Natural Sciences

The teaching/learning activities which will take place in the SMART Lab just established in the College of Natural Sciences (see appended copy of new release) will include collaborations with schools. Part of that activity will involve familiarization sessions for area teachers about the application of computer technology to active learning in math and science. Connections already exist between our college and the schools through our participation in student teacher supervision, the TEC-RAM Project, and the outreach of Project GEOHELP (see next paragraph). Those connections will serve as the means to link area teachers to the activities and potential of the SMART Lab and equivalent facilities which could be established in the schools.

Project GEOHELP, mentioned above, is a cross-age educational outreach program which has been running for four years now (last two years at DSU, previously at Radford Univ. and the Univ. of Illinois) connecting college students (particularly education majors) with classrooms in grades 3-8 for collaborative study of the earth. At DSU, this project is carried out over the Internet between students in ESPS 207 (Earth and Physical Science) and classes of school students. Those latter classes submit their questions about the structure, history, and functioning of the earth, and the college students research answers to those questions and discuss the results with the school students.

In addition, Science Methods courses have been taught regularly in the SMART Lab by Bob Warren of the College of Education.

SMART LAB NEWS RELEASE:

Grant Creates Science/Math Lab at Dakota State University

Madison -- Dakota State University has received a matching grant from the National Science Foundation to create a computer-centered "SMART Lab" (Science/Math Active Response Technology Lab) for science and math learning.

The project, which builds on the strength of Dakota State's computer/information systems mission, was submitted by the faculty of the College of Natural Sciences. Dr. Philip Sandberg, Dean of the College and principal investigator on the grant, noted: "We are creating a rich learning environment which emulates the collaborative, technology-rich working environment of modern math/science professionals. In learning by doing, students will be better prepared for work, whether or not they continue in math or science."

Two major goals of the SMART Lab are collaborative problem-solving and interdisciplinary thinking. Students, in cooperative learning groups, will design and execute lab projects in the SMART Lab and share reports on their results. Classes in different disciplines (biology, chemistry, math, physics, earth science) will exchanging data, insights, and science/math concepts.

The computers will have four major roles: 1. To control laboratory sensors for data acquisition, 2. To help students visualize and interpret lab data and understand concepts, 3. To serve as gateways to network data resources, and 4. To facilitate communication, especially to K-12 classrooms or science/math classes at other universities.

Most of the $70,400 in grant funds will be used to purchase a network of seven dual-platform (Macintosh/Windows) computers, each with numerous lab data sensors, and software programs for student use.