Vermiculture: Guided Inquiry Activities for the Study of Worms in the Classroom.
By: James Ealy, M. Ed
Editied by: Julie B. Ealy, Ph.d. & Cary Oshins, M.S.
Produced by PROP:
PO Box 25
Bellwood, PA 16617
(800)-769-PROP
Funded by:
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection www.dep.state.pa.us
FORWARD
The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) is pleased to present this set of lesson plans for the study of vermicomposting by middle and high school students. As a recycling association, we understand that educating our youth is one of the keys to a sustainable society. Elementary teachers have long used vermicomposting as a hook to teach the basics of organic recycling (composting) as well as key lessons in biology, ecology and math. To that end there are many excellent resources geared to the elementary classroom. However, recent changes in Pennsylvania Education Standards have made it clear that there was a critical lack in vermicomposting books targeted to the middle school level. Thanks to funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for our professional development program, we went looking for someone to compile existing lessons in a compendium we could make available. Through a fortuitous turn of events Professor James Ealy of Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA was not only willing to take on this task, but had the time and inclination to develop this set of original, inquiry-based activities. We hope that educators here in Pennsylvania, across the country, and indeed throughout the world will adopt and adapt the lessons for their classrooms. We also hope they will give us feedback on ways to improve and extend the lessons in the future.
These 35 activities are copyrighted, but may be reproduced and used for face-to-face teaching in your classes. No other copies may be made for any purpose whatsoever. Copyright extends to the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.
INTRODUCTION
The middle school activities in this manual are based on an inquiry approach to teaching science. However, this is not a "turn them loose" approach. These activities require considerable coaching from a teacher's point of view. The activities require at least one home-made or commercial worm bin. The procedures for making a worm bin are contained in many of the items in the resources section.
The vermiculture (worm bin) should be started before or soon after school begins to provide the students with a visual concept. The first classes should be focused around this bin and students should be shown one or more of the videos listed in the reference section. Students should be required to search a library or do an Internet search. Several evaluated sites are listed in the reference section. After students have researched vermiculture and vermicomposting, presentations should be made by individuals or small groups. A successful inquiry approach to vermiculture uses small groups for research, study, and completing activities and presentations.
The activities in this manual can be used in the presented order or as stand-alone activities. These activities have information for the teacher and suggested directions for students - similar to generic lesson plans. The activities can be down loaded and then modified for a specific classroom approach. These activities have been linked to appropriate Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards: 8th grade math, 7th grade Science and Technology, and 7th grade Ecology. Not all possible standards are listed, only the major standards that can be easily demonstrated.
Getting Started
The instructor needs to be familiar with "red wiggler" worms, Eisenia fetida and their biology. This activity manual is not a reference for learning how to grow worms successfully in the classroom. Mary Appelhof's book, Worms Eat My Garbage, is more than suitable for this education. Most worm suppliers have basic techniques and concepts that will allow you to get started. There are a number of elementary teachers in Pennsylvania who have already used vermiculture for their science activities, as well as Internet discussion groups with a tremendous amount of information. Most of the information available as FAQs in the discussion groups is very reliable. The best pedagogy is to start at least one Habitat over the summer and profit from the experience. Students should not be asked to do any activity instructors have not completed several times. The only way to coach, guide, or direct an inquiry approach activity is to be very familiar with the activity and the mistakes that can be made or problems that can and will occur. Commercial worm bins are very easy to use and maintain, but they do cost money. However, having students design and build their own bins is a VERY worthwhile activity. The commercial bins are very easy to transport which may be necessary over the summer and school holidays.
Inquiry Approach
"Inquiry is an approach to learning that involves a process of exploring the natural or material world, that leads to asking questions and making discoveries in the search for new understandings."
The activities in this manual are all inquiry-based. Many science and math methods instructors embrace an inquiry approach, but may not make it absolutely clear that an inquiry approach is not an UNGUIDED approach. The teacher must be both a coach and a co-inquirer, guiding the process of asking questions, investigating, data collecting, discussing and reflecting. Teachers who have engaged in graduate-level science research have experienced the inquiry approach with their advisors. These activities have been written for teachers with little or no science research background and include successful methodologies in the Strategy Section of each activity.
Student Participation
Science activities in the past were commonly completed as an individual or in pairs of students. The pairing of students was not a researched and proven method, but rather occurred to accommodate the lack of sufficient lab equipment. Teachers who have done graduate level science research understand that almost all research is accomplished in groups. In the business world groups are an integral part of marketing and sales, as well as research and design. Small groups work extremely well in K-12 laboratory classes. The number of students in a group has been hotly debated. We know from research that in K - 6, groups of 3 and 4 works successfully. At the 7 - 8 level, 2, 4 or even 5 can make a successful group. A group of three usually ends up with one student left out. We do know that cooperation and meaningful compromises are very important parts of every student's education. Having students work successfully in small groups provides a very relevant life experience.
Journals
This may be one of the most important aspects of these activities. Having students learn to always have their journal available, to record completely and correctly the data/results, to be able to use the journal in future activities and presentations, and to be a record of their work, are very important goals or objectives. The writing in the journal should be similar to a lab report that asks specific questions of the students and expects complete and well thought-out answers.
