Schoolyard Ecology Teacher, Lise Letellier, Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching Finalist Award

Journalist Josh Binswanger introduced  The Massachusetts Finalists for the 2015 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching at a Celebration in Honoring Excellence in Teaching at the State House on June 15, 2016.

Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell D. Chester presented the PAEMST Finalist award to Holyoke Catholic High School Teacher, Lise Letellier.

Lise Letellier has been featured on this blog several times for her contributions to the Buds, Leaves and Global Warming Schoolyard Ecology project.   Her presentation about her 5 year journey with this project was featured this spring on the following entry:

http://hfnaturestudents.blogspot.com/2016/04/give-this-woman-presidential-award.html

In addition to having mentored many new Schoolyard Eco teachers and contributing  numerous teaching resources she developed on the Harvard Forest Website, some of her Phenology curriculum is published on the LTER Education Digital Library.  Lise  and her students have also contributed to the Woolly Bully and the Hemlock Trees project.

Aside from her work with Harvard Forest, Lise has also served as a mentor and leader for the Appalachian Mountain Club, engaging both teachers and students in outdoor investigations. This work has been highlighted in a national  Project Learning Tree newsletter.

Lise's contributions to STEM education extend beyond leading field projects.  She has led the science department at her school for several years, and is the chair of the K-12 STEM Professional Development Steering Committee for the Springfield Diocese, and has served in the past on the Pioneer Valley STEM Executive Committee as well as the the review committee for the Mass. STEM Summit. 

Please join me in congratulating Lise for her EXTRAORDINARY contributions to science teaching!

We wish you every success in being honored at the National level....Final awardees are expected to be chosen later this summer.

Give this Woman a Presidential Award Please!

 Holyoke Catholic High School Teacher, Lise Letellier wowed us with her 5 year journey with the Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming study at the Spring Workshop for Teachers last week! 

 Lise took us through her experience engaging High School students at all levels in collecting field data, representing and understanding  project data.  She showed what she was able to do with students , year by year for her first 5 years of leading this project.  

 Throughout this presentation, we could see the importance and relevance of Lise's educational goals for her students, and recognized the complexities of school life and ecological studies that provided challenges along the way to fully reaching those goals.  

Lise -We celebrate your success this year even more now that you laid out the 5 year process for us! 

Comments from other Schoolyard teachers included: 

• The introduction of more teacher presentations and especially Lise's presentation was informative, useful, and totally motivating. 

• Lise gives me hope that I, too, can have my students tackle data! 

Lise has passed the state level screening for a Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)

Awaiting word at the national level...

To see Lise's slides and audio from her Spring Workshop presentation, go to the 1st presentation at:

http://harvardforest.adobeconnect.com/p99mf5gzwfg/

To see samples of student work and associated overview, directions, and rubric  related to this presentation,find these 9 documents under Buds, Leaves and Global Warming heading beginning with Letellier. 2016.

http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/schoolyard/lesson-plans

Related Blog Post:  student graphs blog

To see Lise's  lesson plan on the national LTER Digital Library, go to:  

http://educationlibrary.lternet.edu/node/13

Student Samples- Growing Season Graphs and Conclusions

Holyoke Catholic Ninth Grade Student Graphs and Data Analysis from the Buds, Leaves and Global Warming study from 2012-2014

This series of graphs, result statements, and conclusions were created by HCHS H.S. freshman led by Schoolyard Teacher, Lise Letellier.   

I am posting these samples with comments from Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology project ecologist, Dr. John O'Keefe to serve as models for other schools implementing schoolyard projects. These students worked hard practicing graphing real data collected at their field sites, and trying to analyze the data and form conclusions about it. 

Note From Harvard Forest Project Ecologist, Dr. John O'Keefe:

Hannah, check data for tree HO-7 in 2012-It looks very late.

