LIGHT CRAWLERS: BIOLUMINESCENCE-BASED DISCOVERIES FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION

THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO DEVELOP HANDS ON INTEGRATED SCIENCEMATERIALS BASED ON THE PHENOMENON OF BIOLUMINESCENCE. SPECIFICALLY, IN THIS PHASE I, WE PROPOSED TO DEVELOP THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY NECESSARY TO DEVELOP A NOVEL TEACHINGAID, LIGHT CRAWLERS. ADDITIONALLY, THE INTENT IS FOR CURRICULAR DEVELOPMENT AROUND BIOLUMINESCENCE FOR INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCE EDUCATION FROM AN INTEGRATED APPROACH. THE MATERIALS WILL AID IN THE OBSERVATION, DISCOVERY, AND LEARNING OF BASIC CONCEPTS IN VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC FIELDS. TEACHERS AND THEIR STUDENTS WILL DEVELOPNEW AND EXPANDED UNDERSTANDINGS OF SCIENCE CONCEPTS AND THE NATURE OF THE SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOR. SEVERAL SPECIES OF BIOLUMINESCENT EARTHWORMS ARE KNOWN AND AVAILABLE IN THE US. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THEIR HABITAT REQUIREMENTS. WE WILL RESEARCH THE APPROPRIATENESS OF BIOLUMINESCENT EARTHWORMS FOR USE AS A TEACHING AID IN TERMS OF THE EASE OF RAISING AND MAINTENANCE, AND METHODS OFSTIMULATION OF THE BIOLUMINESCENCE DISPLAY. EMPHASIS WILL BE ON DEVELOPMENT OF OBSERVATION AND HANDS ON EXPERIMENTS APPROPRIATE FOR USE IN INTEGRATED CURRICULA FOR GRADES K-12.