Experiment Ideas: Plant Pigments Link (USA to Japan to USA again...)

An excellent way to learn science is by being a scientist as you learn. That means participating in the process of science. People are moving away from the idea of "scientific method" because (to some) the idea didn't convey well enough that the method consists of several processes and that these processes are exciting. Whatever skills you have, the process of science can use them...art, music, attention to detail, observation, writing, perseverance, ...many, many skills lead to well done science. The idea is to try some experiments. Plant pigments provide an opportunity for such investigation.

I clicked on the link in the left hand column for the Japanese-based Society for Practical Education in Biology (http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/jissen/english.htm), which you can find on this blog, and landed here: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/pigments.html back in the USA at Berkeley. That activity is what led to this exercise in the study of plant pigments. The internet can be an aid to your research, but, you still need to think deeply about what you find. For example, the Berkeley site gives a lot of information and is a great starting place. Let's see what you can do to become a self-directed learner from there. Pick out ways of learning that support your developing an interest in your studies. As you learn, step up to higher order thinking, which will keep you motivated and interested. Use your talents. For example, if you are a theater buff, use the plant pigments to suggest colorful costumes, or, create a play about plant pigments. A math whiz? What do wave lengths of light have to do with the pigments. Maybe you just love science labs. How could you extract the plant pigments? Could you use them for another chemical process? Art? Help convey the results you get in a beautiful way. Let's get started.

Take a look at the information on plant pigments and see what questions come to mind. What experiments does it make you think about? Post a comment if you have any questions.

Much of the information is definitions. Can you describe the words? Do you recall them when you close your eyes? Could you label chemical structures of the pigments with the right name? Great. These are Knowledge-based skills...Skills of remembering. You might also gather information you didn't know before:

The development of the most brilliant red coloring of
 autumn is commonly ascribed to the action of frost.
This explanation is probably incorrect, for careful
observation indicates that the color is most intense
when a moderately low temperature is accompanied by
bright sunshine. In warm, cloudy autumns the colors
are more likely to be dull, with the yellows predominant.
In other seasons, when cold weather is delayed, autumn
coloration may be brilliant and near its climax before
the first frost occurs.  That sunlight is important in
the development of the red pigment in many plants may
be shown also by an examination of a leaf that has been
closely shaded by another. The pigment stops so abruptly
where the shade begins that a perfect print of the upper-
most leaf results. An abundance of nitrogen in the soil
prevents anthocyan[an] formation in some plants. This
fact may explain in part the greater brilliancy of colors
seen on hillsides and river bluffs than on adjoining
floodplains.
Source: GENERAL BOTANY: NEW-WORLD SCIENCE SERIES
Edited by John W. Ritchie http://www.archive.org/stream/
generalbotanyint00tran/generalbotanyint00tran_djvu.txt
Accessed 10-29-08  See also:  http://www.archive.org/
details/generalbotanyint00tran

Can you paraphrase the definitions? (The word paraphrase means to say, or write the information in your own words.) Paraphrasing shows comprehension or understanding. Other skills that show comprehension or understanding include: matching, giving examples, interpreting, summarizing, classifying, illustrating and explaining. Inferring, rewriting, and distinguishing are other ways of thinking about plant pigments that show comprehension. Can you organize information that you read so you can remember it?

Application (Applying) is another step up the thinking skills ladder. If you are using the HOT Skills Wheel TM, you can see that you've moved to another section. When you can apply the knowledge that you've learned, you can dramatize it, use it, solve with it, and, produce with it, for example.

Analysis is another form of higher order thinking that you can apply to your study of plant pigments. Compare, analyze, distinguish, infer, analyze, classify, differentiate, point out, subdivide, survey. Think more deeply! What can you infer from the colors of leaves and fruits? Can you differentiate among different plant pigments? How? (Add your own questions and responses. Keep track in your lab book or journal.).

Synthesis, or "creating" includes verbs like: compose, design, produce, organize, originate, combine, plan, hypothesize, role play, create, develop, construct, invent. Can you make a hypothesis and design an experiment to test out your ideas on plant pigments? If so, you are thinking well. Congratulate yourself. If not, learn by doing: try to create a hypothesis to test and then, after checking with an adult and having supervision, do the experiment. You need to check for safety reasons and for budget. Just like real scientists (which you are), you will have safety, space and budget constraints. But don't worry, you can come up with other ideas that fit the constraints and challenges you run in to. Meeting such challenges makes science fun.

Analyze your data and then, evaluate it. Judge whether your experimental design was good as you did it, or , if you would like to modify and repeat your experiment. Do your experimental results support community policies? Can you summarize your experiment into an abstract? Have you considered various ways of looking at the data you collected? Did you critique your own experimental design and experiment? Evaluation is a type of higher order thinking. Again, congratulations.

As you reflect on plant pigments, go back and re-use any of the higher order thinking skills. Use these skills again, as needed to achieve your goals.

