Students at Champaign in Brandon Rutherford’s third-grade class propagated zoanthids, trying to learn as much as their inquisitive minds could hold together. Their questions were never ending:
“Why does it feel like this?”
“How long would it take for a coral to die?”
“Did I kill this one?”
“What’s this brown stuff?” By Meg Kickinson.
The brown stuff was a hint that a student had cut into the polyp he was trying to divide in order to grow new zoanthids in the classroom’s 160-gallon coral reef tank at Garden Hills Elementary. It wouldn’t take long to die; Rutherford explained them as he helped students cut apart the tiny polyps that will grow separately after students mounted them on small cement plugs with super glue.
It is amazing how these third graders took immense interest in learning about these corals and their propagation. Some of them are sure to become a very famous aquarist someday.
He showed students how to cautiously divide groups of polyps using tissue shears and tiny scalpels without cutting into them and guiding them to be gentle while working with corals.
The zoanthids will grow larger in the classroom’s tank, and the class will almost certainly share them around the country with others interested in coral reef tanks just like us.
Rutherford said he wanted to challenge his students this year, so he put together the coral reef in his classroom. Rutherford describes the reef tank as a “mini-ecosystem” that requires students to understand math, chemistry and other science to keep it alive. Students started the year learning the chemistry and physics behind what makes the tank work, including acid-base reactions, the nitrogen cycle and other parts of marine biology.
As the year advances, Rutherford will continue to introduce more ideas using the reef, including about how the life forms within the reef intermingle. Rutherford said he’s trained students to do about 90 percent of the work involved in the reef’s care, and bases classroom lessons in language arts and math on the reef, as well. That’s absolutely amazing isn’t it? We at Reefland are totally impressed with this guy and his students.
He says his main goal is to give students power over the decision-making process in caring for it even as he provides them resources and support as they learn about marine biology. In some cases, a couple of students will learn about a specific topic or tool, and then teach the rest of the class about it.
These guys are indeed doing a lot of things that kids were not thought to be capable of. The kids have also showed overwhelming interest in caring for the reef tank and have risen to the occasion taking on the responsibility.
His student volunteer break time for the reef and some stay after school as well. The students are also learning about marine biology, a topic that’s not necessarily prevalent in the Midwest. However, his students teach others at Garden Hills about it when they visit Rutherford’s classroom.
Rutherford says he believes many students, especially younger ones, see school as intangible and benefit from performing physical tasks that give them immediate feedback on how they’re doing. The reef puts their performance and focus of study and represents it in a very physical way as they know they have to take care of the tank. If they don’t, complex problems will develop, and they’re responsible for fixing it. That’s indeed a modern way of teaching kids at school.
Rutherford said the classroom coral reef pushes his students to perform at a higher level because they think there’s something at stake. They know the reef contains expensive life forms worth thousands of dollars and one mistake could kill everything in it.
His students lead their own literacy circles in class to discuss books they’re reading, and have already dissected rats in class. They read what might be considered adult-level texts on marine biology, studying chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and using math to understand the chemical reactions within the reef. Several of Rutherford’s students said they’ve learned how to use dangerous tools safely and how to regulate the salinity of the tank using pure and salty water.
And while Rutherford said the coral reef is a precious tool for his students to learn about science, responsibility and other important lessons, he’s also looking for support. He’s spent more than $5,000 of his own money, and is hoping to spread awareness that the class would be grateful for donations.
Source of article: The (Champaign) News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-10-29/its-more-just-fish-tank.html