Outreach Activities
Teacher Training
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In partnership with the K20 Center (http://k20center.ou.edu/) our research is being shared with a community of teachers and students world-wide through a program called K20SPARK (Scientists Promoting Authentic Resources for K-12). Utilizing our research, high school science teachers, along with a science specialist from the K20 Center, we developed an inquiry-based lab that facilitates exploration of the nitrogen cycle and its vital importance in ecosystems. In, “Species and their Feces”, students analyze ammonia levels in various water samples, including samples from a cattle stock pond, a river, and a freshwater spring. Resulting ammonia levels lead students to hypothesize why one water source has more ammonia than another water source. Students explore the nitrogen cycle as a means to better understand the varying ammonia levels (a tutorial is linked to the lesson to better serve students and teachers in understanding the nitrogen cycle). After students have explored nitrogen cycle diagrams for both land and marine ecosystems, they are asked to describe what would happen to an ecosystem if organisms competed for nitrogen. Students are then introduced to the idea of nitrogen uptake in competing organisms of a marine ecosystem. In a companion video to the lesson we describe the impact of nitrogen competition in marine ecosystems from his research site in the Chesapeake Bay. |
Theoretical and Practical Course on Molecular Approaches for in situ Biodegradation (2009)
We participated in the The United States - European Commission Task Force on Biotechnology Research sponsored course on the Theoretical and Practical Applications of Molecular Approaches for in situ Biodegradation to be held at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, from May 24th to June 7th, 2009. The course was open to senior graduate students and junior postdoctoral fellows who have training in molecular microbiology and/or microbial ecology and who want to apply those skills to solving environmental problems. The course was designed to provide hands-on experience in modern, up-to-date biotechnological methods for the analysis of microbes and their activities in the remediation of pollutants in the environment. The course is limited to 12 US and 12 EU students. We participated by teaching a section on mRNA detection in environmental samples. For more information, please visit the course website at: http://www.ou.edu/environbiotech09/ |
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K-12 Education
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Every summer, I help Dr. Callaghan teach a summer course titled "Environmental Forensics". We target 8th-12th graders from underperforming schools in Oklahoma with a four week course exposing students to basic tools to molecular detection of genetic signal in cultures and environmental samples. Typically, 6-8 students join us for experiments in which we isolate organisms, extract DNA, learn about PCR, and identity strains based on DNA sequence. |