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Section 3: "Integrating New Storylines: Woodchip Bioreactor Research" invites you to explore the innovative curriculum package that seamlessly weaves the DNA Fingerprinting lab into an engaging new narrative. This module focuses on Dr. Michelle Soupir's groundbreaking research on woodchip bioreactors, providing a contemporary context that enriches the lab experience. In this section of the course, you will:
Explore Dr. Soupir's research on woodchip bioreactors, gaining insights into how to create engaging, relevant narratives around real-world scientific projects for their students.
Learn how to incorporate the DNA Fingerprinting lab into the study of woodchip bioreactors, understanding the connection between genetic analysis and environmental research.
Develop skills to integrate actual scientific research into classroom teaching, enhancing the authenticity of science education and inspiring students to appreciate the practical applications of science.
A Focus on Research
A Focus on Research
More than a Decade Ago
In 2008, Dr. Michelle Soupir joined the Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering department at Iowa State University. The goal of Dr. Soupir’s research program is to conduct basic research to move us toward more sustainable water systems. Dr. Soupir uses lab- and field-based research projects to monitor the occurrence, fate and movement of nutrients and microorganisms in surface and drainage water.
In 2013, Dr. Soupir’s lab began a project on which these curriculum modules are based. Experimental woodchip bioreactors were designed and installed at the Agricultural Engineering Research Farm near Ames, Iowa. These pilot-scale woodchip bioreactors are used to evaluate the nutrient removal from agricultural drainage water. Dr. Soupir’s students manipulate a variety of variables including hydraulic retention times, bioreactor fill materials, and influent nutrient conditions to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the bioreactors and investigate ways to make bioreactors work better.
Bioreactor Basics
Many parts of the Upper Midwestern United States have wet soils that require drainage in order for them to be used for agriculture. Draining of subsurface water (tiling) in farm fields is a practice that farmers have used for more than 100 years because doing so results in a significant increase in crop yield. Concerns have grown, however, about the effect this practice has on the movement of pollutants (i.e., nitrates and phosphates) through fields and into waters. systems. Nitrate (NO3 -1), which can be present in high amounts in drainage water, makes its way into streams, rivers and lakes where it unbalances ecosystems and can result in hypoxic conditions, as we have seen develop in the Gulf of Mexico, also known as the Gulf Dead Zone.
Woodchip bioreactors have proven to be a simple, yet highly effective way to remove nitrate pollution without impacting current land management practices. Field runoff water is collected via tiling and diverted into the bioreactor, which is essentially a buried trench filled with woodchips. Denitrification occurs when microbes living on the surface of woodchips (or other suitable material) use the wood as a carbon source to convert nitrate to nitrogen gas (N2). The result is cleaner water which can be discharged into existing streams and rivers.
The Woodchip Bioreactor Curriculum
The Woodchip Bioreactor Curriculum
Take a moment to watch our new video that brings the innovative Woodchip Bioreactor K-12 curriculum package to life. This video will not only provide you with insights into how the curriculum was developed but also inspire ideas on how you can integrate these resources into your own classroom settings. It's a fantastic opportunity to see the curriculum's practical applications and how it can engage students in environmental biotechnology, enhancing their learning experiences.
A special "thank you" to our intern, Matt Shafer, for bringing this curriculum package to life!
Woodchip Bioreactors V2.mp4
Why Focus on Woodchip Bioreactors?
Why Focus on Woodchip Bioreactors?
Over the past several years, dozens of teachers have experienced the simplicity and awesome potential of woodchip bioreactors as part of workshops at Iowa State University. These educators often speak of the woodchip bioreactor as an effective way to introduce several key ideas to students. Many say that they overlook the importance of the nitrogen cycle and some leave it out of the curriculum completely. Woodchip bioreactors offer a hands-on way to connect students with locallyimportant issues and the chance to engage with a unique research experience that’s happening in our own backyards.
Although the construction of full-scale bioreactors might not be feasible, classroom scale bioreactors can be easily constructed and used in “proof-of concept” experiments. Students will use this hands-on experience to begin developing solutions for local issues in an attempt to solve a global problem. Teachers, then, can use woodchip bioreactors to engage students with important content and conceptual understanding that may have been previously passed over.
A Plan for Student Learning
A Plan for Student Learning
Our bioreactor curriculum package uses the NGSS storyline structure to help teachers and students navigate the learning activities. Each activity meticulously adds to the coherence of the curriculum and provides a high quality instructional sequence. The use of storylines when learning 3-dimensionally:
Enhances student engagement by connecting scientific concepts to relatable, real-world contexts.
Encourages deeper understanding by weaving together various scientific ideas into a coherent narrative.
Fosters critical thinking and problem-solving as students explore and analyze scenarios within the storyline.
Supports the development of science and engineering practices by simulating authentic scientific inquiry and exploration.
Aids in retention of complex concepts by presenting them within a memorable and meaningful framework.
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