{"548631":{"#nid":"548631","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Bring Beach to Laurel Ridge Elementary School","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFor elementary school children, an upcoming field trip is riveting, the one time they find \u0026nbsp;themselves unable to sleep in anticipation. This year, fifth-grade students at Laurel Ridge Elementary School, in Decatur, were bound for a beach on \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cityoftybee.org\/\u0022\u003ETybee Island\u003C\/a\u003E, the easternmost point of the state of Georgia. But some couldn\u2019t go. Thanks to School of Biology Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/\u0022\u003EJoel E. Kostka\u003C\/a\u003E and his students, these fifth graders did not have to miss the excitement of a year-end activity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe were asked by the organizer of outreach opportunities \u2013 Tracy Hammer \u2013 to come, because half of the kids in the fifth-grade class could not make it to the beach,\u201d Kostka said. \u201cSo we brought the beach to them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThis clever solution had many positive outcomes. It advanced Hammer\u2019s goal for science education at Laurel Ridge. It taught Georgia Tech researchers how to explain their work to school children. And it opened the eyes of elementary students to the excitement of scientific research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHammer is the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) coordinator and teacher for gifted students at Laurel Ridge. She has dedicated her career to getting young children excited about mathematics and science. \u201cPart of my mission at school is to expose all of\u0026nbsp;the kids to science in as many ways as I can,\u201d she said. \u201cI refused to have our fifth graders staying behind, missing out on the hands-on experience the other kids were getting. So I decided to bring science to the school.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKostka came with graduate students \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/people\/graduate\/graduate.html\u0022\u003EWill A. Overholt, Boryoung Shin, and Xiaoxu Sun\u003C\/a\u003E and undergraduate biology major \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/people\/undergrads\/undergrads.html\u0022\u003EKyle Sexton\u003C\/a\u003E. At Georgia Tech, one research focus in the Kostka lab is biodegradation of oil in the oceans, including \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/research\/oilspill\/oilspill.html\u0022\u003Eoil spills in the Gulf of Mexico\u003C\/a\u003E. Kostka and his students study how marine microbes break down oil, how fast it occurs, and what factors affect the process. Their goal is to learn enough to direct the management and cleanup of contaminated systems, such as the aftermath of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill-of-2010\u0022\u003Ethe 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico\u003C\/a\u003E. The beach they brought to Laurel Ridge resembled those sullied by the environmental disaster. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EOne of Hammer\u2019s goals is for Laurel Ridge to be \u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/stemgeorgia.org\/georgia-stem-initiatives\/\u0022\u003ESTEM certified\u003C\/a\u003E. The process requires the school to have community and industry partners. To fulfill this requirement, Hammer has been inviting researchers from Georgia Tech, including her husband, School of Biology\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/brian-hammer\u0022\u003EBrian K. Hammer\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAccording to the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/stemgeorgia.org\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Department of Education\u003C\/a\u003E, STEM-certified schools offer an integrated curriculum in STEM \u201cthat is driven by problem solving, discovery, exploratory project\/problem-based learning, and student-centered development of ideas and solutions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ETo doubters, who may think such a program would be too much for elementary-level students, Tracy Hammer would disagree. \u201cI believe we underestimate elementary school children and their abilities and interest levels when it comes to science,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more we offer, the more they want to learn,\u0026nbsp;and the more questions they ask.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe Georgia Tech researchers engaged the fifth-graders in activities they named \u201cOiled Beach,\u201d designed by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bethkostka.weebly.com\/about-me.html\u0022\u003EBeth Kostka\u003C\/a\u003E, wife of Joel Kostka, and a teacher \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/renfroe.csdecatur.net\/\u0022\u003ERenfroe Middle School,\u003C\/a\u003E in Decatur. Working in small groups of six to eight members per group, the school children modeled oil spills, counted bacteria, discussed Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, and watched oil-eating bacteria at work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe children were really engaged, had fantastic questions,\u201d Overholt said. \u201cThey seemed to really enjoy the two hours we spent with them.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESeeing the students\u2019 thirst for knowledge to learn and ability to learn was an eye-opening experience for Overholt. \u0026nbsp;\u201cThe kids were so excited about things that my peers and I take for granted,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was very rewarding to see kids so curious about the world around them. I also think it is great practice to talk about our science at the fifth-grade level and still be able to communicate what we do.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThrough these activities led by research scientists, Tracy Hammer moves closer to her goal of getting Laurel Ridge STEM-certified. \u201cWhen\u0026nbsp;we expose our budding scientists to the world and the possibilities it holds,\u201d she said, \u201cthen we can say we are truly doing our jobs as educators.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShe hopes Joel Kostka will return and that other Georgia Tech research groups would visit Laurel Ridge throughout the year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI will do it again,\u201d said Joel Kostka. \u201cThe kids were very perceptive. I learned that kids as young as those in fifth grade can really understand the oceans and the implications of oil spills. Those kids have a lot to offer.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAlthough the \u201cbeach\u201d they had did not come with sun and ocean and waves, the children had a great time. \u201cWhen the others returned from Tybee,\u201d Tracy Hammer said, \u201cthe kids who stayed behind were the ones bragging about their experiences.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EScott Smith\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EStudent Assistant, College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"School of Biology\u2019s Joel Kostka, students engaged fifth-graders in oils spills, oil-eating bacteria."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biology\u2019s Joel Kostka, students engaged fifth-graders in oils spills, oil-eating bacteria.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of Biology\u2019s Joel Kostka, students engaged fifth-graders in oils spills, oil-eating bacteria."}],"uid":"32503","created_gmt":"2016-06-28 10:40:57","changed_gmt":"2022-05-26 17:09:36","author":"Scotty Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12952","name":"Brian Hammer"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"172162","name":"Joel E. Kostka"},{"id":"172163","name":"Laurel Ridge Elementary School"},{"id":"172164","name":"Oiled Beach"},{"id":"172165","name":"Tracy Hammer"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi - Director of Communications - College of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}