"This was the best professional development I've ever attended!" -- Elizabeth Martin, 5th grade teacher
The fifth grade unit takes place in October and November. It is co-designed by Tulsa Public Schools and our Ecosystem Partner, Camp Loughridge. In December of 2014, Camp Loughridge staff, University of Tulsa professors, and Tulsa Public Schools educators and administrators met to plan the 5th grade STEAM experience. After analyzing the fifth grade standards, we decided that a focus on the National Academy of Engineer's Grand Challenge of managing the Nitrogen cycle would be a good fit. At that meeting, we bounced around many ideas - erosion, water filtration/purification, innovative farming practices . . . We left the meeting with more questions than answers. And then, over the next six months, there was an explosion in our region of hydroponic and aquaponic agriculture. In the blink of an eye, we had an aquaponic farm just west of Tulsa, our local community college horticulture lab invested in a huge aquaponic system, and even a local organization for the homeless was starting an aquaponics system to - not only grow food - but to develop job skills. The staff at Camp Loughridge were the first to recognize this groundswell. They came back to the table with "aquaponics" as our 5th grade STEAM experience. With this nugget of an idea, the curriculum team at TPS built a 6 week unit around this topic. And Camp Loughridge started developing their own larger aquaponics system to share with students when they came to visit the camp.
In this unit, students learn about the problems of too much nitrogen in local waterways. Then at a visit to Camp Loughridge they get to see the problem in real life at one of their lakes (most-likely due to fertilizer run-off from a nearby golf course.) They learn about the dynamics of an aquatic ecosystem and how excess nitrogen (from farming, fertilizers, biological factors, etc.) creates unbalanced systems. The students see Camp Loughridge's Aquaponics systems and they play role-playing games to mimic how the biotic and non-biotic factors interact to create a self-sustaining system.
Back in the classroom, students create a mini hydroponic system to support a basil plant and then, after communicating with classmates, redesign their system to create the best aquaponic system to support a betta fish and basil plant. For the final share-out phase, students will create an imovie trailer about their experiences.
Our STEM Ecosystem supported this partnership by connecting our Ecosystem Partner to funding, making it possible for our school district to visit Camp Loughridge at scale. We also partnered with the International Betta Congress to purchase the fish at a low cost and they are providing each student with betta food, water conditioner, and a care guide for a year. The International Betta Congress is hosting a betta fish convention in our area in February and our students will be able to "show" their betta at that convention, introducing them to a community of betta fish enthusiasts from many backgrounds.
"I'm so excited! I can't wait to do this with my students!" -- Diane Stanford, Gifted and Talented teacher
Quick Facts
Scope for 2016-2017: 18 Classrooms, 500 students Scope for 2017-2018: 36 Classrooms, 1000 students National Academy of Engineer's Grand Challenge: Manage the Nitrogen Cycle Curriculum: Co-designed by TPS and Ecosystem Partners - “Something’s Fishy with the Nitrogen Cycle: Designing Aquaponic Systems” Ecosystem Partner: Camp Loughridge Pacing Calendar: October/November