Penn State takes a CHANCE on out-of-classroom studies
Penn State students and environmental science teachers from across the state gave endangered sea turtles a better chance at life.
The CHANCE program — Connecting Humans and Nature through Conservation Experiences — took 17 students, teachers and Penn State staff on the annual trip to Costa Rica from June 28 to July 14.
Associate professor of biology at Penn State Lehigh Jacqueline McLaughlin started the CHANCE program in 2004. It enables Penn State graduate and undergraduate biology and education majors, as well as high school environmental science teachers, to travel to Costa Rica.
The students research endangered sea turtles there and study the environment. McLaughlin hopes the participants in the program learn to think more like scientists, connect with the research, and understand reasoning for and methods of conservation.
“Because the sea turtles were about to go extinct, I couldn’t just walk away. I felt like I had to keep working on it,” she said about continuing the program.
She has continued the project each year as a way to bridge the gap between teaching and basic research.
“It has grown into a lot more than I ever imagined. When you have the right people, I do believe you can save the world,” she said.
This year the trip included stops in the city of Tortuguero to research green sea turtles and Gandoca to help research leather back sea turtles through privately run research organizations in Costa Rica.
In Tortuguero, CHANCE members assisted beach patrols by checking the green sea turtle tag numbers, measuring their shells, and counting the eggs they laid. At Gandoca the leather back sea turtle eggs were in the process of hatching, and students helped place the eggs in safe areas, counted the eggs, measured the baby turtles and released them in areas without predators.
Students also learned about bats, global warming, rainforest insects in La Selva, and traveled to Bocas del Toro in Panama to study marine and island environments.
Assistant professor of science education at Penn State Great Valley Kathleen Fadigan got involved with the program in 2007 as a “co-leader.”
Fadigan is pleased that the trip allows individuals to have a hands-on role in the scientific process and in conservation efforts.
“The impact that it has on students who have the opportunity to go is just life-changing. It gives a whole new perspective on how they view the world and how they look at our environment,” she said.
Her goal is for teachers to bring back stories and photos of the trip into their classrooms to share the experience with high school students.
“I think the students on the trip now have a broader view of the different career opportunities that are out there in the sciences, and the teachers will be able to share the experience with their high school students,” she said.
“Overall students who have a personal connection to this trip are more likely to be interested in science and have more of a concern for the environment,” she said.
Prior to the trip, students were required to study the culture and history of Costa Rica and Panama and learn about the scientific background of the research programs they would be joining. While in Costa Rica, teachers and students attended lessons and presentations on deforestation, effects of agriculture on the environment, tropical ecology and marine biology. The cost of the trip was about $2,800. Penn State students are permitted to receive four credits for the program and teachers are also eligible to earn professional development credits for attending.
CHANCE program attendee Jeff Dornseif, 21, is a senior biology major at Penn State at the school’s University Park campus. The Berwyn native decided to go on the international trip after seeing posters on campus. He decided that in addition to learning more about biology and scientific research the trip would be a unique way to get involved with conservation efforts.
Dornseif was most interested in taking part in a field research project in a non-controlled environment. He felt that working with live animals was rewarding and challenging because the turtles consistently moved as he and others tried to take their measurements.
“I hadn’t been able to do any research yet where I didn’t know what the results would be in the end. This was something that was an unknown, so I was excited about what could happen,” he said.
Dornseif encourages other students and teachers to attend the program and called the experience something that he will never forget.
“Once we started to work with the turtles, we really felt like we were making a difference. It was a fun experience,” he said.
The CHANCE program — Connecting Humans and Nature through Conservation Experiences — took 17 students, teachers and Penn State staff on the annual trip to Costa Rica from June 28 to July 14.
Associate professor of biology at Penn State Lehigh Jacqueline McLaughlin started the CHANCE program in 2004. It enables Penn State graduate and undergraduate biology and education majors, as well as high school environmental science teachers, to travel to Costa Rica.
The students research endangered sea turtles there and study the environment. McLaughlin hopes the participants in the program learn to think more like scientists, connect with the research, and understand reasoning for and methods of conservation.
“Because the sea turtles were about to go extinct, I couldn’t just walk away. I felt like I had to keep working on it,” she said about continuing the program.
She has continued the project each year as a way to bridge the gap between teaching and basic research.
“It has grown into a lot more than I ever imagined. When you have the right people, I do believe you can save the world,” she said.
This year the trip included stops in the city of Tortuguero to research green sea turtles and Gandoca to help research leather back sea turtles through privately run research organizations in Costa Rica.
In Tortuguero, CHANCE members assisted beach patrols by checking the green sea turtle tag numbers, measuring their shells, and counting the eggs they laid. At Gandoca the leather back sea turtle eggs were in the process of hatching, and students helped place the eggs in safe areas, counted the eggs, measured the baby turtles and released them in areas without predators.
Students also learned about bats, global warming, rainforest insects in La Selva, and traveled to Bocas del Toro in Panama to study marine and island environments.
Assistant professor of science education at Penn State Great Valley Kathleen Fadigan got involved with the program in 2007 as a “co-leader.”
Fadigan is pleased that the trip allows individuals to have a hands-on role in the scientific process and in conservation efforts.
“The impact that it has on students who have the opportunity to go is just life-changing. It gives a whole new perspective on how they view the world and how they look at our environment,” she said.
Her goal is for teachers to bring back stories and photos of the trip into their classrooms to share the experience with high school students.
“I think the students on the trip now have a broader view of the different career opportunities that are out there in the sciences, and the teachers will be able to share the experience with their high school students,” she said.
“Overall students who have a personal connection to this trip are more likely to be interested in science and have more of a concern for the environment,” she said.
Prior to the trip, students were required to study the culture and history of Costa Rica and Panama and learn about the scientific background of the research programs they would be joining. While in Costa Rica, teachers and students attended lessons and presentations on deforestation, effects of agriculture on the environment, tropical ecology and marine biology. The cost of the trip was about $2,800. Penn State students are permitted to receive four credits for the program and teachers are also eligible to earn professional development credits for attending.
CHANCE program attendee Jeff Dornseif, 21, is a senior biology major at Penn State at the school’s University Park campus. The Berwyn native decided to go on the international trip after seeing posters on campus. He decided that in addition to learning more about biology and scientific research the trip would be a unique way to get involved with conservation efforts.
Dornseif was most interested in taking part in a field research project in a non-controlled environment. He felt that working with live animals was rewarding and challenging because the turtles consistently moved as he and others tried to take their measurements.
“I hadn’t been able to do any research yet where I didn’t know what the results would be in the end. This was something that was an unknown, so I was excited about what could happen,” he said.
Dornseif encourages other students and teachers to attend the program and called the experience something that he will never forget.
“Once we started to work with the turtles, we really felt like we were making a difference. It was a fun experience,” he said.
