Project Overview
Context
Biology in a Box is a fun and challenging way for entire schools to enhance their life sciences curriculum at all grade levels, and to encourage student interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines. The program employs a hands-on, inquiry-based approach to teach the wonders of the living world, as well as introducing the scientific methods and math skills we use to understand that world.
Each thematic unit has exercises that are designed to enrich science curriculum content for students from the elementary grades through high school. The goal of each unit is to pique the interest of even low-ability students on a particular biological theme. The more advanced activities in a thematic unit, furthermore, have been designed as curriculum enrichment for very bright students who need a challenge.
The Biology in a Box program is especially valuable to teachers in schools that have limited resources for extra materials. The materials needed for completion of the exercises, presented in each thematic trunk, are totally reusable and are generally not commercially available. It is also an excellent program for schools with a limited science faculty, since no prior knowledge of the subject matter is needed for a teacher to explore a box theme with his or her students.
We are presently limited to serving counties in Tennessee (teachers can check the partnership page to see if their school system is enrolled in the project). Anyone can access the ideas, exercises, and concepts on our website, however.
History
Professor Susan Riechert, from the Division of Biology in UT’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, developed Biology in a Box in 1993 as a science education outreach project. She recognized the need for supplementary science resources in East Tennessee schools, and saw Biology in a Box as an effective means of meeting that need.
At the program’s outset, the boxes were circulated only in the Knox County school system. Since then, the project has expanded to currently serve 271,099 students in 31 school systems (primarily in East Tennessee), with a goal of extending the program throughout the state. In addition, the materials are now available to a global audience through the newly-updated website.
Benefits
The Biology in a Box exercises simulate the scientist's method of discovery, thereby responding to the shortcomings that education leaders have identified in our science curriculum. Students learn through direct experience with materials, by consulting additional sources and experts, and through argument and debate among themselves.
The Biology in a Box materials employ inquiry methodology in teaching science. These methods emphasize higher-order thinking, concepts rather than facts, and collaborative problem-solving skills in which teachers act as facilitators and students as the collaborators.
More importantly, however, students respond eagerly to the experiential teaching methods and tend to learn quickly because of their enthusiasm. In fact, when compared with the previous year’s classes, which did not have access to Biology in a Box, participating classes in the Knox County school system showed between a 2 and 12 percent improvement in their TCAP science test scores.
The Box
A simple wooden trunk houses the materials and associated exercises for each theme given to the participating school system (the trunks vary in size and shape, depending on the contents of each unit). BIOLOGY is stenciled in bold, red letters across the front of the box, and it has a hinged lid on top, complete with a latch and padlock. Once a box has been opened, the teacher will find that it contains a set of objects, and exercises that use these materials for the respective grade levels.
For example, the box entitled "Of Skulls and Teeth," contains a number of different mammalian skulls (e.g., armadillo, beaver, bobcat, coyote, deer, rabbit, skunk, mink, and human [replica]) and a representative reptilian skull (turtle). Three exercises are presented that encourage students to interact with the box’s contents.
Teachers appreciate that the materials and learning exercises are stored conveniently in a container, making it easy to transport from classroom to classroom and from school to school. They also value the fact that the boxes correspond with their curriculum, and that they teach and reinforce what students need to know.
The boxes may be used indefinitely, as long as they are properly maintained, making the project’s influence both broad and enduring.
Ten thematic units are currently available. Units 11 and 12 below are under development, with delivery expected for the 2008-09 school year.
● Unit 1 Fossils
● Unit 2 Of Skulls & Teeth
● Unit 3 Fur, Feathers, Scales: Insulation
● Unit 4 Simple Measures
● Unit 5 It’s in Your Genes
● Unit 6 Animal Kingdom
● Unit 7 Backyard Naturalist
● Unit 8 Everything Varies
● Unit 9 Forestry
● Unit 10 Behavior
● Unit 11 From Climate to Habitats
● Unit 12 Cells and Cell Processes
How It Works
We suggest that the teacher request delivery of a theme from the school system’s Box Keeper a few days prior to its intended use, so that the locked wooden trunk can be displayed in the classroom or media center to pique students’ interest in the box’s contents. This helps to develop the trait all scientists must have—curiosity.
