Blog

Great collaboration with fabulous teachers

We are having a productive, informative, and meaningful week full of great discussion with motivated teachers here at the 2018 West Coast APPLES workshop at UC Davis. I love discussing best practices with other teachers, approachable research scientists, and engaging curriculum facilitators. I’m looking forward to getting my time lapse camera and OTCs (Open-Top Chambers) set up back at campus […]

Kristin Joivell Juniata Valley Elementary School

Crop Production Study April 2017 to October 2017 In this study from April 2017 to October 2017, students conducted a crop production study using basil plants.  During this study, students from two different school years collaborated to grow, harvest, and process the basil while keeping data about the growth of the plants. The first step in the crop production study […]

Kristin Joivell Juniata Valley Elementary School

Tree Growth Study 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 In this study over two school years, the kindergarten students monitored the changes in a sugar maple tree.  The students focused on making observations of the sugar maple tree during each seasonal change as phenophases changed throughout the year.  Additionally, the time lapse camera took a daily photo of the sugar maple tree to […]

Kristin Joivell Juniata Valley Elementary School

Plant Phenology Study April 2017 and April 2018 In this month long study in April 2017 and April 2018, the kindergarten students compared and contrasted the growth of tulip and crocus bulbs in warmed and unwarmed plots.  Students learned and observed phenological stages, monitored and documented temperatures, recorded data in plant phenology journals, and made inferences about the comparative growth […]

Nell Herrmann Blue Hill Consolidated School

            Blue Hill Consolidated School (BHCS) students have used used OTCs to determine the effect of slight temperature increases on goldenrod, common tansy and other wild plants, and are now using OTCs in studies in the flower garden. A recent study with iris plants demonstrated that OTCs do indeed speed up life cycle events of plants; […]

Nell Herrmann Blue Hill Consolidated School

Student graphs of Dr. Post’s long term data from Greenland are shown here. Eighth graders created the graphs on their iPads, using the data shared on the APPLES website. Dates of emergence are shown for tundra plants from one of three study sites: Doc, Bashful or Dopey. Dates are based on the Julian calendar; for example, day 155 on the Julian calendar […]