Lesson 9

Lesson 9: "Publication" of Scientific Papers and Posters

Purpose: This activity will model the scientific process of documenting and sharing information with other scientists. It will be a summative evaluative tool for the teacher to determine how well each student mastered the content. This activity will also provide much needed practice in writing skills, promoting students to think through what they did, what it meant and how to communicate effectively.

Time: One 50-60 minute class period for discussion; one week to prepare written assignment.

Materials Preparation:

Student copies of "Publication of Procedure and Results"

Student copies of "Evaluating the Relationship of Autumn Buttercup to Some Close Congeners Using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA"

Student Objectives:

Describe and explain the content of each section in the format of a scientific paper or poster: title, authors, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion and bibliographic references.

Reach a conclusion about the classification of the Arizona Hedgehog cactus.

Make a recommendation about whether to continue to protect the Arizona Hedgehog.

Lesson Plan:

(1) Hand out reading material "Publication of Procedure and Results" and "Evaluating the Relationship of Autumn Buttercup to Some Close Congeners Using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA." The first reading is to be used as a reference in defining the parts of a scientific paper or poster and that the second reading is an example of a real paper published by a group of researchers using exactly the same techniques on a similar question about a different rare plant. This paper is to be used as an example for formatting the students' scientific papers.

(2) Discuss the purpose of each section of the scientific paper or poster and what is to be included.

(3) Allow students some time at the end of class to ask questions about what to include in their papers. Students should prepare some pictorial way to present their data and check this with the teacher. Each student should form a conclusion about the taxonomic standing of the cactus populations in question and make a recommendation about the protective status of the Arizona Hedgehog.

Supplemental Materials:

"Publication of Procedure and Results" - Handout

"Evaluating the Relationship of Autumn Buttercup to Some Close Congeners Using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA" by R. Van Buren, K.T. Harper, W.R. Andersen, D.J. Stanton, S. Seyoum, and J.L. England. published in the American Journal of Botany 81(4):514-519. 1994.