During the semester, you will be responsible for 4 Instructor Generated Discovery Labs. Each student will write an individual lab report for each instructor generated lab. Each lab will require a two-three page, type written, double-spaced report due on the appropriate dates listed on the syllabus. Assistance on the format can be obtained from the Peer Science Center, the Writing Center, or your instructors. The format listed below is recommended.

No assignments will be accepted by the instructors past any deadline.

1. Introduction (a paragraph or two)

• Purpose/Problem
• What did you think you would accomplish?
• Brief background information
• Relevance, if any

2. Materials and Methods (brief and to the point)

• Describe important materials and how they are used in an exercise or experiment
• Describe Methods, when appropriate

3. Results (no more-no less)

• Observations
• Tables (numerical data) and figures (graphs, drawings, etc.) when appropriate

4. Questions

• Answer the questions which appear at the end of the exercise.

5. Discussion (parsimony as well as an aesthetic response is expected)

• Interpret your results, explaining why you got the results you did
• Think beyond the project. What additional questions do you have?
• What suggestions do you have for further investigation?

In the spirit of discovery-oriented science, a segment of the NS I labs will be devoted to allowing students to ask their own questions, design methods, write their own text, run their own lab, analyze the data, and present the results.

We will use the Western Duck Pond, the woods behind Peabody, and a site in Pfeffer park as model aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Each lab will be divided into four teaching groups. As an out-of-class assignment, each group will choose a question about natural patterns and/or processes at one of the sites, research literature relevant to their question, decide the best way to address the question given available time and resources, and write a laboratory. These laboratories will be collected and distributed for a peer review and discussion to take place the following week. The revised version of each Student-Generated Lab will be bound and titled the Discovery Lab Manual. This is the lab manual we will use for all subsequent labs. The authors of each lab will be responsible for teaching. They will need to provide data sheets and introductory material, oversee fellow students to make sure the procedures are executed properly, and make adjustments for unexpected events.

So, every student group can count on having, for one day, their entire lab section assisting them to gather data on their question of interest. Class time is valuable--students conducting labs are responsible for using their classmates' time effectively (e.g. steps should be taken before the lab to make certain the methods are feasible and efficient). Authors of each lab will then enter the data into a computer database, analyze the data statistically, interpret the results and, towards the end of the semester, give a presentation about the findings and turn in a final write-up.

Student groups interested in related questions are encouraged to share their findings to add new dimensions to their research. For example, a group investigating the spatial distribution of black oaks in Pfeffer park may benefit from a group working on soil nutrients, or from a group characterizing the topography of the study area. A grid may be established for the Duck Pond and Pfeffer park so that all the results can be related to a common, geographically referenced, database. This will facilitate groups who want to share data in a meaningful way.

The student-generated database will be continued from year to year, which will allow future classes access to previously collected data to augment their research interests. The result will be an evolving "Natural Science Database," which will provide the basis for progressively more in-depth and sophisticated analyses of the model aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. A student from the class of 1998, for example, may use the "Natural Science Database" to examine yearly changes in the pH of the duck pond as part of an investigation on acid rain. Peer Science tutors will assist student groups in formating their data for the Natural Science Database. A copy of the Discovery Lab Manual will be placed in the library so future classes can become familiar with what has gone before. For those students who wish to research Western Pond, here are maps of the pond's local watershed and bathymetry .

The Julia Rothermel Center for Science Inquiry

New to the Western Program is a Center for Science Discovery staffed by upperclass students with strong commitments to science. The overall goal of the center is to: 1) serve as an important resource for students thinking through research or pursuing independent investigations, 2) provide a living link between the Natural Science Database and ongoing student investigations, and 3) serve as a central hub for scientific equipment and supplies.

Each student group will work closely with an upperclass science tutor, who will provide advice and help coordinate data.

Points to Consider:

• Material Resources. One of the major challenges in science is to address important questions within the constraints of limited time and equipment. Much can be learned using basic field equipment. A little creativity can go a long way towards designing tools that will be useful in gathering data on any particular question. A list of research equipment available in Boyd Hall will be handed out in class. Also, a (very modest) budget will be available to each group for additional materials (e. g. rope, screen, nails, etc.). Students should consult with course instructors about any specialized equipment they might need.
• Human Resources. In addition to the time each student teaching group spends on their lab project outside of class, each group can count on having one lab devoted to the question they want to investigate, which amounts to about 42 work-hours in class. Teaching groups should set aside 10 to 20 minutes of their lab to orient fellow students about the question(s) being investigated, and the specific procedures to be used (i. e. elaborate on what has been written in the Discovery Lab Manual). If a group wants the class to quantify aquatic insects in the Duck pond, for example, they will need to provide a simple key to identifying commonly encountered insects and instruct the class on how to use the key.
• Research Design and Analysis. It is surprisingly easy to collect data that, while seeming to address the question at hand, is fairly useless scientifically. The best way to avoid problems in research design and analysis is to spend the time in the initial stages of the investigation to think the project through as a whole. Procedures for analyzing data should be determined before the methods are written, not after the results have been obtained. It should also be remembered that most or all of the data will be entered into a computer for analysis. A well designed data sheet, one in which data is collected in a form that can be directly transferred to the computer, can save a great deal of time and frustration during the analysis phase of the project. Some principles of research design and analysis will be covered in class prior to the student generated labs.

  

  Avoid Cheesy Science!

WEB FORUM FOR THE NATURAL SYTEMS DISCOVERY PROJECTS: Visit Research Entry by week 4 to put your project ideas, etc. on the web. We will work together online. Students and instructors will provide ideas and critiques as the projects develop. You will also post Progrees Reports as the semester moves along.

Interested in this year's nature hike? Here is a Quicktime Slideshow of the 2002 walk.