DESIGNING STUDENT-SCIENTIST PARTNERSHIPS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF MULTIPLE AUDIENCES: THE MASTODON MATRIX PROJECT

Three recent Late Pleistocene mastodon discoveries in New York have provided the basis for involving large numbers of students and adults from across the nation and abroad in analysis of Ice Age paleoenvironments. Large quantities of mud matrix were collected during mastodon excavations in Chemung, Dutchess, and Wyoming Counties. An initial pilot program distributed 1-2 kg samples of matrix to school classes, community groups and others. Feedback from participants demonstrated an intrinsic interest in working with paleontological materials independent of overarching scientific or educational goals held by project coordinators. The pilot also pointed out potential challenges to having students and others generate data of real scientific value. Designers of a student-scientist partnership (SSP) must try to balance and reconcile the needs of different participating audiences. Researchers need to know what data participants can collect with sufficient accuracy to answer scientific questions of interest. Educators need to know what data participants can collect that makes sense to them and thus can be integrated with the appropriate curriculum for their grade-level.

In response to researcher needs, PRI collected bulk samples of sediments from the Dutchess site explicitly for use in classrooms participating in authentic scientific research. These samples, for which there is a known spatial and temporal distribution, are critical in documenting the flora and fauna present at a given point in time in the Hudson Valley. Participants sorting through large quantities of Ice Age materials generate an inventory that is then refined by researchers specializing in particular components. In response to the educational needs of participants, particularly elementary school students, PRI is planning to work with 2-5th grade classrooms in urban schools in central New York to develop a tiered system of participation. Age-appropriate tiering of aspects of data collection allows teachers to integrate research experiences with their respective curricula. The same materials are used with several grade levels, each of which performs different types of data collection and analysis. Ongoing assessments of data quality and learning outcomes are critical in designing a Mastodon Matrix SSP that fits the needs of all partners.