STEPS’ education team reaches 130,000 students this year with phosphorus sustainability message
The STEPS’ Education Research team, led by NC State University Distinguished Professor of Science Education Dr. Gail Jones, has completed a highlight year. This team conducts research on student learning and experiences, such as in a convergence research center like STEPS, along with educational outreach. STEPS’ outreach includes middle school and high school teachers, as well as other educators and the general public.
Outreach with Pre-College Teachers, Students, and the Public
This year’s outreach efforts have led to an estimated 130,000 students learning about phosphorus sustainability through activities for teachers developed by our Education team. Our outreach takes many forms, including teacher workshops, instructional material development, Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program, and more.
Our Education team hosted many events throughout the year through teacher workshops and classroom learning opportunities. STEPS hosted teacher workshops at state and national science teacher conferences to educate teachers on phosphorus sustainability. One presentation at the NC Science Teachers’ Association had teachers experience the “Great Escape Box Challenge” to uncover the cause of a wastewater plant failure.
Additionally, STEPS leveraged slots in the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program that Dr. Jones co-directs. The RET program has had lasting impacts on North Carolina teachers. Jose Acosta, a Cumberland County physical science and AP-Physics teacher, worked in the program for the last two years. During his time, he worked with our director, Dr. Jacob Jones, detecting phosphorus in wastewater. Alongside Gail Jones, he created a lesson plan from what he learned in the lab. In his classroom, his students created TED-like presentations on creating a technology or product that could detect and retain wastewater as part of their final grade. Acosta followed his passion for science education into a PhD program in science education!
Instructional Material Development
The team developed 11 new precollege activities and piloted the activities with teachers. The activities are available to STEPS researchers and the public on our website. One new and engaging activity is “Too Much of a Good Thing?”. In this activity, students analyze well water data to determine the causes of phosphorus plume in an area that caused a devastating fish kill. In another activity, the “Office of Phosphorus” introduces students to the governance challenges of phosphorus management at local, state and federal levels. The team also developed the interactive “Great Escape Box Challenge” this year with assistance from STEPS PI Dr. Doug Call. Students work to uncover the cause of a failure at a wastewater treatment plant through locating hints, analyzing data, and piecing together clues, using problem solving skills in an intellectually stimulating environment.
Our Education Team’s Award-Winning Year
The innovative work by our Education team was honored several times this year. The Tangible Landscape activity received the Freilich Student Visualization Award at this year’s American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference. This table top activity, supported by an overland flow model, allows users to gain hands-on exposure with runoff mitigation strategies. Scholar Amber Meeks soon after defended her dissertation for which she studied the tangible landscape, “The Efficacy of Tangible Augmented Reality as a Tool for Teaching Phosphate Sustainability,” to earn her doctorate in Education from NC State University.
Gail Jones was also named a National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Program Fellow. This program recognizes outstanding contributors to research in the field of science education.
