possibilities include networking not only classrooms, but other schools, other school systems, and beyond.
Marsh Buck / 8 Ross N. Robinson Middle	Building a Concrete Bridge to the Invisible Atomic World The goal of this grant is to address the need for middle school students to develop skills to verify that abstract, confusing idea that all matter is composed of atoms and that those atoms somehow combine to form new substances. The unit relies on three components: Component I: Introduce discrepant events involving targeted concepts in order to stimulate critical thinking. Component II: Use Periodic Table Tiles and Atomic Model Sets to provide a concrete experience for students to explore atomic structure, bonding, chemical reactions, and conservation of mass. The Periodic Table Tiles are two-sided containing all the elements and color-coded to represent element groups. The backside of each tile has a common element allowing students to combine tiles to represent various molecules and compounds. Students can arrange the tiles so that they can actually "see" the bonding that occurs to create new substances. Conservation of mass and balancing equations become more than just an exercise in frustration because students can actually move the manipulatives into position to form reactants and products. Students are given the opportunity to "practice" using atoms and molecules in a simple, concrete context so that a thorough foundation is in place for future learning. Component III: Complete planned laboratory activities to address current state standards in chemistry. Component II is the essential step that is missing. The addition of the Periodic Table Tiles and Atomic Model sets would serve as a concrete "bridge" from the abstract concept of the atom being presented in the classroom to the excitement of the laboratory activities.
Charles Rhoton / 9-12 Daniel Boone HS	Genetic Differences Concerning Locally Grown Produce and Grocery Store Produce Utilizing DNA Extraction and DNA Gel Electrophoresis Procedures The project will introduce high school Biology students to biotechnological processes known as DNA extraction and gel electrophoresis. The project will consist of purchasing DNA extraction equipment/ supplies and gel electrophoresis equipment/supplies. Students will extract DNA from locally grown produce and grocery store produce. The DNA extracted will be tested utilizing the e-gel electrophoresis procedure. The e-gel system will eliminate the need for a buffering system. Once the DNA fingerprint is produced, students will compare and contrast the DNA fingerprint for genetic differences in order to ascertain a conclusion regarding any genetic differences in grocery store produce and locally grown produce.
Rachel Horn / 9-12 Daniel Boone HS	Teaching Math and Engineering Skills in Conceptual Physics Through Hands-On Investigation Physical World Concepts is a relatively new course that is more rigorous than the traditional high school Physical Science course. Physical World Concepts is basically a conceptual physics class with emphasis on math, engineering and scientific inquiry. The course uses a different type of pedagogy which requires students to build their own knowledge through real-life, inquiry-based, hands-on investigation of topics in conceptual physics. An example of a hands-on, inquiry-based activity is the Loop-the-Loop lab. In the Loop-the-Loop activity, students model engineers who design a roller coaster with safety in mind. Using race tracks with loops, students mathematically compute the velocity and height that a model roller caster car needs to have in order to successfully and safely complete a loop. This activity increases the math, engineering and science skills of students. At the same time it teaches students about the concepts of gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, conservation of energy, centripetal acceleration, and friction – all of which make up a significant portion of the TN state standards in Physical World Concepts.
