Education

Column One: Curriculum

By Debra Viadero & Peter West — March 06, 1991 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The micro-environments that exist in the water-filled crooks of trees are handy, and frequently overlooked, laboratories for teaching ecological concepts, according to a University of Wisconsin scientist.

The study of “tree-hole habitats,” according to Dan Young, an entomologist at the university’s Madison campus, can help make high-school students aware of the relationships between the insects, bacteria, and fungi that thrive in depressions filled by snowmelt and spring rains.

Tree holes “are highly specialized examples of miniature aquatic communities,” he explains. “Most of the organisms associated with [them] are found nowhere else in nature.”

Yet the ecological balance struck in those communities is similar to that which rules in much larger bodies of water.

And so, with the assistance of Sara Obern, a local high-school teacher, Mr. Young is refining a curriculum that will allow teachers to easily replicate the habitats in the typical classroom.

The lesson plans and instructional materials, which are scheduled to be published this spring, show teachers how to develop self-contained, artificial tree-hole communities in two-liter soft-drink bottles.

Among the advantages of the technique is that it encourages students to collect living specimens and to observe them in a recreated habitat without risk of harming the creatures, Mr. Young said.

The Ohio Department of Education is undertaking one of the most extensive longitudinal studies to date of the popular Reading Recovery program for children having trouble learning to read.

The $515,000 study, begun last fall, will track 2,000 1st-grade students who completed Reading Recovery, or some other compensatory reading program, through the 4th grade.

Franklin B. Walter, the state superintendent of public instruction, said the program has already been successful in enabling 85 percent of the state’s students who participated to read independently after about 30 hours of assistance. The new study, he said, will determine whether those students can continue to read successfully without further remedial help as they get older.

The program, developed by a New Zealand researcher, is used by school districts in 22 states in this country. (See Education Week, Nov. 7, 1990.) Ohio in 1984 became the first state to launch the program statewide. The method provides highly structured, individual tutoring for 1st graders who are in the bottom 20 percent of their classes in reading ability.

A version of this article appeared in the March 06, 1991 edition of Education Week as Column One: Curriculum

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read