Presents
A
Lesson in Aerobiology
The
Mold Spores, Asthma & Allergy Project©
Real
Science @ SchoolTM is a national school science data sharing hub
supported by Home Health Science, Inc., makers of the
Mold Test Kits. The
"Mold Spores Asthma & Allergy
Project©" is an Internet integrated classroom science lesson plan
focusing on the examination of local weather variables as they
effect the production of mold spores and the spores' potential
role in allergic responses.
The idea
behind the project is to involve Junior High and High School
students in collecting real time scientific data and
apply it to the examination of a real problem (asthma) and share the data,
observations and conclusions with other schools, through the Internet. Students and teachers will look
for statistical correlations as expressed in the Internet pooled experimental data, which may
precipitate further study. This
is a first of its kind Internet enabled sharing
of data from novel school science experiments dealing with the
Weather, Bioaerosols, Asthma and Allergy.
The Mold
Spores Asthma & Allergy Project Kit is comprised of a set of
50 microbiological spore capture film setups (sufficient for 5
class lessons of 10 days sampling each), a lesson plan with
data graphic templates, Internet information support sites and
Internet data sharing hub.
This Kit
is also ideal for A.P. Biology projects or science fair
projects.
We welcome
the ideas and suggestions of science teachers from across the
country to improve upon this particular lesson plan concept
and send us ideas for other Real Science @ School data sharing
experiments, that you'd like to cooperatively study with other
schools.
The key
learning objectives in this Aerobiology lesson plan are:
Definitions: Aerobiology - the study of airborne
microorganisms; Bioaerosols - are airborne microscopic
biological particles consisting of bacteria, mold spores,
viruses, protozoans, and may include water droplets, soil and
plant particles.
Concepts - The
students will understand the concept of Bioaerosols,
Allergies, Allergen Triggers, Asthma, and multiple variables.
Data Collection - The
students will learn how to collect data relevant to airborne
allergies and investigate the potential correlations between
daily outdoor airborne mold spore counts, weather and student asthma
symptoms, as presented to the school nurse.
Data Graphing - The class
will collect and record the data for 10 days. The students
will convert the data into mathematical representations and
graph it for comparisons (see Figure 1). The Lesson Kit
includes the four graph templates and an Internet real-time
data graphing site (See #8 Below).
Data Analysis - The
students will learn how to examine data for correlations
between several variables:
A) Daily outdoor mold spore counts; and
B) Daily multiple weather variables; and
C) The number of daily school-wide asthmatic episodes reported
to the nurse; and
D) A daily pole of allergic symptoms reported by members of
the class.
NOTE: If the teacher is
unable to obtain the number of each day's asthmatic episodes,
then the teacher can use the Allergic Responses Graph along
with the Weather Data Graph. However, the student daily self reporting of "allergy
symptoms data" lacks the objectivity "hard data" of a nurse's
numerical report.
Experimental Design - Based on
this lesson the students will learn the concept of designing
and testing experiments with multiple variables.
Multiple Variables - Based on
this lesson the students will learn how to question the
results of an experiment due to the presence of other
potentially interfering but unmeasured variables, i.e.,
pollen, air pollutants, etc or subjective responses.
Internet Data Sharing / Inter-School Dialogue - At the
conclusion, the teacher is encouraged to assign a student to
go online and post the data, findings and conclusions of this experiment onto
this Internet
data sharing site established for participating schools. This
Internet site will automatically create a graph of the posted
data for the teachers' use and can be saved and incorporated
into an e-mail message as an attachment.
Schools are encouraged to build a relationship with one or
more of the posted sister school science classes by e-mailing
them directly with their data, observations and conclusions
relative to this experiment and enter into discussions and
follow-up experiments. (This site will be
operational in March 2002 for the spring outdoor mold spore
experimentation season.)
