Bugscope Development: Inquiry-based Learning and Teaching With Emerging Technologies

Provost's Initiative on Teaching Advancement Proposal

David M. Stone

University Laboratory High School

PITA Element Addressed

This proposal directly addresses Initiative #3, The Implementation of Instructional Enhancements. Neither this proposal, nor any variations of it, have been submitted to any other granting agency, either within or outside of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Project Overview and Explanation

Learning and teaching activities across K-12 classrooms, undergraduate and graduate programs are changing as teaching institutions gain Internet connectivity and incorporate web-based materials into teaching activities. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the development site of a number of web-based initiatives, collectively called the World Wide Laboratory (http://wwl.itg.uiuc.edu), which allow users remote access to scientific instruments for research and education purposes.

Bugscope (http:bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu), the newest World Wide Laboratory project, began during the Spring, 1998 semester. Bugscope allows K-12 students the opportunity to study arthropod structural diversity using a remotely-controlled environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Using a standard World Wide Web browser and class-supplied specimens, classrooms throughout the world can access the ESEM for real-time remote examination of organisms, using instrumentation typically reserved for graduate students and scientists. Faculty, staff and students at the Beckman Institute and University Laboratory High School provide the supporting infrastructure for the project.

University Laboratory High School plays a pivotal role in this initiative. Currently, four high school students have been trained to prepare specimens and run the $600,000 microscope during classroom remote observation periods. At this point, approximately 60 classrooms have signed up for single-hour, online microscopic examination of specimens they have collected and mailed to the Bugscope staff in Illinois. By Fall, 1999, we hope to have the interface developed such that Uni High students will also be able to take part in online, real-time discussions with students in the participating classrooms.

1. The current web interface and supporting infrastructure work quite well using students to perform the majority of activities. The next logical step in project development is to expand the current Bugscope project from its initial experimental structure to a more fully integrated resource. In order to do so, I propose the following Summer, 1999 activities be performed:
2. Develop a Bugscope User Manual and Bugscope Teacher Manual
3. Develop a web page instructing teachers how to go about writing a proposal for applying to use the Bugscope electron microscope in their classroom. These proposals are used in determining which classrooms will have opportunity to use the ESEM.
4. Develop hyperlinked information regarding arthropod subphyla, classes and orders. Each of these sections will incorporate student-obtained ESEM micrographs of various parts which are unique or key in the identification and ecological function of different arthropods. Examples include different mouthparts, antennae, wing variations, sensory, and secretory and defensive structures.
5. Develop a number of arthropod-based activities aimed at different grade/knowledge levels. These include culture, development and experiment activities utilizing WOWBugs , a species of parasitic wasp that is easily cultured and harmless to people. University Laboratory High School students will perform these activities, modifying and videotaping those activities determined to be most suitable for students at different grade levels (K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12), and follow up these activities with cryptic coloration, development of aquatic predatory insects, fruitfly life cycle, host plant preference, extraction of leaf litter organisms, pitfall trapping and sowbug habitat preference activities. We will develop web pages outlining specific procedures. Web pages will incorporate high quality graphics of the activities and short MPEG movies illustrating incorporated techniques.
6. Develop a web page which specifically designates where and how Bugscope components tie in to curriculum reform as enunciated by the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061. This web page will be a useful resource for teachers interested in incorporating Bugscope into their own science-related proposals and give further rationale for its inclusion in their lesson plans.

Project Justification and Intended Outcomes

Bugscope stems from another World Wide Laboratory project, Chickscope (http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu). Chickscope allows students to remotely use MRI technology to examine chicken embryo development. Unlike its predecessor, Bugscope can be performed much less expensively, and is performed largely using students for virtually every aspect of project work. Bugscope will serve as a model for the development of relatively low cost, sustainable remote access to scientific instrumentation. Once developed, the proposal writing instruction component of the application for ESEM class use time will serve as a model for other programs which involved remote use of scientific equipment. Finally, the hyperlinked arthropod information section and hyperlinked arthropod-based activities will serve as excellent introductory material or as stand alone instructional materials for students at all grade levels.

Required Resources and Budget

Bugscope and the Beckman Institute will supply server space as needed. University Laboratory High School will supply six Power Macintosh 5400/120 machines, software including Adobe PageMill and MS Word, and server space required for web page production. University Laboratory High School will also provide funds for WOWBugs and associated materials, purchase of field equipment, and facilities and equipment for filming of project activities. The Beckman Institute will provide the use of the ESEM and materials required for summer Bugscope-related activities.

Requested Provost's Office Initiative on Teaching Advancement Support

Coordination of Development Efforts, Major Development of Project Components David M. Stone, Teaching Associate	$2500
4 University Laboratory High School Students, 15 hours/week @ $5.50 per hour	$3300
Discretionary Funds (Student Travel for Conference Presentation)	$1000
Total Requested Funds	$6800

Project Implementation

Project implementation will be straightforward. I will meet with participating students on Tuesdays of each week for a full day of development activities and play lead role in coordination of development activities and writing of much of the online materials. Beckman Center staff have agreed to give ESEM access for obtaining micrographs which will be incorporated into web-based materials. An additional day each week will be used for development, culturing activities, photographing and filming, as well as remote viewing by students in various summer science enrichment programs.

Expected Outcomes

Expected outcomes of the summer production activities will be the production of the user manuals, proposal development guide, hyperlinked arthropod general information pages, arthropod activities and connections to national science standards. Bugscope will serve as a model for other web-based initiatives involving the use of remote scientific instrumentation. We anticipate disseminating this project through publication in various K-12 and college teaching journals in the areas of science, education and educational technologies.

Evaluation Procedures

Materials developed during Summer, 1999 will be formatively evaluated as they are produced. Teacher feedback will be provided by teachers in the College of Education's Curriculum, Technology and Education Reform (CTER) program summer courses, Dr. Sandy Levin and Dr. Ken Travers of the College of Education, and the staff of the UIUC Office for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. Teachers who submit applications for use of the Bugscope during Fall, 1999 will be asked to complete an online form regarding the proposal development recommendations after evaluation of the proposals. That form will include Likert-scale evaluation questions as well as a several short free response questions. The evaluation will rely in part on the University of Illinois' Office of Instructional Resources, using the Instructor and Course Evaluation Survey (ICES). I will select from the standard ICES questions, as well as develop special questions focusing specifically on Bugscope activities.

Project Contributions to the Department and Campus

Funding of Summer, 1999 Bugscope activities will allow for a number of significant contributions to several different departments and programs on campus. The most immediate impact will be on the Bugscope project itself. The addition of proposal writing guidelines will allow Bugscope staff to better understand specific classroom pre-observation background and consequently communicate more effectively using the new interface. Materials developed during Summer, 1999 will allow Bugscope to provide a strong background in arthropod biology prior to remote specimen viewing. Just as importantly, Bugscope will serve as an outstanding model for the development of other World Wide Laboratory web-based projects which allow users remote access to scientific instruments for research and education purposes. Finally, various newly developed components of Bugscope will serve as excellent demonstration and evaluation components for the current College of Education Curriculum, Technology and Education Reform (CTER) program participants, as well as serve as an outstanding resource for outreach activities based at the Beckman Center, the School of Life Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and University Laboratory High School.