Teaching Science For Real Life

For students at Independent Day School-Corbett Campus, Lake Lipsey and Rainbow River are living laboratories where they engage in activities that make science relevant in today's world.

Middle school students filter water collected from Lake Lipsey to obtain algae samples that will be sent to a local LAKEWATCH collection center (left photo). They also practice professional water-monitoring techniques to determine the lake's pH and dissolved oxygen levels, nitrate and phosphate concentrations, and temperature.

Nov. 10, 2011 (TAMPA, Fla.) –With a late-summer haze hanging over the inky water, two Independent Day School-Corbett Campus middle school students, Adler Shannon and Olivia Ferrone, and parent, Gina Shannon, swiftly propelled a red canoe across Original Carrollwood's Lake Lipsey. A white crane swooped low near shore as they paused to scoop up water samples.

On a nearby dock, some classmates dipped thermometers on long strings into the lake. Others carefully stirred small ampoules of lake water with chemicals, noting changes in color, and everyone jotted down test results in their notebooks.

To these students, the lake adjacent to their school is a living laboratory. For nearly 20 years, IDS-CC seventh graders have made important monthly contributions to the Florida LAKEWATCH Program, practicing the work of real biologists while providing service to the community.

Participation in Florida LAKEWATCH is part of an intensive study of ecosystems and populations in seventh grade that includes the water cycle and Florida's natural aquifer system. Taught by Alvin de Guzman and Gery Morey, the unit provides seventh-graders with the opportunity to explore how individual actions affect the Earth's resources and what one's personal responsibility is to the environment.

Coordinated by the University of Florida's Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Florida LAKEWATCH is one of the largest lake-monitoring programs in the nation. Every year, an IDS-CC parent volunteers to take students out on the lake to collect the monthly water samples.

Students filter water to obtain algae samples, and then both water and algae samples are sent to a local collection center for analysis. The information is forwarded to the university and used in the development of lake management plans.

Along with the official LAKEWATCH data collection, all IDS-CC seventh graders practice professional water-monitoring techniques running tests on Lake Lipsey's pH and dissolved oxygen levels, nitrate and phosphate concentrations, and temperature.

"Students really enjoy going out on the lake to run the water quality tests because they are outside, doing real science, in a real setting," said Mrs. Morey. "Hands-on experiences like this increase their appreciation for the natural world and help them understand that it is up to us to protect and restore natural areas."

"Being out here and actually doing these tests helped me better understand what we talked about in the classroom," said student Cameron Schrader. "Doing this makes you feel like a real scientist."

Students concluded their study of the water cycle and aquifer by snorkeling Rainbow River.

The International Baccalaureate Programme guiding question for the unit – "What are our responsibilities to the environment?" –emphasizes how important individual responsibility is in protecting and restoring the environment. The significance of that question resonates deeply with students when they conclude their study of the water cycle and the aquifer by snorkeling Rainbow River in Marion County.

Rainbow River is sustained by a first-magnitude spring, Rainbow Springs, which discharges 400-600 million gallons of crystalline water every day. As students snorkel down the gently winding river, they observe vents and sand boils, as well as a wide variety of plant and wildlife. The intimate experience of the beauty and wonder of nature evokes a personal connection to the scientific knowledge students gained in the classroom. "Students find it pretty cool to snorkel in water that has been trapped underground for tens, hundreds or even thousands of years," said Mrs. Morey. "The experience helps them realize that just like Lake Lipsey, Rainbow River is an ecosystem with interrelating factors and that the balance between them needs to be respected and protected."

"It's important to provide students with opportunities to experience science outside the classroom," said Mr. de Guzman. "Being able to apply their scientific knowledge and skills makes learning meaningful and shows them the relevance of science in the real world."