Figure 4: 3D-printed ocean basin model showing the movement of Gyres and plastic “pollution”
pieces of plastic around the globe and then compare and con- trast their illustration of real ocean currents with the ones observed in their model. Plastic beads are added to the model roughly proportional to the actual accumulation of plastic pollution in the oceans: For example, two beads in 1970 rep- resent two million tons, an additional 28 beads in 2000 rep- resents 30 million tons, and an additional ~120 beads in 2030 represents 150 million tons.7
Activity 4: Problems with Pollution Students are given four bags representing a simple food chain that includes phytoplankton, zooplankton, herring, and cod (Figure 5). Students record the number of microplastics in each organism before placing the phytoplankton bag into the zooplankton bag. These bags are then placed in the herring bag. Finally, the herring bag is placed in the cod bag. Stu- dents record and graph the microplastics as one moves up the food chain. It is important to let students know that while we do know that the chemicals found absorbed by plastics can be biomagnified in the tissues of organisms, it is uncertain that plastic ends up in tissues. We do know that ingesting plastic can cause many problems for organisms: blockage, reduced intake of nutrition, and transfer of toxic chemicals.8
Activity 5: Solution to Pollution Students learn a framework referred to as the 4 Rs (Figure 6) for helping to solve the plastic pollution problem. Students design a plan for how they can help solve this problem and then share and compare it with their peers.
Interview with a Student The instruction booklets for kits developed at the NSEOC conclude with an interview with a CSU student from a demo- graphic group traditionally underrepresented in sciences. The
hope is that her story will help inspire students to think about pursuing careers in STEM fields. The interview questions reveal how she became interested in science, who her favor- ite science teacher was, whether or not she participated in science fairs, and what her current research at CSU is about. This student’s story is particularly appropriate as she is work- ing in a chemistry lab trying to develop a new polymer that can be recycled more efficiently.
Activity Extension If the kits are used in locations with access to beach, lake, or river sand, students are encouraged to obtain sand samples and inspect them under the microscope to look for microplas- tics and estimate their abundance.
Evaluation of Effectiveness To evaluate the effectiveness of the kit on student learning outcomes, we implemented a pre- and post-activity survey. The self-report survey assessed students’ knowledge through several open-ended, short-answer questions, including “Where does plastic come from?”, “What is biomagnification and the importance of it?”, “How does plastic get ‘stuck’ in the ocean?”, “Is plastic bad? Why or why not?”, and “What is something you can do to influence the amount of plastic pollution?” Answers to these questions demonstrated that most people had little knowledge about the answers before completing the activities in the kit. However, based on the post-test assessment, each participant demonstrated a growth in knowledge after completing the activities. The growth was measured on a scale from one to five and, on average, aware- ness after completing the kit went up by one full point. Furthermore, based on student feedback and comments, the kit was well-received and enjoyable for those who partici-
Green Teacher 122 Page 7
Photo by Mike Viney
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