Topeka Dual Language 3rd Graders Learn about Soils

     The Kansas NSF EPSCoR Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant and Soils Systems Across Kansas (MAPS) outreach initiative directed at teaching elementary science visited Scott Elementary in Topeka, Kansas to teach 3rd grade students about soil composition.  Scott Dual Language Magnet Elementary teaches all science and social studies curriculum in Spanish. Dr. Peggy Schultz, MAPS Outreach Specialist, worked closely with two of Scott's 3rd grade teachers, Ms. Teresa Cotton and Ms. Yesinea Moroyoqui-Ponce, to identify key vocabulary as well as address the curriculum requirements of the 3rd grade Next Generation Science Standards as it related to soil composition. Students in the four 3rd grade science classes at Scott consisted of both native Spanish speakers and native English speakers.  In order to maximize understanding of the lesson's content, students work together to translate and teach the science material to each other in their native languages.
     Dr. Schultz also worked with Mrs. Tita Soberon, an education specialist, to translate the hands-on 3rd grade soils lesson from English into Spanish.  Mrs. Claudia Nunez-Penichet, a prospective University of Kansas Biology graduate student, and Ms. Laura Jimenez, a current University of Kansas PhD candidate, joined the team to facilitate small group discussions and lead hands-on experiments.  Both women are native Spanish speakers.

Mrs. Tita Soberon, Ms. Laura Jimenez and Ms. Claudia Nunez-Penichet facilitating inquiry based experiments in soil composition.

     Students smashed rocks, studied fossils, sifted and measured soil particles, and discovered the many components that make up complex soil.  Their final experiment involved testing the hypothesis: Will a plant grow best in sandy soil or complex soil?  After making predictions, students planted seeds in each type of soil. Their experimental plants were then transported back to the KU Greenhouse so that they could receive appropriate and equal care.  Students will make observations and conclusions regarding the plants when the team returns at the end of March. This was the second lesson taught at Scott Elementary.  The first lesson involved understanding tropic levels and a third lesson is planned to teach about biomes at the end of March.

Education and outreach funding is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas."  The grant's educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

Applications are now available for Biology and Environmental Studies Teachers to participate in The Ecosystems of Kansas Summer Institute at the KU Field Station

   Kansas NSF EPSCoR in conjunction with its RII track-1 award, The Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant and Soils Across Kansas, is now recruiting Kansas teachers to participate in the 2018 Ecosystems of Kansas Summer Institute.  This workshop will be held June 4-8, 2018 at the University of Kansas Field Station.  High school biology and environmental studies teachers are encouraged to apply.  Participants will be paid a stipend of $750 and a travel allowance for participants who live more than an hour from the field station will also be provided.  Ten teachers will be selected to participate. 
   During the workshop, participants will conduct investigations, learn about the current research on ecosystems, explore the diverse outdoors, and work with researchers to develop inquiry-based curriculum to take back to their classes.

For more information, go to: https://epscoroutreach.ku.edu/

Applications can be found at: https://goo.gl/McoVSk

Application deadline is April 1, 2018

Education and outreach funding is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas."  The grant's educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

2018 Spring Semester begins with a Collaborative MAPS Course

   

   The Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant and Soils across Kansas (MAPS)  collaborative course started last week for undergraduate and graduate students from across Kansas enrolled.  Biology 890d at KSU and Biology 701 at KU make up this educational collaboration that is specifically designed to study the structure and functions of microbiomes. Every Tuesday and Thursday, students and professors from the University of Kansas (KU), Kansas State University (KSU), Wichita State University (WSU) and Fort Hays State University (FHSU) meet in a common area on their campus to participate in a ZOOM video conference learning experience.  The goal of the class is to review existing information on linkages between and feed backs among plant, soil and freshwater microbiomes. The lead instructors Walter Dodds, from KSU, and Jim Bever, from KU, plan to facilitate an in depth review of existing literature on this rapidly expanding area of research. Each member of the Kansas EPSCoR MAPS research team has a role in presenting their research and assigning key papers for students to read as part of the effort to achieve this goal. Using what they learn from the faculty presentations and class discussions, students will then prepare individual reports and lead discussions on key papers that reflect their area of interest. The final product from the class will be a publication-quality review manuscript to be submitted following the course.  All students who have continued participation on the manuscript will be listed as co-authors.

Education and outreach funding is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas."  The grant's educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

Informational Webinar for the EPSCoR RII Track-4

NSF EPSCoR would like to invite interested faculty to participate in an informational webinar on the FY18 competition for EPSCoR’s RII Track-4 awards at 2:00pm (EST) on either Thursday, January 11, or Friday, January 12.  All attendees are encouraged to review the program solicitation - NSF 18-526 prior to the webinar.

This virtual meeting/webinar will consist of both an audio portion via teleconference and a presentation component via WebEx. In addition to a computer connection for the visual part of the meeting, you will need a separate phone connection to participate in the teleconference. (Cell phones/iPhones are NOT recommended due to the increased likelihood of connectivity issues and interference.)

Click the Meeting ID 743011839 to connect to the Webinar
Audio Component – Teleconference:
Direct (Toll Free) Call-in Number: 888-680-8032
* Password: EPSCoR

The meeting will be open 15 minutes prior to the start time for you to login/call-in. You are encouraged to login/call-in early to ensure connectivity.

