| Students learn research techniques |
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| Written by By MARIE THOMAS Sentinel Education Editor | ||
| Friday, 30 July 2010 10:09 | ||
The Bowling Green State University senior was up at dawn during June and at area parks to listen to the songs birds sing. She then developed data charts to determine whether the size of the forest correlated with the diversity of the birds. She presented her research results on July 23 at the second annual SETGO summer research symposium at Bowling Green State University. Mayer was one of 40 students participating in this summer's SETGO program, which is a partnership between BGSU and Owens Community College faculty. Their intent is to work with students in the areas of science, technology, engineering or math research. The 40 students in this summer's program got hands-on research experience in topics covering DNA, reptiles, bats, plants, GPS systems, wind turbines, solar cells and Web design, plus more. Students worked alongside graduate students and 29 faculty members to learn research techniques. The mini symposium required students to develop a poster highlighting their research, and prepare to discuss their project with attendees. One of the SETGO goals is to teach students how to ask questions, how to pursue answers and how to express what they learned, according to Dr. Ken Borland, BGSU provost. "Ten summer weeks can be a long time unless you're really excited about what you've been doing for those 70 days," Borland said at the symposium. He added he hoped the experience gave students the enthusiasm and motivation to continue their studies. Mayer, who is set to graduate in August with a degree in biology, worked with Dr. Vern Bingman, who was her ornithology teacher last spring. She said she used Google Earth to measure the forested area of her studies, then visited the site to consider density. During her morning jaunts, she listened for wood thrush, scarlet tanager, cardinals, robins, black-capped chickadees and 30 other species. Mayer, of Bowling Green, said she's been bird watching since she was 13. She hopes to share her results with the Wood County and Bowling Green parks departments. "It's a great way to learn what scientists actually do," she said about the research opportunity. Heather Allamon spent her summer collecting larval bluegill during the day, and zooplankton and night. Her project, "Effects of Turbidity Level & Light Intensity on Zooplankton Consumption by Larval Bluegill" had her working with Drs. Jeffrey Miner and John Farver in the university labs. Her research results weren't so much on lighting levels as how the size of the larvae affected how much plankton it ate, she explained. Her project was a learning experience - especially the part where too much light overheats and kills the larvae, she said. This was Allamon's second year with SETGO, and it has fit well with her interest in aquatic ecology. "It's an excellent program." A senior this year at BGSU, the Crestline resident is majoring in biology and specializing in ecology and conservation. Dr. Larry McDougle, president of Owens Community College and a past college physics instructor, said he thoroughly endorsed STEM research, which is the focus of the program. Most lab classes follow a "cookbook approach": follow directions and you're pretty much assured of the outcome, he stated. "But this provides the elements of scientific method," he said about the SETGO program. He added that the students' work shows the difference between making a contribution and making a commitment to their learning. |
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