Xcite Learning/ NWO @ BGSU/The Toledo Zoo - Xcite Learning/ NWO @ BGSU/The Toledo Zoo

About the Partnership

Our collaborative partnership engages in teacher professional development, K–12 student programming, pre-service teacher training, and collaborative federal grant activities to promote GLOBE in the region.

2023 Highlights

Our partnership trained teachers representing four school districts at BGSU’s federally funded Project IMPACT GLOBE in the Prairie summer and academic year professional learning program. The summer program took place at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium in July, followed by virtual meetings throughout the year. This program aimed to assist teachers in using GLOBE protocols and the iNaturalist tool to conduct student research regarding questions relating to school prairies. Teachers were encouraged to bring students to the local student research meeting in May. Participating schools received GLOBE equipment and supplies, and the teachers received stipends. We visited schools to provide the support needed for student research success.

We also led a four-week STEMM Summer Camp Program for K – 4 grade students at Waterville Primary School. The focus of this program was to lead students through a project-based learning (PBL) experience to answer the question, “How can we make our school prairie better for the animals and plants that live there and for the people visiting the prairie?” GLOBE protocols were used to study the atmosphere and soil, and a purple air device was installed to investigate air quality. We kicked off our Earth Beneath our Feet Soil Tent program at the STEMM Camp and constructed a mosaic soil mural. 

In May 2023, 83 third – eighth-grade students presented research at our second annual Local GLOBE in the Prairie Student Research Symposium (SRS) held at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium. These students represented four area schools: Hull Prairie Intermediate (Perrysburg, OH), Marshall STEMM Academy (Toledo, OH), and Waterville Primary School (Waterville, OH). Many of the teachers bringing students to this SRS participated in the Project IMPACT GLOBE in the Prairie training.

During the fall semester, BGSU pre-service teachers assisted 5th-grade students in collecting data at the third annual Bioblitz BG program in September 2023. This year, we offered two different events with 207 students from Kenwood Elementary School in Bowling Green and Washington Junior High in Toledo participating. Each event included GLOBE data collection (soil, air, and surface temperature protocols), an iNaturalist biodiversity Bioblitz, and a take-home monarch attracting seed drop-making activity. Pre-service teachers from BGSU worked in small groups with young learners from the local schools.

Another cohort of Project IMPACT teachers received GLOBE in the Prairie Training during the fall semester. Again, the teachers received stipends and GLOBE equipment needed for student research projects. These teachers are invited to bring students to the 2024 Local SRS in May 2024.

Funding

The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium and Bowling Green State University’s Northwest Ohio Center for Excellence in STEM Education (NWO) sponsored our Bioblitz BG and our GLOBE in the Prairie Local Student Research Symposium (SRS).

Cooperating Organizations

Xcite Learning, The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, Wintergarden Park, NWO STEM Center of Excellence at BGSU, Waterville Primary School.

Areas of Expertise

In-service professional development, programming for students, Elementary GLOBE, pre-service teachers