From the Bush to the Base to the Classroom
Sara Cann (right) works with Brian Szekely (left), a graduate student in the college, in the laboratory of Dr. Taranjit Kaur. Cann, a teacher from Roanoke County, spent the summer working in Kaur's laboratory to gain knowledge she will take back to her classroom.
A high school science teacher from Roanoke County public schools recently spent the summer doing research in the laboratory of Dr. Taranjit Kaur in the VMRCVM with the intent of taking what she learned back to her students.
Over the course of six weeks, Sara Cann, of Roanoke, Va., did DNA sequencing on 10 plant samples sent to her from Kaur deep in the bush of Tanzania. Cann was trying to determine exactly what the plants were, so Kaur and her colleagues could determine why chimpanzees were eating them.
"For example, if the plants had an anti-nausea component, then the chimps may be eating it to sooth an upset stomach," explains Cann. This type of information is useful to Kaur as she continues her study of the endangered chimpanzee population of the Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania.
After studying chimpanzees in the wilds of Tanzania for the past year as part of a National Science Foundation grant, Kaur and her team have produced powerful scientific evidence that chimpanzees are becoming sick from viral infectious diseases they have likely contracted from humans. Scientific establishment of that linkage could affect the eco-tourism industry, which is an important source of economic development in the region.
The information is also useful to Cann as she prepares to use the knowledge she garnered this summer in her lesson plans for this school year. She hopes to develop her research and experiences into "Read It Modules" for her own high school classroom. She also plans to make the modules adaptable for other teachers to use across all levels of education and plans to present her suggestions at the Virginia Association of Science Teachers (VAST) conference in November.
"The Read It Modules allow for real world examples to be brought into the classroom," said Cann. "I can incorporate my research over the summer into a variety of subjects including ecology and the study of endangered species. I hope to use this as a way of sparking enthusiasm for science in my students."
Cann, a native of Charlottesville, Va., is a two-time graduate of Virginia Tech. She received her B.S. in biology and chemistry in 1995 and her MA.Ed. in curriculum and instruction in 2002.
Reproduced with permission from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/news/vs/sep08/index.asp#bush