A link from Fairchild Gardens on Plant Extracts...Let Students design Experiments getting Ideas from this Ethnobotany Teaching Module

Here is a link from Fairchild Gardens on Plant Extracts...Let Students design Experiments getting Ideas from Fairchild Gardens' Ethnobotany Teaching Module.
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/uploads/docs/Education/Downloadable_teaching_modules/ethnobotany/plant%20tinctures%20and%20extracts.pdf
A quote from the module suggests that plants might have antibacterial properties:


"Pl[ant]- Antibiotics:                        
Does your Plant [h]ave                    
Anti-[b]acterial Properties?          

"In this experiment we will find out if your plant extract has the ability to kill the bacteria that turns milk into yogurt (like Lactobacillus acidophilus and/or L. bifidus).  These helpful bacteria enhance digestion and are good for you.  If your plant is able to kill or inhibit the growth of these bacteria, there is a possibility that it may also be effective in controlling harmful pathogenic bacteria.  If so, your plant might be a candidate for further research as a potential antibiotic drug for the future. "

Rather than just going ahead with the module,which is adapted from Paye, Gabriell DeBear, 2000. Cultural Uses of Plants: a guide to learning about ethnobotany. New York Botanical Garden Press, New York, first let students brainstorm.  Let them exercise their brains.

·  Students might reflect on what bacteria cause milk to turn to yogurt

   or other cheeses.

·  What bacteria are in their yogurts?  Does yours have Lactobacillus rhamnosis?

·  Would different bacteria react differently?

·  And so on...  

·  Put down all ideas, even if they seem impossible or tangential.

You might then continue with the module, or, let them design experiments.  Review important parts of experimental design.  Remind them of controls, replication, repeatability.  Ask, "What are the parts of an experimental design?"  Ask, "What type of data will you collect?"


Let students create blank data tables for collecting data.  Let them write out their designs, share them.  Let each student select what he or she feels is the best experimental design.  Remind them of the difference between a laboratory activity and a laboratory experiment.

Decide then if they are going to continue with the module.  You may decide to do that, or, you may prefer to do one or more of the student designs, or, you may wish to do the module and the student-designed experiments, of course paying attention to safety and budget, just like in real-world science.  Remind students of government funding for science.  Ask what kinds of research government should fund. 

· Additional reading:

 The United States, under John Kennedy and Japan, under Emperor Hirohito

"[H]is interest in science and in modernizing his country,"  http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b3hirohito.htm), Accessed July 7, 2012.)

(c)2012 J S Shipman

Helping students to design experiments

A student might be interested in an article from the newspaper or a digitized article like this one: http://www.realage.com/tips/have-your-blueberries-this-way-its-better. That interest in the news or digital article can be steered into an excitement for science.

The example states:

... a recent study revealed that combining blueberries and milk in the same meal could block your body's absorption of the antioxidant goodness in the berries.

The example also posts the original source:

References

Published on 03/01/2010

Antioxidant activity of blueberry fruit is impaired by association with milk. Serafini, M. et al., Free Radical Biology & Medicine 2009 Mar 15;46(6):769-774.

[Note: Not all articles post the original source (though ethics says they should), but, you can use Reach Reading TM skills to help a student find original sources on the same material.]

Now, the student might come in bursting with questions...

What if I eat my blueberries with cream, yogurt, or cheese? What about raspberries? Does milk affect the absorption of antioxidents from raspberries?

If the student doesn't have such questions, but, is interested in the article, you might steer him or her to wonder...to formulate such questions.

Such curiosity is the beginning of experimental design when one thinks like a scientist. What is the next step?

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If you said formulate a hypothesis, or something similar. That's good. But suppose the student said, "Let's have a yogurt (or, even better...blueberries) snack," as long as you took the snack out of the lab, or washed the whole lab and everyone washed his or her hands, too (safety first), then...it could come under the guise of preliminary research. Hmm! Remember, science is supposed to be fun (or we'd have no scientists...). Also, eating the yogurt will give time for discussion, and other students might come up with other hypotheses.

I want to test carrots?
Is this why my parents say, "don't eat spinach and milk at the same time?"

and other questions---soon to be hypotheses. Can you feel the excitement catching on? Students might not have thought about chemicals in their foods before (Oh, yes, all matter is made of atoms...Here is a, "teachable moment:" not all chemicals are bad.)

More coming....

Other students might branch out and get ideas for experimental design on health and beauty issues, for example, this link: Skin Care Information, Research and Reviews. Look at all the chemistry he or she could get in just a couple of clicks (Don't forget, biologists (from botanists to cell biologists , skin biologists to ...) use a lot of chemistry, and for that matter, physics):

Hyaluronic acid is synthesized by the enzymes called hyaluronan synthases. Humans have at least three types of hyaluronic acid synthases: HAS1, HAS2, and HAS3. HAS1 and HAS2 synthases produce high molecular weight HA whereas HAS3 produces low molecular weight HA. Hyaluronic acid is degraded by the enzymes called hyaluronidases, of which there also appear to be several types

Source: http://www.smartskincare.com/skinbiology/skinbiology_hyaluronic-acid.html; Accessed 2-29-2010.

