VANCOUVER, Wash. – For those tired of science fairs riddled with foaming volcanoes and half-sprouted bean plants, the scientific work of Cascade Middle School students participating in the Partners in Discovery of the Columbia River Watershed GK-12 Project comes as a welcome divergence with real-world implications. Testing the relationship between different kinds of land use and water quality at Burnt Bridge Creek, the Cascade Middle School students’ study will be one of many innovative GK-12 projects showcased from 6 - 8 p.m. May 23 in the Firstenburg Student Commons at Washington State University Vancouver. This event is free and open to the public. Parking is free.
Cascade Middle School is one of nine schools from Battle Ground, Camas, La Center and Vancouver to participate and showcase student work from the Partners in Discovery GK-12 project. The project, "Global Change in a Local Context," develops and supports learning environments where sixth – ninth grade teachers and students partner with 91ԹϺ graduate student scientists to investigate the implications of growth and change on the Columbia River and its watershed.
By pairing middle school classrooms with graduate students, Partners in Discovery aims to bring scientific research and inquiry into classrooms. The projects are then showcased each May in kid-designed displays that demonstrate what students have learned and how it connects to the Columbia River Watershed.
Cascade Middle School students in Kristi Nygaard’s eighth-grade science classes have participated in conjunction with graduate Fellow Alyson Day, a student in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at 91ԹϺ. With the help of Day, Nygaard and her students have investigated the interaction of land use development and water quality in Burnt Bridge Creek. Focused on five sites along the upstream-downstream reach of the creek, the students’ experiments consist of sampling the creek’s macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity from its headwaters down to the mouth at Vancouver Lake.
With field groups consisting of more than 75 students representing a wide range of abilities and academic performance levels, the students have responded in positive ways on the academic level.
As a student herself, Day appreciates the value of students challenging themselves through conducting their own investigations and witnessing firsthand the direct impact of human activity on the Columbia watershed.
“Because our fieldtrips are attended by students based on merit, I have personally witnessed students who were previously missing and failing class go on to passing and having perfect attendance. Students on every fieldtrip tell me they love doing this,” said Day. “Actually having the physical experience of going to our field sites has enhanced the students’ abilities to apply what they learn in the classroom to ‘real’ situations and problems—nearly all the required curriculum for eighth-grade science has been integrated into the project.”
For the Fellows, Partners in Discovery provides an opportunity to learn how to implement inquiry-based instruction, hone their communication skills and gain awareness and appreciation for issues K-12 teachers face. Day is one of nine Fellows participating this year and brings a relevant expertise to the classroom.
“Day and Nygaard are working as a team in a way that exemplifies the kind of university-school partnerships that 91ԹϺ works to establish,” said Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, 91ԹϺ’s Partners in Discovery GK-12 project director. “It is also an excellent example of the way 91ԹϺ’s research—both in science and in education—links to our community.”
To learn more about the Partners in Discovery GK-12 Project visit
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Ph.D., Partners in Discovery GK-12 Project Director, 360-546-9115, rollboll@vancouver.wsu.edu
Alyson Day, Partners in Discovery GK-12 Fellow, 360-546-9209, aday2@wsu.edu
Kristi Nygaard, Cascade Middle School, Kristi.Nygaard@evergreenps.org
Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu