Math & Science Graduate Fellows in K-12 Education

Fellow: Jennifer Olker, Ph.D. graduate fellow in Integrated Biosciences
Teacher: Mayme Walters, East High School, 10-12th grade Biology & Physical Science

I have a BS in Biology and Mathematics from Northland College and a MS in Biology from the University of Minnesota Duluth.   My research interests include wetland ecology and associated communities, especially amphibian ecology; wetland ecosystem and organism responses to local and landscape stressors; impacts of climate change on aquatic habitat and communities.  In fall 2008 I began my PhD program in the Integrated Biosciences program at UMD after several years as a Research Fellow at the Natural Resources Research Institute.  My dissertation research continues my work on the effects of anthropogenic stressors on amphibian populations and expands the scope to include physiological and developmental in addition to organismal and population level responses.  

Through my participation in the GK-12 project I hope to better communicate my scientific research, while also improving my teaching skills and contributing to local K-12 science education.  I believe that improving the scientific and mathematical understanding and appreciation in the non-scientist or budding scientist will lead to more aware and better informed global citizens.

My role is to provide scientific support and excitement to the Biology curriculum.  I have participated primarily in the laboratory exercises, as an additional resource for questions and encouraging students to continue to explore the topic.  I have also brought in several specimen collections for general interest (malformed amphibians) and reference (aquatic macroinvertebrates).  In addition to the time spent in the classroom, I am providing my mentor teacher with real datasets and current research articles for the students to work with.  One of our goals is to incorporate data graphing and interpretation into the current curriculum through exposure to “real” data, hand graphing, and excel exercises.  My presence in the classroom has provided support for lab exercises, especially in the large classes, and offers students another perspective on biology and science.

As part of our year-long effort we conducted an "Action Research Project" to test different strategies and classroom techniques for teaching students a how to make and interpret graphs. To see a summary of our efforts, click here!

I also attended the 2010 Midwest SETAC conference and presented a poster on my GK-12 efforts. Folks were very interested and impressed with the program. To see a copy of my poster, click here!

Teams in Action

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Curriculum