Notes for Hannah from project ecologist, Dr. John O'Keefe:  

• Title of the graph should be Growing Season by "Species"-same word for singular and plural. 
•  Growing season by tree generally is quite variable with little consistent pattern
• Most species had a long growing season in 2013 esp. Exotic Cherries (EC) and red maples (RM).  
• 2012 and 2014 were generally shorter with 2012 shortest in hornbeam (HO) and red maple (RM).
• Hard to say much with only 3 years ( and only 2 for some species and individuals) of data.
• Differences might be obvious if the scale ranges were reduced , i.e. Julian Date budburst 80-160 rather than 0-160. Even more relevant for leaf fall, i.e. 250-350 rather than 0-400.  

 Note to Claire From Project Ecologist, Dr. John O'Keefe:

Budbreak 2012 was the earliest year.  Check data for tree HO-7.  
2013 was intermediate and 2014 was the latest. 

Notes to Claire from Project Ecologist, Dr. John O'Keefe:

• Leaf Fall : Tree EC-10 has the earliest leaf fall, but there was little pattern across years. Generally exotic cherries (EC) had early leaf fall and hornbeams (HO) had late leaf fall. 
• Growing Season: Generally 2012 was longest and 2014 shortest but not for all individuals.
• Analysis by Species:  Hard to say much here with only 3 of the study's species having all years worth of data.  

Thanks so much to Claire, Hannah, and Lise for sharing this important work!!!

We so much appreciate the depth of the work you are doing in Holyoke, and very much hope that it serves as a model for other schools.  

We invite other schools to send us comments about these models or samples of student work, lesson plans, resources or photos from their schools by emailing to psnow@fas.harvard.edu

Is Spring Really Coming This Year???

Is Spring Really Coming This Year???

Send Us Some Hope People!

Now this is Spring!  

Maple flowers are blooming along the Concord River in Lowell according to Sally Farrow, Mass. Audubon Educator, who submitted this welcome show of color 

What signs of Spring are you seeing at your sites?  Send em along. 

Come see some signs of a late Spring at Harvard Forest on April 9th- Spring Workshop for Teachers

email Pamela Snow at: psnow@fas.harvard.edu to register

Lise Letellier says Spring is Coming to her Schoolyard pictured above in Chicopee, MA.

Susan Cox, Conservation Educator  says:

Making syrup is a sure sign.

Here’s a great article from VT Public Radio

http://digital.vpr.net/post/science-syrup

Send us any signs of Spring you and your students can find...

We are desperate for them....

Students Search for Tiny but Deadly, Woolly Bully; The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

Holyoke Catholic H.S. students examining the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid closeup 

Students looking for Woolly Adelgid egg sacs

Measuring the section of the Hemlock branch that contains Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Egg sacs

Photos by Lise Letellier

The tiny insect these students seek is not harmful to humans but it is responsible for wiping out large numbers of one of our most common forest trees. Hemlock trees make up almost one quarter of all of Massachusetts' forests, and as such are considered a foundation species of our native forest. Students are tracking this little bug that is sucking the life out of many of our hemlocks, and sharing their findings with Harvard Forest Ecologist,  David Orwig.   

Holyoke Catholic H.S. Teacher Lise Letellier, and her students, along with hundreds of students throughout New England are contributing information about the presence of this invasive Pest, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid as part of the  Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology project: Woolly Bully.  

These images show students searching for the egg sacs covered in white wool -like covering that indicate the presence of tiny insects called hemlock woolly adelgids. Right now, hundreds of students are out investigating their schoolyards and woods as part of the data collection they will contribute to this regional Schoolyard study, led by Harvard Forest Ecologist, David Orwig.  

See which schools are participating and link to their data at: 

Schoolyard Woolly Bully field site map.

See more about Dr. Orwig's Hemlock research at:  http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/hemlock-woolly-adelgid-hwa

See more about the Woolly Bully Schoolyard Ecology project at:  http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/woolly-bully-invasive-pest-hemlock-woolly-adelgid

TEACHERS, to join this Schoolyard study, complete the registration form at: Schoolyard Eco Summer Registration Form