Dawn Williams/Lowell Fowler/Matt Wood/Megan France/Scott Jerrell/ Pam Evans 7, 10 Gate City Middle and HS	Testing the Wetlands for Environmental Quality and Providing Solutions to Problems Associated with the Wetlands With the collaboration of surrounding state and county agencies, middle and high school teachers are combining their efforts to maximize the educational opportunities of a school wetlands and combat a neighborhood problem. Using the natural wetlands located on the school grounds, students will investigate and understand that organisms within an ecosystem are dependent on one another and on nonliving components of the environment. Key concepts include carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles; interactions resulting in a flow of energy and matter throughout the system; complex relationships within terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems; and energy flow in food webs and energy pyramids. Inquiry skills at this level include organization and mathematical analysis of data, manipulation of variables in experiments, and identification of sources of experimental error. The Life Science standards continue to focus on student growth in understanding the nature of science. This scientific view defines the idea that explanations of nature are developed and tested using hands on instrumentation where students will learn to apply their knowledge to practical use, seeking to achieve environmentally sound solutions to problems associated with mosquito populations. Students will also learn to work in conjunction with experts in the field of environmental and biological science, drawing on their knowledge to assist them to combat an environmental issue while keeping the quality of the wetlands area. Students will discover methods of testing water quality and components of a water source through turbidity, pH, chlorine, fluoride, larva content and freshwater life content by using water sampling and testing kits. Students will also research samples by using microscopes and slide specimens to determine larva count of found pond organisms. Monthly tests and records of findings and observations will be analyzed in order to scientifically theorize the success of methods of mosquito and groundwater contaminant controls.
Jennifer Jensen / 7 John Sevier Middle	Using Simple Machines to Better Prepare Students to be Successful in High School Science Courses Current research supports inquiry based instruction at all levels for science. Providing these opportunities requires having equipment for students to use as they explore. Simple machines give engineers added tools for solving everyday challenges. Students are fascinated by simple machines. This topic has applications that students immediately relate to and is rich with mathematical connections. The Delta Science kit includes twelve hands-on activities and a literacy component. The accompanying lessons involve student exploration of six simple machines, in order to discover how each affects either the distance or work in applied force. To better prepare these students for high school science, they will use a white board to display their findings, present their findings to the group and maintain a scientific notebook – all of which will be part of high school requirements. These skills are essential for success in later science courses, but they aren't something students naturally do. By teaching how science is investigated in middle school, students enter high school better able to focus on the content and won't have to learn procedural skills while trying to learn the new science material. This is especially important for struggling students, as they require as much time as can be provided to develop an understanding of the concepts. It would greatly benefit them to enter high school trained in scientific presentation and recording, thus reducing the anxiety naturally associated with this transition. Often struggling students resist learning these procedural skills, but piggybacking that instruction in inquiry based, hands-on experiences about an exciting topic provides the buy-in. The simple machines lessons offer our students the opportunity for their success.
Misty Joyner / K Church Hill Elementary	So You Want to Become a Paleontologist! The funds of this grant are to give students the opportunity of experiencing the life of a Paleontologist. This will be accomplished through a two-week adventure of fossil activities. Fossils are the remains or impressions left by organisms that lived in the past. The soft tissues of the plant or animal decayed, while the hard tissue becomes fossilized in sedimentary rock. Fossils can be found in almost any location, from mountaintops to the bottom of the ocean. When you find a fossil, it is usually just a segment or piece of the organism. Fossils act as a window into the past by offering us clues on how the plant or animal lived. The classroom of little scientists will be going on a treasure hunt observing, exploring, and creating fossils. Students will be investigating and recording their findings as they spend 2 weeks studying plant and animal fossils. The funds from this grant will bring the excitement of paleontology and fossil collecting right into the classroom.
Jason Joyner / 8 Church Hill Middle	Maglev (Magnetic Levitation): The Future is Now Scientists believe that within the next 100 years petroleum will no longer be found in great quantities, which means industrialized countries like the United States will have to find another way to produce Energy. The generation of students we have in the classroom today will have to pass legislation and develop new forms of technology to bypass the usage of nonrenewable resources by developing alternative energy. Where will the Energy come from? One of the answers is Magnets. Magnets are found in almost all new forms of technology because it produces a great amount of Energy with few drawbacks, but few people can explain how a Magnet works. The answer is more than "they just stick together." Electrons found outside the nucleus of the Atom are responsible for the attraction ability of objects. The funds from this grant will be used to purchase Magnetic Levitation Train Sets and other magnet manipulatives that will be used in a four-week lab exercise to strengthen the student's ability of science inquiry and prototype design. Maglev Trains have been used in Europe for almost a decade. These trains levitate 4 cm off the ground and can reach speeds of more than 300 mph while producing no pollution. All of this is made possible by Magnets.
