An Experimental View of Freshwater Invertebrates
 |
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION Equipment has been developed to allow a detailed exploration of the behaviour of freshwater invertebrates and effects of environment upon this, involving students of technology as well as of life science. |
AREAS OF
SCIENCE Astronomy Chemistry Computing Engineering / Technology Environment Interdisciplinary Life Science / Medicine Physics |
WHERE School Other institution Field / Expedition WHEN In curriculum Extra curricular Work experience |
SCHOOL
TYPE Primary Secondary to 16 Post 16 Independent Maintained Sixth Form College Further Education |
| PROJECT ORGANISERS
Dr Nigel Collins and Mrs Kathy Deakin, Life Science, and Mr Peter Frizzell, Technology, King Charles I School, Kidderminster. Professor Geoffrey Fryer FRS, University of Lancaster, advises. |
Project Participants
Various teams of students, most usually in Year 10 upwards but especially in Year 12, participate in the project in a variety of ways, sometimes inside the curriculum, sometimes outside. A Level Biologists (and sometimes Technologists) who become involved are encouraged to spend some of their private study period on the project. Extra curricular activity includes sampling in holidays.
Science Programme
The main aim is to give as many children as possible some experience of science in action through the medium of a detailed experimental examination of freshwater invertebrates. Organisms studied include greater waterboatmen, acanthocephalan parasites of the freshwater shrimp and net-spinning caddis fly larvae. Some of the short-term projects are serendipitous in their origins. Others have involved the long-term development of facilities and expertise.
The group started with critical observations of growth and population dynamics of waterboatpeople in a large artificial pond and moved on into flowing water as they worked on the freshwater invertebrate option (and until recently, the applied ecology-freshwater pollution option, at A Level with JMB/NEAB).
|
Current projects include: the effects of lead on net-spinning ability in larvae of the caseless caddis Hydropsyche sp., (this project has now been extended, to involve Dr Julian Sutton at King Edward VI College, Totnes and his students) and the effect of temperature on the rate of development of overwintering eggs of waterboatpeople.
Personal Development
Participants in all projects will experience something of how progress is made in science, something that they are unlikely to experience directly within the normal curriculum. Great value is placed on teamwork. On various occasions projects have been placed in the view of the public and students have broadened greatly their skills of presentation and communication. In 1992 four students presented their work on parasitism of freshwater shrimps and on net-spinning caddis larvae, along with stream and net-spinning occupants, at the Royal Society summer soiree and featured also on Science Now. Another four students, working in part with scientists from the National Rivers Authority at the school's 24 hour sampling program on a local stream during BIO CAMP, collated their results with those from earlier camps and presented their report to The Environmental Research Fund competition judges, both scientists and industrialists, at the headquarters of Hoechst Ltd, near Heathrow, winning £250 to support further projects. The project on the effect of lead on net-spinning in caddis fly has reached the Lucas Science Challenge finals twice, at the spring BAYSDay at the Science Museum.
Outcomes
Some but not all students involved with the project have gone on to higher education in science/biology. Many students have found their involvement becomes a talking point during the procedures for university entrance. Most of the scientific research activities of the Life Sciences Department are visible to other students at the school. Whilst clearly not all of them can take part in the research, films and data are used in routine teaching. Such materials are brought alive as students view and work on them, because they know their origins.
Project Origin
Nigel Collins entered teaching after 10 years research with the Natural Environment Research Council (British Antarctic Survey/Institute of Terrestrial Ecology). Coming from this background to the teaching of Biology in a secondary school (which was when he first heard of the so called 'scientific method'!) he soon found himself involving children in extended projects, especially in CSE, and latterly in GCSE Rural Science, and then moved on to develop extra curricular research activities outside formal assessment schemes. Teaching in the same school for the last 14 years has facilitated the development of extensive contacts with the world outside school and made possible the development of extensive facilities within the school. The first project involving water boatmen arose by chance when an old concrete-lined school pond ceased to be drained and scrubbed each year; during the following summer there was a population explosion of the organism.
During discussions of the results from this study with Professor Fryer, at that time working with the Freshwater Biological Association at Windermere, Dr Collins heard of the Scientific Research in Schools Scheme and subsequent recognition and financial support followed. Thereafter, whilst some activities have been planned deliberately, encounters with many animals have arisen by chance and then been exploited wherever opportunity, time and resourcing allows.
Resources
- Funds are obtained through the Scientific Research in Schools Scheme, as well as at various times by the ICI/ASE Curriculum Development Fund and prizes won through the work of students. The project has never drawn on normal school capitation grants.
- The project has received support in equipment grants from the King Charles I School Foundation Trustees and from a local educational trust, the Sebrights Educational Foundation.
- Various pieces of equipment have been secured by a policy of 'sustained scrounging', including the temperature controller from British Aerospace's Royal Ordnance Factory in Kidderminster.
Contact
Dr Nigel Collins, Life Science Department, King Charles I School,
Kidderminster DY10 1XA.
Tel: +44 (0) 1562 60198/753964.
The artificial stream system is available for research and filming use.
 Previous page... |
 Index... |
 Home... |
