| Description | Triad High School is a consolidated high school with a student population of 1100 that serves three farming communities about 30 miles from St. Louis. We are growing rapidly and have just moved into a new high school building - with a math-science lab! We have been looking for ways to incorporate computer use and student research into the curriculum. The 64 students in Honors Biology I at Triad High School will begin the year with a study of arthropods; a topic which allows the incorporation of the study of scientific method, ecology, microscope use, ecological field methods (insect collections, mark/recapture), classification (use of a dichotomous key) and diversity. We would like to submit specimens for ESEM representing the main insect groups (beetles, flies, butterflies, etc.) that would compare characteristics that are used in classification ( mouth parts, wing types, appendages). We envision each of the three biology classes being in charge of supplying specimens for one of the comparisons. We are also hoping to incorporate the Bugscope curriculum for microarthropod collection and identification and follow on with student groups writing proposals for a quantitative study. The best proposal from each class would be implemented. The ESEM session can be viewed by all biology students (approximatedly 300 students) by way of closed circuit TV. It can also be presented as a link from the school web site. Students would be evaluated on the basis of a power point presentation of their characteristic comparison and quantitative study using criteria for a scientific paper write-up (introduction, objectives, materials and methods, data and results, discussion). After working as a lab assistant in the Electron Microscopy lab at UIUC during my undergraduate days, I pursued as interest in microbiology. I worked as a medical technologist (MT ASCP) in the microbiology department of a hospital laboratory for two years prior to teaching. I thoroughly enjoy helping students see living organisms intimately and exposing them to new breakthroughs in microscopy. I saw the ESEM during the Engineering Open House and was truly amazed at its capabilities. I often use the book "Under the Microscope" and Lennart Nilsson pictures to enhance studies of microscopy and human anatomy. I'm hoping that the additions of ESEM imaging, and especially the opportunity to control exactly what is imaged, will bring this field of technology alive for my students. |