Web Ex Instructions

To join the meeting directly through WebEx: 

1. Click the link (above) for the meeting you are attending.  

2. When requested, enter your name and email address.

3. Click "Join." 

4. You are now in the “web” portion of the webinar. 

WebEx will automatically setup Meeting Manager the first time you join a meeting using WebEx. To save time, we strongly encourage you to setup prior to the meeting to ensure connectivity. To set up the meeting manager, click this link: https://nsf.webex.com/nsf/meetingcenter/mcsetup.php. 

Trouble shooting issues:

If you cannot access the direct login link for the webinar, you can still login through WebEx. To join the online meeting through the WebEx Website: 

1. Click NSF WebEx link: https://nsf.webex.com. 

2. Enter the WebEx meeting ID (743011839), then click “Join Meeting.” 

3. When requested, enter your name and email address and password; it is EPSCoR18! 

4. Click "Join"

5. Be sure to call in as well: 888-680-8032, Password: EPSCoR

Administrative Support: If you have any questions about WebEx meeting access, please contact

Liz Lawrence at least 24 hours prior to the webinar (Email: elawrenc@nsf.gov; Phone: 703-292-8997)

For Technical Assistance:

Go to https://nsf.webex.com/nsf/mc.

On the left navigation bar, click "Support". 

The playback of UCF (Universal Communications Format) rich media files requires appropriate players. To view this type of rich media file in the meeting, please check whether you have the players installed on your computer by going to https://nsf.webex.com/nsf/systemdiagnosis.php.

Limited Submission Funding Opportunity: EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 4: EPSCoR Research Fellows (RII Track-4)

     The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) promotes scientific progress nationwide and offers a number of funding tracks for researchers. The EPSCoR RII Track-4 provides opportunities for non-tenured investigators to visit the nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research centers and build research collaborations.  During these visits, the EPSCoR Research Fellows will have the unique opportunity "to learn new techniques, develop new collaborations or advance existing partnerships, benefit from access to unique equipment and facilities, and/or shift their research toward potentially transformative new directions."  These Fellowship experiences are designed to enhance the Fellows’ research trajectories well beyond the award period.  These Fellowships can also improve the research capacity of their institutions and jurisdictions.  This opportunity is open to non-tenured faculty who have an appointment at an institution of higher education or an early-career career-track appointment at an eligible non-degree-granting institution.

Please work with your institutional research office to meet the limited submission proposal requirements.

Submission Deadline: March 13, 2018 by 5 pm of submitter's local time. 

For more information click on the following link:  NSF EPSCoR Track-4

MAPS Outreach Team Teaches a Lesson on Seed Dispersal to 3rd graders

Teaching students at New Your Elementary

   As part of the RII Track 1 EPSCoR Award, Microbiomes in Aquatic, Plants and Soils across Kansas, Education and Outreach (MAPS), education and outreach initiatives, Dr. Peggy Schultz has designed interactive elementary lessons related to the research.  On December 6, 2017, Dr. Schultz traveled with Ben Kerbs and Rebecca Wagoner, her lab assistants, as well as Tita Soberon, Project Teaching Adviser, to New York Elementary in Lawrence, KS to present a lesson on Seed Dispersal to Mr. John Bode’s third grade class.  The goals of the lesson were to 1) allow students to discover and learn the many ways seeds are dispersed; 2) examine different seeds and their dispersal methods; and 3) understand how animals aid seed dispersal.

Students create and test their seeds

    After a brief introduction on what plants need to live, students played a game of tag simulating how squirrels gather acorns for the winter and what happens to the nuts, or seeds, when they encounter their natural predators. If tagged in the game, students had to stop and dump their acorns at the tagged spot. This represented one way animals disperse seeds.  Back in the classroom, students played a game that involved rolling in feathers to simulate how seeds can be transported in an animal’s fur. Then, Ben and Rebecca led brief small group lessons demonstrating how some real seeds float, fly, explode and roll in order to disperse.  Following the small group discussions, students designed and created their own seed.  Once finished constructing their seed, they tested their creation on ramps, in water and in a breeze to see which method of dispersal worked best.  As the lesson concluded, Mr. Bode led the class discussion to check for understanding and to make connections between the seed dispersal lesson and other science topics the class had studied so far this year.  The students really enjoyed the lesson and hoped that Dr. Schultz and her team would come back again.
     This Seed Dispersal lesson was designed to align with the Kansas 3rd grade Next Generation Science Standards.  As part of the MAPS outreach, Dr. Schultz plans to teach this lesson and others to more 3rd grade classrooms in the spring of 2018.

Education and outreach funding is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas." The grant's educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

MAPS Graduate Student Research Opportunities

    Dr. Amy Burgin, Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies and Associate Scientist, Kansas Biological Survey at the University of Kansas is recruiting graduate students to be a part of a unique research opportunity as part of the Kansas EPSCoR Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Ecosystems Across Kansas (MAPS) Award. Interested students will study the microbiomes of linked aquatic, plant and soil ecosystems that span the pronounced precipitation gradient as well as the hydrologic gradient across Kansas. Dr. Burgin's specific work focuses on" understanding how changes in nutrient loading will alter N cycling rates in rivers and the propensity for harmful algal blooms in reservoirs." This is a team-based science opportunity and interested students can contact Dr. Burgin at: burginam@ku.edu

For more information about this research opportunity go to:

• KU Today
• KState News
• NSF EPSCoR MAPS

Education and outreach funding is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: "Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas." The grant's educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.