What is the end result the student would expect from a design?

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Did you say:

Gather background information and write it up?
Form a hypothesis?
Create a protocol...what you will do (steps)...what will you use?
Create a table for collecting the data you expect to collect?
Keep track of sources you used?

or, something like that?


Okay so, how do they get there?

You can throw out the open-ended question of how much it would cost to do the experiment they have designed. Remind students of funding and the tax-connection. Is the experiment worth doing? Why or why not? Is the design sound? Is there a control planned? Has a thorough literature search been done? Do we already know the answer?

Ah! That last question is very important for funding,

Do we already know the answer?

Another important concept to convey is,

What if we get the opposite of what our hypothesis predicted, do we fail the experiment?

This question, too, is important for funding.

Can you think how?

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Here's a blueberries video while you think:


Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVyrv47m2ck; Accessed March, 1, 2010.

(c) 2010 J S Shipman. All rights reserved.

Please note copyright on blog applies to all posts. Please cite any articles, even if you paraphrase.

Science Fair Ideas--Youth Science Projects

http://www.ehow.co.uk/way_5745928_easy-8th-grade-science-fair.html is a link to some science fair ideas.

Read these ideas while thinking of experimental design and laboratory report format. At any grade level, you can compare and contrast control(s) to experimental(s), for example.

How will you collect the data? Have you prepared a blank table to write your observations in? Are you keeping a notebook of all experimental details?

How can you take ideas for science fair projects and turn them into well-designed experiments, rather than "laboratory activities?" What do you think?


Other posts on www.read-about-it.blogspot.com may be useful. You can put, "science fair," in the search bar of this blog and scroll down through the resulting list, or click on link(s) below (and scroll if necessary):
http://read-about-it.blogspot.com/search?q=science+fair
http://read-about-it.blogspot.com/2009/10/from-pumpkins-to-science.html
Added: 2-24-2010:
http://us.peeplo.com/search/?q=all%20science%20fair%20projects&type=web&from=adg8

Pour some Milk in each of Two Saucers

Pour some Milk in each of Two Saucers
And keep a group of children (or adults) busy all afternoon
by Dr-J

We all know about milk.. It's white, It has calcium. You drink it. Children will come up with more ideas about milk than grown-ups, often. So, you put out two saucers (Paper cake plates work fine.) and pour the milk. Then what? Discuss the milk, and , then?

Take some food coloring, pretending the saucer is an analog clock face, drop a drop at 12, 3, 6 and 9. Do not stir. Don't even move it. And, please don't shake the table.

Okay, so the milk sits there. And the colors sit there, though, they do spread out a tiny bit. Now, take just one drop of an effective dish detergent (I use Dawn or Palmolive) and drop it in the center. Light show... I won't tell you what happens you have to watch.

The key to staying busy is to come up with a hypothesis or educated guess as to why what happens happens. Of course, you can search the web...but my experience is that you come up with the wrong answer, even from sites describing this activity.

So, let's make it a real experiment...what hypotheses did you have? The fat content? The calcium? Diffusion? There must be magnets somewhere? Oh, great, we have hypotheses. How can we test them? How can we make an experiment. You see for our first experiment, the plain milk saucer just sat there. And, we can compare the saucer with the milk and colors and detergent to it. But, it isn't identical except for one factor because two factors are different: colors and detergent. So how can we set up a controlled experiment where we check only one factor.

You think it's fat? How can you check? I have done a series of these tests and so, I know now. But for you to know, trust me, you can't just read it on the internet. I did find one correct answer out of about 6000 I found on the topic.

The point is, you are doing science because you don't know. And, when you are doing science, that's when it's fun. Of course you have to be confident that your ideas are good...as good as anyone's, and, you have to think about what you are doing and why. You have another hypothesis? What is it? Oh, you think it is because of the acid. Hmm. What acid is in milk? Do you know other household acids? Oh, lemon juice...yes, yes. I see, vinegar. Do they have anything in common with milk?

How many saucers do you have out now?

(c)2007 J S. Shipman
See also: http://www.thisisby.us/pour_some_milk_in_each_of_two_saucers

Pour some Milk in each of Two Saucers
And keep a group of children (or adults) busy all afternoon

Enjoy!!!



(c)2007 J. S. Shipman

Update 1 Oct 2012:
Here is a link to a video that might be used by students to think about what is happening in the science activity and experiments discussed in this blogpost:
http://evl.vcsd.k12.ny.us/safevideos/Video.aspx?id=VGoJuLX3BQQ (Paper clips floating Scott Thompson, Wisconsin Public School System, and, ExpertVillage.com (Source:  http://evl.vcsd.k12.ny.us/safevideos/ Video.aspx?id=VGoJuLX3BQQ, Accessed 1 Oct 2012)).  Can you think about how it might be related?

(c)2012 J S Shipman