Try communicating with other scientists, such as Philipp Simon, or, me, about your questions. You can find some results of Philipp Simon's experiments at: http://www.hort.wisc.edu/usdavcru/simon/publications/97hort0012.html

Try out the Berkeley link. Do some experiments and then publish the results here or in a journal. Let us know where you have published.
Good luck, good science, and, great thinking!

Additional reading:
Aluminum/aluminium and plant pigments
Autumn leaves and pigments
Blueberry pigments used to make solar panels

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0968-0004(01)02034-5
(c) 2008 J. S. Shipman

Like to breathe?

Did you know plants help you breathe? How do they do that? The process of photosynthesis helps cycle oxygen through the environment so that we can use it to breathe. You may have heard about that process before. But to understand this process, perhaps you can design a few experiments and with the help of a parent or other mentor, you can figure out what happens in photosynthesis. Plants do many more things than that, but often, people barely see them. For example, people describe a picture of a bee or an elephant, but, in each case, they do not describe the plants. Similarly, people talk about dinosaurs but ignore the plants they had eaten. Not all people, of course, but many.

Today scientist-educators from all over the world, joined the many Canadian and American plant societies at Botany 2008 to discuss the direction of botany in science education. They discussed botanical education, past, present and future, focusing on the direction education will take. Government recommendations and educational standards were also discussed in light of current educational practices in the sciences.

If you are interested in teacher training at your school, or at a scientific meeting, where you can add botanical inquiries, and concurrently teach the required standards, to your teaching repertoire, please send an e-mail to shipmanjs@gmail.com and put Botany 08 in the reference line.

One can use inquiry to find out so many things about plants. Be sure to let us know what experiments you are planning, J

Fungi offer Unique Opportunities

The Plenary Session of Botany 2008, the international botany conference currently going on in Vancouver, BC, Canada, was filled with excitement. Dr. Paul Stamets gave the talk, science highlighted with his personal flair.

The audience continued to talk about the great ideas he presented at a social event where science ideas get exchanged rapidly in a fun way. Many discussions continued long into the night, so stimulated by Dr. Stamets' presentation.

Go to his abstract or read his works, Mycelium Running, for example. You will learn about fungi that offer unique opportunities.

A problem with ants? No problem. Too many toxic wastes? No problem. Oil spill? What do human hair and fungi have to do with cleaning that up? If you aren't excited yet, you really need to read Stamets. He is giving you ways to save the world and reduce ecological disaster. It's time to step up to the plate. (And if you'd like to contribute to the cause, contact him directly. His work is soooooooo great, you might like to donate a few pennies or a few million to the the ten million dollars needed for starters...but in the meantime, you can see what is available now and you can plant a forest destined to become an old growth forest!) Imagine all your descendants walking through the forest you planted. And, oh yes, you might just find a few tips on how to make your garden grow or how to survive the bird flu pandemic.

Mushroom Books

Mushroom Cultivation Texts, Identification Guides & More...

Higher Order Thinking Workshop a Success

If you are a school teacher or are concerned at all about science education and you were near Vancouver, I hope you attended. Dr. J S. Shipman led a dynamic group of scientists and educators through activities leading to exciting science lessons...Lessons where students learn, under guidance, how to direct there own science learning. Why is that so important? Because during your lifetime, the world changes and keeping up with new developments in science, or even finding them yourself, can lead to your survival.
. . . TM
An updated version of Bloom's Taxonomy applied in a new way, the H.O.T. Skills Wheel is key to building student confidence in their own ability to think deeply about and be creative in sciences like botany and ecology.
. . . TM
Trying Shipman's H.O.T. Skills Wheel will lead to independent learners who can become great global citizens. Read more here. Contact Dr. Shipman through the, "Read more here," link and then clicking Dr. J's name at that link if you would like to find out more. You can send an e-mail.

Via the internet, participants were also able to connect with the ideas of Dr. Suzanne Kapelari. They had opportunities to try out Plants Cafe, too.

Writing from Vancouver, BC, Canada

July 26 2008
Botany 2008 is underway beginning with workshops and field trips. Updates will be posted as the conference continues.

A Program of Assisted Migration—selectively moving Certain Species to New Locations better suited to their Survival

Here's a topic to think about. Use higher order thinking skills, stepping through the six levels as you explore this topic. Write about what you find out. Don't forget to cite your sources.

Source: In the news---Today (left hand column)

In the News provided by The Free Dictionary

Teachers can come to the International Conference!

Teachers are welcome to attend the Botanical Society of America Conferences.

Teachers get a special (affordable) rate for the conference. Perhaps your school will sponsor you. Information on dates of the next two conferences is shown below. however, you can get much more detail at the BSA website: http://www.botany.org/conferences/

BOTANY 2008 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 26 - 30, 2008, Joint meeting with the Canadian Botanical Association-L'Association Botanique du Canada, American Fern Society and American Society of Plant Taxonomists

Note that the H.O.T. Skills Wheel Workshop will be held on Sunday at the conference. There are still a few openings if you would like to attend.

Botany 2009 - Snowbird, Utah, July 25 - 30, Joint meeting with the Mycological Society of America, ABLS, AFS, and ASPT