Students getting REAL with science class

With two red plastic cups in hand, 17-year-old Gudiel Sandoval bent down to collect two water samples from the man-made pond at Redwood High School.

Cups in hand, he traveled over to a group of fellow teens and two doctoral candidates — Daniel Spikol from the Växjö University school of mathematics and systems engineering in Sweden and Heidy Maldonado from the Stanford University computer science school of education. Rods from an instrument used in ecological field work were placed in water samples to measure various aspects. Daniel Nava, who was holding a notepad and special smart pen, asked for the water temperature.

While writing, Nava is able to record the conversation going on while taking notes. This can be recalled later simply by utilization of the pen and special paper. They compared water from the sitting pond and a creek that runs near campus. The teens had written down predictions about the water samples.

The hands-on science lesson is all part of the Redwood Environmental Academy for Leadership (known as REAL), a joint venture with a number of organizations and through a few grants. Collaborating with so many groups and experts allows Redwood High students the integration of high-tech gadgets within outdoor ecological lessons that can often be utilized in their personal lives. Looking ahead, the curriculum includes partnering with teens in other countries to discuss ecological problems on a global scale. Continuing the work will mean securing more grant money. Partnering with a variety of organizations has helped create larger opportunities for everyone involved.

"We’re breaking boundaries,” said Principal Marshall Burgamy noting the program is only successful through the grouping of professionals who do not often work together.

Technology and ecology are the two clear focal points through the grants, however the interdisciplinary curriculum introduces students to Latin to understand a word’s meaning; expressing themselves through poetry; reliving the beauty of outdoors in art; and calculating size of one plant compared to another using shadows.

Each session begins with gratitude. Students are encouraged to write in their journals, about anything. Then everyone involved comes together in a circle to introduce themselves and share what they are thankful for on that particular day. Burgamy always shares a poem. Recently that poem was student produced.

Each person involved learns something from REAL.

Rodolfo Dirzo, a professor of biology at Stanford, was interested in working with local schools to promote ecology, learning by doing and making a difference. Dirzo is passionate about deforestation rates and global warming, particularly the effects on local plants.

Working with teens promotes knowledge of not only the problem, but also ways to prevent further problems.

Redwood High students have had access to two outdoor labs — one on campus and the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, a natural laboratory in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Dirzo works internationally in Mexico and Sweden. The goal is to link lessons in the countries allowing students to see similarities despite the geographical differences.

Ecology is paired with technology through the work of Roy Pea, professor of education and the learning sciences at Stanford. Pea noticed a lack of technology used in classrooms in the ’80s. Now he hopes to explore use of field-level tools with students. Students are able to record all aspects of their research through access to professional tools. In fact, uploading information gathered often includes latitude and longitude. This can be directly linked to a program like Google maps to create a location. Photos can then be linked to the location. Over time, everyday people could help add information about their own neighborhoods which scientists could pull from, he said.

Ultimately, hands-on curriculum will be developed from the collaboration. Researchers are able to see how students react to technology — what kind of instruction is needed and how students use the technology. Teachers are able to get in-field training with technology not always available due to lack of funds. In addition, the students’ work outdoors will hopefully lead to the restoration of the creek running through campus.

Redwood science teacher John DeSollar was particularly excited about the access to technology for his students.

"These are life skills that really help them get a foot in the door for jobs in the future,” he said.

Lessons learned through these hands-on classes could be an introduction into a job. Josie Yu, education liaison for San Mateo County workforce development, is helping to build local business partners willing to offer paid after-school or summer internships to the teens.

"It’s a way for them to explore the career and get paid,” she said.

In addition, the training could enable the students to add green elements to their own campus.

For students, the experience has shed new light on science.

Sandoval used to think of science as paperwork.

"Now that’s really changed,” he said. "I like that [the program] gets us out of class. We’re out here doing something.”

Seventeen-year-old Nancy Pineda agreed. Things like global warming or endangered plants were discussed before, but now she understands how it affects her community and how to prevent those things in the future, she said.

Sparking such interest is the best part of education for Burgamy.

"These students just need a different environment, another pathway for them to be able to shine,” he said.

The class has allowed Burgamy to watch students truly understand the relationship between nature and their own lives.

"You can watch a student change and fall back,” he said. "But a metamorphosis, like a caterpillar into a butterfly, there’s no going back.”

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.