Scientists in Public School Classrooms: Invitation, Presentation, Expectation, and Need
Larry Johnson Partnership for Environmental Education and Rural health (PEER) Center for Environmental and Rural Health Texas A&M University
Invitation
• Letters to teachers. • Letters to principals and/or superintendents. • Respond to school’s requests for scientific input or afterschool programs. • Volunteer for your universitypublic school interaction programs.
Over the Internet
• Maintain email contact with teachers and/or students. – Check in. – Answer questions. – Make suggestions. • Suggest websites for teachers. • Participate in virtual presentations and scientist interviews.
Science Fair
• Be a judge or advisor. • Mentor a student in your laboratory. • Give a class presentation on good experimental design. • Present an award from your department/college or scientific chapter.
Back At Work
• Welcome a class field trip. • Sponsor a student, teacher internship, or independent study. • Allow students to shadow you, the scientist, for a day. • Offer science career counseling. • Participate in college recruitment.
Teamwork
• Provide emotional support. • Collaborate on lesson planning and lab activities. – Help make lessons model real scientific inquiry. – Suggest fun lab activities to use inquiry. • Write an educational grant for support of you, other faculty, and public schools.
Presentation
• Life as a scientist: – Time preparing. – Time spent. – Rewards. • Your specific career path. • How much money college professors & scientists make.
Role of Visiting Scientists
• Expose students to the world of research and the life of a scientist. • Investigation involves critical thinking, imagination, intuition, playfulness, use of your hands, and thinking on your feet. • Why is science interesting, exciting, and stimulating? • What do you do all day? • How does your work eventually make it into the hands and minds of the public? • Remind students that good science starts by asking questions and being curious.
Presentation Approaches
• Use toxicology examples to illustrate the scientific process. • Help teachers and students relate curricular topics (standards) to toxicology through: • Toxicology Concepts • Your Area of Study • Current Research • The News • Historical Events • Literature • Ethical Issues • Facts and Terminology
Ethical Issues
Animals in Research
“Virtually every medical achievement of the last century has depended directly or indirectly on research in animals.” U.S. Public Health Service
What is Toxicology?
Toxicology is the study of the effects of poisons. Poisonous substances are produced by plants, animals, or bacteria. Phytotoxins Zootoxins Bacteriotoxins
Toxicant - the specific poisonous chemical. Xenobiotic - man-made substance and/or produced by but not normally found in the body.
Toxicology Terms
Toxicity - The adverse effects that a chemical may produce.
Dose - The amount of a chemical that gains access to the body.
Toxicology Terms
Exposure – Contact providing opportunity of obtaining a poisonous dose.
Hazard – The likelihood that the toxicity will be expressed.
What Do Toxicologists Do?
Most toxicologists work to develop a mechanistic understanding of how chemicals affect living systems: – Develop safer chemical products – Develop safer drugs – Determine risks for chemical exposures – Develop treatments for chemical exposures – Teach ( e.g., other toxicologists, graduate students, and youth)
What Do Toxicologists Do?
Mechanistic toxicologists study how a chemical causes toxic effects by investigating its absorption, distribution, and excretion. They often work in academic settings or private industries and develop antidotes. Descriptive toxicologists evaluate the toxicity of drugs, foods, and other products. They often perform experiments in a pharmaceutical or academic setting. Clinical toxicologists usually are physicians or veterinarians interested in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of poisoning cases. They have specialized training in emergency medicine and poison management.
What do Toxicologists do?
Forensic toxicologists study the application of toxicology to the law. They uses chemical analysis to determine the cause and circumstances of death in a postmortem investigation. Environmental toxicologists study the effects of pollutants on organisms, populations, ecosystems, and the biosphere. Regulatory toxicologists use scientific data to decide how to protect humans and animals from excessive risk. Government bureaus such as the FDA and EPA employ this type of toxicologist.
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Expectation
• • • • • Everything! To see the need. To see engagement. To be appreciated. To be flexible and responsive to the teacher’s needs/restraints.
Engagement of students
Students have a mind of their own
Timing to match class schedules is essential
• A MS or HS class period is generally 45 minutes long, but could be 90 minutes. – Time and the timing of your visit is critical! • Most teachers will have trouble adding to their curriculum. – Help them enrich it. – Help them meet their excessive demands.
Need
• Scientist’s stimulation of critical thinking, rational, use of scientific method, excitement of research, and role model. • Careers
• You are the Source
Scientists Travel the Globe
So why not end with some travel fun by letting the students guess where you, the scientist, have been?
Assignment 1
Read the Adventure Narrative.
Remember to:
• Encourage an understanding of math and science. • Be creative. • Be supportive. • Have fun and enjoy the interaction.