June 30, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - The Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning (a partnership between 
Mammoth Cave National Park and Western Kentucky University) hosted a workshop for teachers titled “Birds, Students, and Research in the Outdoor Classroom: Helping Teachers Use Their Schoolyards for Scientific Research.”
Eleven area teachers and one pre-service teacher who graduated from WKU in May attended the June 25 workshop. Funding for the workshop was provided by an environmental education grant from Central Kentucky Pride.
The workshop was designed to show teachers how they can use their outdoor classrooms and schoolyards to participate in citizen science projects with their students, according to Shannon Trimboli, education program specialist for the Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning.
“Citizen science refers to normal, everyday people of all ages and backgrounds working with professional scientists to conduct real scientific research,” she said.
The teachers were trained in Project FeederWatch and Project NestWatch, two national projects based out of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
During the workshop, the teachers reviewed some basic information about birds, learned how to identify the different species of birds, discussed ways to use the projects in the classroom, and practiced the skills and techniques needed for each project.
Project FeederWatch, which runs from November to April, is designed to track the migration patterns of birds that are attracted to feeders and backyard/schoolyard plantings. As part of their FeederWatch training, the teachers practiced observing and identifying birds at a bird feeder.
Project NestWatch is designed to study the breeding biology of birds and the teachers will begin participating in it with their students next spring. In their training on Project NestWatch, the teachers practiced approaching a nestbox and checking it to monitor the status of the eggs. They also practiced recording data on the official NestWatch data sheets.
For both projects, the teachers will train their students to collect the appropriate data and then enter the data online. The data will become part of a national database that professional scientists will analyze to answer many different questions. The students will also have the opportunity to ask their own questions and conduct their own research projects.
“By participating in these projects, the students will become real scientists even though they will still be in elementary and middle school,” Trimboli said. “They will also be meeting Kentucky’s Core Content Standards in a fun, hands-on manner while gaining the satisfaction of being an important part of research being conducted across the U.S. and Canada.”
Workshop participants included Tracy Adams, Caverna Middle School; Kim Blanton and Sonya Rogers, Clarkson Elementary School; Patricia Dennis and Meg Finn, Grayson County Middle School; Susie Dorris, North Butler Elementary School; Julie Hatfield, Hiseville Elementary School; Kelly Headrick, Red Cross Elementary; Janet Kistler, Cub Run Elementary; Steve Kistler, LeGrande Elementary and Munfordville Elementary; Lisa Pack, a recent WKU graduate; and Debbie Sherfey, Temple Hill Elementary School.
The teachers received two field guides, a birding software program, three types of bird feeders plus food, a poster of cavity nesting birds, membership in Project FeederWatch, national curriculums, and a Live Cam Bluebird Nestbox constructed by the Kentucky Bluebird Society. All items were purchased with an environmental education grant from Central Kentucky Pride.
Additional information about the projects is available online at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ and http://watch.birds.cornell.edu/nest/home/index. More information about the Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning is available online at www.wku.edu/mcicsl
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Shannon Trimboli at (270) 745-5132 or (270) 758-2422.
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