Suggestions for journals are:
1. All observations, no matter how insignificant they may seem should be recorded.
2. Record dates, times, and conditions of the Habitat. BE ORGANIZED!
3. Explore further any observations that seem anomalous - out of character.
4. Write clearly and succinctly, so that others may read and understand.
5. Draw diagrams, pictures, and graphs.
6. Show any and all math involved.
7. Include ALL data, graphs, and charts.
8. Include any computer printouts of data, graphs, and charts.
9. Make comments on all data, graphs, and charts.
10. Make connections between the data, charts, graphs, and observations.
11. Include any notes from class or group discussions.
12. Include any teacher handouts.
13. Use them for presentations.
Presentations
In many cases these are the finishing touches applied to the work accomplished by the students. The following are three suggested types of presentations for middle school:
1. Spontaneous.
2. Planned by an individual.
3. Planned by a group.
Spontaneous
(a) The student(s) have just discovered something of value and need to share it with all.
(b) A group has finished an activity and needs to share preliminary results for others in the need to know.
(c) The teacher has just explained a strange observation/result and wants an individual or group to explain the new knowledge to others.
(d) A student learned/discovered something from recent work and wishes to share this with the teacher.
(e) Students have learned or discovered something of importance on TV, the Internet, or library. These are not expected to follow the format of planned presentations.
Planned by an individual
(a) The individual is presenting the group's data and/or results.
(b) The student was assigned a topic to report to the class.
(c) The individual has finished an individual part of an activity.
(d) The individual has discovered something that others in the class have missed, ignored, or did not comprehend the significance.
(e) A planned assignment is presented.
Planned by a group
This is a group presentation in which all members of the group present a specific part of an activity. Each student is responsible for a specific portion of a larger group summary of an activity. The format is simple and easy to follow by the class such as:
(a) A short summary of the presentation
(b) Examples of the equipment/materials used
(c) Use of a journal
(d) Drawings, charts and/or data tables as hard copy handouts or as a slide projected in class.
(e) Question and discussion period.
Certainly, there are other aspects of presentations, but these are suggested parts of the format that work well for middle school students. Rubrics should be provided to the student detailing what is expected and what parts of the presentations will earn points. Examples are provided at the end of the Introduction.
Standards
Each activity has a list of standards from the Pennsylvania Department of Education: Science and Technology (7th grade), Environment and Ecology (7th grade), and Math (8th grade). The complete standards are listed in the appendices for those not familiar with them. The activities have many more standards listed than are needed for most lesson plans. However, the instructor can choose which of the possible standards are best served for each specific activity. It is hoped that science and math instructors can interact and combine many activities to make these activities truly interdisciplinary.
Activities
For these activities to be successful, they need not all be completed or be completed in the order presented. However, for the best educational benefit to be achieved they must be used appropriately; that is to say, they are intended to be used as the foundation for an inquiry approach. They need to be researched by both the students and teacher and then discussed to achieve the most academic achievement. They are selected organized so that the knowledge, skills, and understanding of an ecological community will be enhanced.
Activities Habitat 1 and 2 are the foundation and are necessary for students to develop a sense of the total project. The statistics are very important for all middle school students, but it requires math discipline. However, they are not necessarily upper level math skills. Analysis of worm growth is the basis for most of the remaining activities. Counting and classifying worms is also needed to complete the majority of the remaining activities.
The next set of activities involves collecting data with sensors. These activities can be done without a data logger and sensors but the benefit of diurnal studies or week long studies will be lost - an important part of robust ecological studies. These activities can be used with the suggested Vernier sensors and Texas Instruments TI 83/84 calculator or with another set of sensors, data loggers, and graphing calculators. Certainly, traditional test kits and hardware can be used for many of these activities. However, for students to develop skills in scientific research, daily, 24-hour or weekly studies need to be completed. This requires data logging systems and modern sensor technology. To successfully meet some of the math standards the ability to use a graphing calculator is required. If microscopes are available to study the other inhabitants of the vermicompost, many more ecology standards can be met than suggested in these activities.
Worm behavior and response to light are classical studies and teach many important concepts that will be used in high school science classes. Prediction vs. actual value is one of the most important activities to be done after students have a grasp of the basic requirements for maintaining a successful habitat. The worms' reactions to non-optimal living conditions will provide the scaffolding for high school level ecology or AP Environmental Science classes. The growth of the worms as it relates to differing types of soils is fundamental to agriculture classes that are beginning to find a place in some schools again, as well as giving the students an opportunity to critique the enhanced growth of animals and plants on television. These activities, along with the Fast PlantsŪ activities, can be the foundation for a rigorous science fair project. The expected results for these activities are known from the literature, except for the Mating Size activity. No solid and reliable results are known for this experiment. The results of exposure to NaCl is a classic example of university research that may provide benefit to those geographical regions that become exposed to heavy amounts of seawater or salt brine from hydrocarbon wells.
It is the hope of this author that exposure to these activities will provide both the "already interested" student with food for thought, as well as to motivate the bored or "turned off" potential science student.
Feedback, Questions and Comments
We look forward to hearing your experiences with these activities. Please direct your questions, comments and suggestions to Professor James Ealy, jlealy@cedarcrest.edu.
