Applying the Scientific Method in Your Community

The Northwest Center for Research on Women selected female graduate research scientists from the University of Washington as instructors and curriculum writers for the Girl's Summer Science Camp in 1996. The reasons behind this decision were two-fold. We believed that practicing scientists can most closely communicate the excitement of conducting research and we wanted to provide an opportunity for graduate students in science to learn more about science education and apply these ideas in teaching high school students. Although the move to an "inquiry-based" science curriculum is popular in current education reform efforts in grades K-12, graduate researchers still have little opportunity in higher education to experience and practice this approach to teaching.
The four graduate students (Creagh Bruener, Lupe Garcia, Scottie Henderson, and Kathryn Kelsey) met with Janice Fournier, an education reform specialist, for two hours every other week during the five months leading up to the camp. Their task was to reflect on their own research and experiences in science, decide what was most exciting and essential to teach to girls, and develop a curriculum that actively engaged students in "doing" science.
The Long-Term Research Project
One unique component of the Rural Girls in Science Program is its Long-Term Research Project (LTRP). Following the camp, participating girls from each school, with assistance from their teachers and counselors, conducted a scientific research project in their home community during the school year. The girls presented the results of their research at a meeting in the spring of the year.
In order to adequately prepare girls for this project and equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to carry it out, a "mini-version" of the LTRP was conducted during the camp. In what came to be known as the "two-week project," girls met each morning to design and conduct original research. Each of the four instructors represented a general area of investigation: vegetation, vertebrates, invertebrates, and water quality. Girls selected a first and second choice and were then grouped according to their interests, with approximately eight girls in each group. On the first day of camp, each group visited selected "research sites" in Seattle to take notes and brainstorm possible resesarch questions. The following days were spent gathering more information (in some cases calling in experts to consult); designing a research plan; collecting data; analyzing data and drawing conclusions; and finally, presenting their research to teachers, counselors and other community members at the end of the two weeks. The girls worked cooperatively and worked for consensus on all decisions.
The Scientific Method: A Model for Conducting Scientific Research:
The Model was created for use in both the two-week and long-term research projects. The instructors along with the education reform specialist worked on designing a model that defined specific steps in the research process and clearly articulated the questions involved at each step.
Instructor Biographies
Creagh Bruener: I am a graduate student in my fourth year at the University of Washington. I am doing my Ph.D. in the area of endrocrinology and behavior in wild birds (NOTE: Creagh can now be called Dr. Bruener and she has left the UW to work at a post-doctoral position in Arizona). Specifically, I am interested in how corticosterone (the hormone released during stress) changes behavior, where corticosterone acts in the brain, what types of proteins (receptors) it binds to, and how quickly these hormone-receptor complexes cause the behavioral changes that we see. I hope to get a teaching position at a small liberal arts college where I can continue a research program that is accessible to undergraduates at the institution.
Lupe Garcia: As a graduate student in my third year at the University of Washington, I am doing my research in embryology on the development of multicellular organisms. I am interested in the key role of cell movement in particular, in establishing the multilayer body plan of all organisms. I love to teach and do research. I plan to continue to be involved in outreach programs that allow me to give back to the community and help make science more accessible.
Scottie Henderson: I am a third year zoology student at the University of Washington. My Ph.D. work is in the field of Marine Biology. I study how marine invertebrates (for example, sand dollars, sea urchins, and starfish) develop, grow, and reproduce. I plan on teaching and performing research at a small college. I want to be active in mentoring women and other minorities in education and research.
Kathryn Kelsey: I am a postdoctoral research associate in wildlife science at the University of Washington. I completed my Ph.D. in 1995 after investigating the responses of tailed frog tadpoles and Pacific giant salamander larvae to clearcutting along streams in western Washington. I discovered that even when a bufferstrip of trees was left along a stream when the rest of the area was clearcut, the density of tadpoles was less than in control streams that had not been clearcut. Currently, I am working on a bigger project investigating how small mammals, breeding birds, bats, and terrestrial amphibians respond to clearcutting along a stream when bufferstrips are left. All of this work involves lots of time out in the woods, in the lab examining animals, and in front of the computer. It is very exciting to be part of a project that has the potential of providing important information to timberland managers. I also try to include as many undergraduates and high school students as possible in my research so they can experience the excitement of scientific discovery.