Ginger McAmis / 6-8 South Central School	Let's Get Physical Let's Get Physical introduces students to the fundamentals of physics in a fun and fascinating way. From mechanical advantage to magnetic lines of force, students will learn concepts which are essential for physics students. These labs will instill in students a love for science. The lab, "May the Force Be with You" will provide hands-on activities to help students gain an understanding of concepts such as force, friction, pressure, work, power, efficiency, and mechanical advantage through the exploration of pulleys, included planes and levers. "Electrifying" will allow students to study the properties of electricity first hand. Students will build batteries from different combinations of metals, learn about current and voltage, and use ammeters and voltmeters to measure the properties of the circuits they build. They will learn the relationship between electrical current, resistance, and voltage and explain their measurements in series and parallel circuits. "Fatal Attraction" will allow students to explore magnetism and its relationship to electricity through exploring magnetic fields, the effect of heat on magnetism, how objects are magnetized, and making an electromagnet. "Sink or Float" will provide students with a powerful, visual experience in density. Using the formula for density, students will calculate the densities of plastic spheres and different liquids, predict which spheres will float in the liquids, and test their predictions. The final product will be a density column created by the students.
Donna Franczek / 3 Haynesfield Elementary	Cloudy with a Chance of Learning With such an universal impact on all forms of life, an overall understanding of the atmospheric concepts including weather, climate, the water cycle and their interrelatedness is an integral part of Science education. Providing an outdoor school weather station equipped with instruments for measuring and recording data, manipulative kits and projection device for global weather patterns and other instructional materials will equip teachers with the necessary instructional materials needed for classroom instruction or outdoor activities that will provide concrete, visual, hands-on, experiential learning at all levels. Meeting the diverse learning styles will effectively promote and enhance student mastery. In addition to the outdoor weather station, a large mural depicting the water cycle will be painted on a hallway wall inside the school. There will also be a large compass rose painted at the base of the flagpole at the front of the school.
Brenda Castle / 8 Twin Springs HS	Technology & Energy United The students will investigate and build a solar powered charger for various common technological devices. The building of the solar powered charger will provide students with principals of physical and chemical science. The students will use materials that will be constructed into a working solar powered device that will charge iPods and cell phones. This project will be done by approximately 60 eighth grade students, including inclusive students. The students will be meeting objectives that will allow the students to investigate forms of energy, heat transfer while applying technological design from the ground up. This grant request incorporates technology, physical science and environmental aspects. Inquiry based learning provides the student with the opportunity to apply critical thinking skills that will equip them to be successively in the future. This project allows students to use their imagination while applying scientific concepts.
Tab Vestal / 8-12 Sullivan North HS	Rocket Propulsion Design Lab This project is designed to allow students to conduct research, then design and evaluate water rocket nozzles in order to select the optimum design for thrust. Students will conduct scientific investigations concerning a number of variables involved in the design including nozzle width, nozzle length, and length and placement of restrictor sections. Students will construct multiple nozzle configurations, then evaluate these designs as well as various water/air ratios and pressures. Static testing will take place on a stationary live-fire test bed utilizing a strain-gauge system and electronic data collection to record thrust magnitude as it varies over time. Eighth grade students will graph the data and analyze the graphs while Calculus students will calculate the area under the thrust curves to compare total thrust. A high speed video camera will assist in analysis of the exhaust profiles which students will compare to thrust curves, and later to the rocket altitude performances. The most promising designs will be flight tested. Students will measure the angle of the maximum altitude of each flight using dual clinometers to minimize error and calculate the altitudes using Geometry. Digital flight videos will be downloaded and analyzed for velocity and acceleration using Vernier Logger Pro software. These experiments will involve students in 8th grade Science, 8th grade Math, Honors Physical Science, Calculus, Technology Engineering and Vocational Arts (for test stand design and construction).