NNHS AP Biology 2015-16

AP Biology Yearlong Independent Research Project

IRP Goals:

• Experience learning that’s different from typical text book learning • Use biology class and homework time productively after the AP exam

• Practice independence and effective time management • Increase awareness of biology in the real world

• Indulge your intellectual curiosity • Design and execute original research

• Use primary sources for ideas, content, and methods • Promote community service

• Meet common bench marks for each of four terms • Present project in the final term

THE BASICS The heart of the yearlong project is original research and/or community service. Although the final products are a paper and a substantial in-class presentation, you must begin by identifying a topic that YOU will study first hand. If ideas don’t start popping into your mind immediately, spend a Saturday afternoon at the Museum of Science, the Zoo, the Aquarium, a local farm, listen to TED talks and NPR Science Firday, or browse science articles in Scientific American and the New York Times. Log on to the Charles River Watershed Association website, or look into organizations promoting the health of Boston Harbor. Chat with neighbors involved in some aspect of the biological sciences. You might find something there that starts the wheels turning. In planning your project, be sure to consider the potential of community impact in your work. How might your project help other people? What will be your contribution to the community at large? SCOPE Required Meetings with instructor: 1 formal 10-minute non-class-time meeting per term per project group

NNHS AP Biology 2015-16

Term I: Brainstorming and formal idea proposal Start preliminary background research and initiate outside contacts. Formulate a general direction. Begin to amass sources: primary literature, personal contacts, promotional and resource materials from relevant organizations, field sites where applicable.

Deliverable: 1-page research proposal and preliminary bibliography, including contact person or people from outside NNHS. Preliminary ideas must be presented in a meeting the week of October 13. Formal proposal due 11/9/15.

Term II: Acquire the essential knowledge background necessary for you to set up and carry out your own study.

Deliverable: a research paper addressing the core knowledge you need to proceed with your project. Information is gleaned from primary and secondary literature sources, interviews with experts, etc. All sources must be properly cited! Due: 1/8/16 (1/7 for D block students).

Term III: Development of detailed methodology and plan of action.

Deliverable: depending on the nature of your project, a unit lesson for teaching outreach, details of experimental design, specific action steps for community service, etc., including a detailed spring semester time line with dates. Note that some projects will already be well underway by this term, which will necessitate the addition of a progress-to-date time line. Due: 4/1/16 (3/31 for D block students).

Term IV: Complete execution of project.

Present: an engaging PPT presentation (10-15 minutes) or compelling tri-fold poster presentation for the class. Include background information, what you did, results, conclusions, a critique, and lessons learned. You will also hand in an annotated bibliography detailing the sources you actually used and how you used them. Due date TBD after the AP Exam in May.

GROUP SIZE Projects may be done individually or in groups of up to four students. You may work with students from other blocks of AP Biology. PROJECT IDEAS – use as departure points, or adopt one of your own:

Environmental Policy: work with a local organization on a campaign to help educate motorists and bikers to establish a safer climate for cyclists in Newton Environmental Science Basic Research: conduct thorough water quality assessments

NNHS AP Biology 2015-16

around Newton and write a paper to be submitted for publication Raise Awareness: create a program to raise awareness of and mitigate Japanese knotweed proliferation Education: work with elementary school teachers to institute a measurable waste-reduction program for their students Labor: help to organize and execute an extensive clean up day for a particular natural area of concern. Agriculture: work with one of the local farms to distribute food to those in need NNHS Green Campus Initiatives: gardening for the Tiger’s Loft, composting at the new NNHS, Greengineering with a bio bent, improve recycling compliance throughout the building. Please note that projects involving modifications to the NNHS physical plant and grounds may necessitate your collaboration with pre-existing groups and projects, as several have been in the planning stages for quite some time.

Web-based research and data mining are also possibilities for your IRP. The following are a list of websites generated by NNHS AP Bio teachers. genomics.wheatoncollege.edu. This is an interdisciplinary effort between biologists and computer scientists to speed analysis of known DNA sequences. Check out the educational resources. I would recommend this for a student who has a knack for computer programming. www.wfu.edu/biology/albatross/ Wake Forest University has developed a project whereby students can become involved with tracking migration patterns of albatross through on line satellite imagery. There also seems to be info here on other projects involving satellite imagery of various types. www.nesdis.noaa.gov/ More satellite data. This is primarily geophysical data related to geology, climate, and oceanography. www.bigelow.org/shipmates/ http://www.neracoos.org/gomoos Oceanographic data from the Gulf of Maine. http://www.reef.org/data/data.htm Databases of marine fish in US coastal waters. http://whale.wheelock.edu/whalenet-stuff/stop_cover.html Databases concerning marine mammals and turtles. If this topic interests you, do a broader search for sea mammal or sea turtle tracking. www.vims.edu This site describes a variety of research initiatives that generate data related to the impact of human activities on wetlands in Virginia. If this topic interests you, I would encourage you to use this site to generate ideas for accessing similar info that is more relevant to coastal areas that are relevant to you.

NNHS AP Biology 2015-16

http://www.butterflygardeningandconservation.com/ This seems like a source of potentially fun project ideas. However, I think the growing of plants and monitoring of butterflies would have to go on throughout the summer. If you are a junior who is really motivated to take this on, I am willing to have you make a presentation of your work to an AP biology class next fall. AP biology grade would have to be “Incomplete” until this presentation was made. http://www.gorilla.org/ Conduct a behavioral study at the Franklin Park Zoo. http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/NPPSD/index.htm Database of seabird populations around Alaska and the North Pacific. There’s lots more if you peruse the USGS website. http://www.uen.org/swan/ Follow the migration of trumpeter swans. http://education.imars.usf.edu/doral_classification.doc This resource could lead to a study of coral reefs. I have an article from The Science Teacher magazine that may help you get started if you decide to pursue this topic. http://www.cop.noaa.gov/stressors/extremeevents/hab/ Background info and possible links to real time data related to harmful algae blooms. Dense human populations on the coastlines make huge impacts on aquatic microbes. https://wssp.rutgers.edu This site describes a collaboration high school students and Rutgers University professors to apply computer science to the study of DNA sequences. NNHS AP Bio students have participated in this data mining initiative in past years. http://roadkill.edutel.com/ Are you on the road frequently? This could be either awesome or awful. http://www.citizensciencealliance.org/ (From the website) The CSA is a collaboration of scientists, software developers and educators who collectively develop, manage and utilize internet-based citizen science projects in order to further science itself, and the public understanding of both science and of the scientific process. These projects use the time, abilities and energies of a distributed community of citizen scientists who are our collaborators. https://www.usanpn.org/ (From the website) Phenology refers to key seasonal changes in plants and animals from year to year – such as flowering, emergence of insects and migration of birds – especially their timing and relationship with weather and climate. The ways in which the world is responding to climate change are not well understood. Phenology is a great indicator of current and future climate impacts on people, plants, animals and our natural areas. http://www.penguinwatch.org/ A number of cameras set up in the remoter reaches of Antarctica have generated enormous numbers of photographs of penguin colonies. The scientists who set up the cameras need help screening these photos.