DHS teacher makes real-life biology connection in her classroom!

From the classroom of Linda Flaherty, Biology and Marine Science teacher at Dayton High School (DHS):

In an attempt to connect secondary institutions in the high school setting, she has invited UNR scientists and professors into her classroom.  Students are able to make connection from the science taught in Mrs. Flaherty's classroom to real-world science and see real-time studies that the professors/scientists are currently doing. 

Next Generation Science Studies (NGSS) lessons are built around asking questions, defining problems, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information.  These professors and scientists do this for a living and will share how they do this with the students.

Mrs. Flaherty hopes to establish long-term relationships with these visitors, eventually having her students partake and assist in their research in some format.

The first speaker to visit DHS was Dr. Matthew Forister.  The Forister lab works in the areas of specialization, diversification and plant-insect ecology.  Dr. Forister discussed his investigations with the students, taught them about how organisms are interrelated and showed different insects.

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Next up to visit Mrs. Flaherty's classroom:

  

Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 - Assistant Professor Elizabeth Pringle

Pringle works in the evolutionary ecology of multispecies mutualisms.  They study the effects of rainfall and seasonality, the links between mutualisms and their broader ecological communities and eco-evolutionary feedbacks using ant-plant-herbivore systems.  They also study how human-mediated disturbances, such as defauantion, deforestation and invasive species affect ecological communities by focusing on seed dispersal mutualisms.

Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 - Assistant Professor Zeb Hogan

The travels of Zeb Hogan have taken him to six of the seven continents.  The purpose?  A singular focus for finding, studying and protecting the world's largest freshwater fish - an effort to bring attention to the growingly fragile freshwater ecosystems and their endangered inhabitants.  These megafish are defined as being at least six feet long and 200 lbs.  Partnering with National Geographic, Hogan document his travels on the Nat Geo Television show, Monster Fish!

(If you've never heard of Monster Fish, check it out on youtube and check out these Silverland Middle School students at the Monster Fish exhibit in the Nevada Discovery Museum)