An
Aerobiology Lesson Plan
|
Field
of Study: |
Aerobiology |
|
Subject: |
Bioaerosols, Weather, Asthma & Allergy
Episodes |
|
Organism: |
Mold
Spores in the Air |
|
Core
Concepts: |
-
Microscopic Biological Organisms in the Air
-
Data Collection (Spores, Weather, Symptoms)
-
Converting Data to Mathematical Graphs
-
Analyzing Multiple Variable Correlations
-
Experimental Errors and Omissions
-
The Scientific Method
|
Overview
Aerobiology is the study of airborne microscopic organisms -- i.e.
bacteria, molds, yeasts, viruses, algae and protozoans. A
collection of airborne biological particles is called a
Bioaerosol. The composition of the microbes in a
Bioaerosol is usually determined by the source of soil, water
and plants from which it came... or other event such as a
sneeze. This
particular study focuses on airborne microscopic biological
organisms called mold spores and their potential impact on
humans. This is a lesson which comprises a total of
approximately 3 class periods (± 120 minutes) spread out over
6-11 school days of data gathering, analysis and conclusions.
This is genuine scientific data collection experience and
investigation and, therefore, requires the lesson concept to
be initiated and discussed and then suspended while data is
collected for up to 10 days, then analyzed, discussed and
concluded.
The lesson
is initiated with a teacher leading a discussion of asthma,
allergies and allergens. In this lesson the teacher will discuss
airborne allergens in general and mold spore allergens
in particular. The initial class discussion will focus on
allergies and asthma and the air which may contain a variety
of irritants which will trigger allergic or asthmatic episodes.
Members of
the class (data teams) will then collect outdoor mold spore
data, weather data and asthma data (counts) from the school
nurse for 10 day cycles. The data will be organized in graph
form for comparison, analysis, and discussion of these
variables and conclusions.
At the
conclusion of the lesson, students will be engaged in a
discussion of the "Scientific Method" and how it was used to
design this experiment and how this experiment could be
revised to look for additional evidence relative to airborne
mold spores or other airborne particulate "triggers" which may
cause allergic or asthmatic responses.
In the
spring of 2002, students will have a web site onto which they
can enter and download their data and conclusions and compare
their findings and conclusions with other schools using this
lesson kit - Web Site Under Construction (REALSCIENCEATSCHOOL.COM).
Lesson
Duration:
One
day of introduction plus up to 10 day cycles of data
collection and a final day or two of graphing data,
discussion and conclusions.
The School Science Kit Includes:
The
Kit
-
The
Mold Test Kits-- The Airborne Mold Spore Detection Kit (see Figure
2).
Mold Test Kits
represents a breakthrough in microbiological screening for bioaerosols.
"Petri dishes are out and thin film
technology is in."
This kit uses patent-pending thin film
micro technology which enables the user to capture mold
spores on dry media film for long sampling periods with
subsequent hydration and incubation.
The films and activating liquid are
sterile and have a 6 to 12 month shelf life. These thin
dehydrated media films are the new generation of a "Petri
dish."
Here are the 6
EASY STEPS to a MoldCheck™
test!
Data
Organizing Tools:
-
A daily spore count data and graph template
-
A daily weather data and graph template
-
A daily asthma episode data and graph template
Lesson
Support:
-
Lesson support literature - background information ("Bio
Stars")
-
A web site for support, data downloading and sharing,
and student, teacher, and school-to-school interaction -
realscienceatschool.com.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Sean
Reilly
teach@realscienceatschool.com
Director, Product Development
Home Health Science, Inc.
The Kit
comes with 50 tests for up to 5 class lessons or can be adapted
to other types of experiments. The school kit comes with
full instructions and a structured lesson plan.
MoldCheck™ Kits
"as good as it gets"
in do-it-yourself mold testing, mold detection, mold clean-up, mold removal, toxic mold screening, and black mold education.
Purchase Orders from Schools or Government Agencies are accepted.
Mold Identification/Laboratory Testing
If your surface test confirms you have mold contamination and
you want to have the mold identified, send the mold
sampling swab to a "specialized testing laboratory." For a separate fee,
this specialized laboratory can conduct microscopic identification of all the
molds on your
sample.