Once the contents of the trunk are made available to the students, the media specialist can rotate groups of 3-5 students in a given class between this exercise and the other tasks that they generally complete during the period. For instance, in a library/media center, students might also spend some time each session learning computer skills, checking out library books, and completing a library skill exercise. It takes about a month for the entire school of 40 classes in grades K-5 to work through a given thematic unit that is presented to them during library period.
Alternately, the science teacher can engage his or her entire class in a group exercise. Each exercise begins with an explanation of a real-world problem and a paragraph or two of background material. Then, students can use the box’s contents to solve the problem.
For example, in the “Of Skulls and Teeth” box, students learn about different kinds of teeth and how these teeth help the animals to feed on particular kinds of food (e.g., meat, plants, and insects). Students are challenged to examine the teeth in each skull to determine what kind of diet that animal had. Is it a plant eater (herbivore), meat eater (carnivore), insect feeder (insectivore), or does it feed on a variety of foods (omnivore)? The skulls are stationed around the classroom and the student groups are asked to visit each station, examine the skull there, and make a decision as to the diet of that animal. A greater challenge would be to further identify the animal belonging to the skull. Is it a skunk, coyote, or bear? At the end of the activity, students can consult an answer key to discover the animal’s diet and species, along with a picture of the animal and additional information about its habits. This initial exercise is a qualitative one.
In the next level exercise, students are asked to quantitatively compare skulls by counting the numbers of teeth of each morphological type in the skulls and developing graphs that show the similarities and differences among the skulls available.
Finally, the level 3 exercise in the “Of Skulls and Teeth” box is totally exploratory. Students are given lists and diagrams showing various skull and tooth morphology measures they might make using various tools provided (e.g., metric ruler, dial calipers, a graduated cylinder, and box of steel balls. The goal is to develop one or more hypotheses that can be tested by making measurements on the set of skulls. It is suggested that the class be divided up into groups of three or four students in doing all of these exercises to foster collaboration and communication skills.
The librarian or science teacher might supplement this exercise with a book display on the subject of animal diets and teeth. Links to websites for further information on each subject are provided at the end of all exercises.
Although each exercise is designed for a general educational range, students within that range can adjust these exercises to their own skill levels. For instance, in the “Of Skulls and Teeth” box, kindergartners and first-graders may simply enjoy the tactile exploration of feeling the difference between bones and teeth. But teaming them up with 3rd- to 5th-grade reading buddies permits them to pursue the diet question. Some of the units are more advanced (such as Unit 5, which explores Mendelian genetics) and are geared toward middle school and high school students. Nevertheless, most exercises can be used in some form at all levels, K-12.
How to Apply
To enroll in the Biology in a Box program, a school system’s Superintendent or Curriculum Coordinator must send a letter of interest to the Project Director by email, fax, or by U.S. mail, using the contact information below. The letter should include the name and contact information for a “Box Keeper,” who will serve as the primary liaison between the school system and the University of Tennessee, and will take responsibility for circulating boxes among teachers.
Once the letter is approved, one or more sets of boxes will be sent to the school system, depending on its size and needs. The Box Keeper will lend the units to schools who request them within the school system, and will interact with UT to obtain any replacement materials for the boxes.
Susan E. Riechert
Biology in a Box Project Director
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
University of Tennessee
Knoxville TN 37996-1610
E-mail: sriecher@utk.edu
Fax: (865) 974-6042
Additional Training for Teachers
The program holds workshops in the summer and through the year to train teachers to use the boxes. They allow teachers to refresh their knowledge of the science behind the boxes, as well as learn how to present the material in ways that will excite the students. Teachers have the opportunity to learn about the boxes and their contents firsthand before a box even arrives at their school, so they can tailor their curriculum to a box’s exercises, if they wish.
Biology in a Box Partners
Undergraduate and graduate students help to assemble the materials that go into each box and involved graduate and post-doctoral students help to teach summer workshops. The program also partners with the Boy Scouts of America; more than 150 scouts have helped with construction of the thousands of boxes of various sizes for the project, and use this community service project to work toward the Eagle Scout Award.
Funding for the program comes from several different sources:
● Howard Hughes Foundation
● JR Cox Fund
● Dwight D. Eisenhower Fund
● Improving Teacher Quality Grants
● National Science Foundation Behavior Program RET
● West Knoxville Sertoma Club
● College of Arts and Sciences Office of Academic Outreach
Permission to copy, use and disseminate the materials provided herein is hereby granted for educational, non profit uses. All other rights reserved.