Diatom of the Month April 2019 - Public (Un)awareness of Diatoms

 

by Shelly Wu*

 

 

Shelly Wu explains to us how her research may educate the general public about diatoms in a variety of learning environments: the power of teaching beyond the classrooms!

 

 

As diatomists, we are thrilled by the wonders of diatoms. It is no secret to us that they produce anywhere from 25-40% of the oxygen that we breathe ¹ (yet, trees get all or most of the credit) and sustain aquatic food webs ². We value the numerous uses of diatoms such as biofuel production ³, commercial use in household products ⁴, forensic science ⁵, and water quality assessment ⁶. We also admire the remnants of their glass cell walls in artistic arrangements ⁷. Although we know their inherent worth, the general public often does not and so we are asked: “What is a diatom”?

 

Over the years, I began to wonder why diatoms are not well known to the general public. I began my search for diatom information in practitioner journals associated with the National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) and the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). I found that most of the articles were oriented towards high school and college students in the context of broader topics such as biodiversity and ecology. I found very few lessons and activities for elementary and middle school children ^8-12. Furthermore, only 9 articles focused on diatoms, either consisting of informational articles or inquiry-based investigations ^2,11,13-19. These findings did not give me much hope that formal schooling will educate our citizens about diatoms (Fig. 1). What about informal learning environments?

 

 

Fig. 1. Diatoms are often excluded from science education curriculum, yet these algae are instrumental storytellers to ecologists about our past, present, and future of the environment (Image Credits: Christensen, 1971 ²; Hungerford, 1988 ¹³; Sadava, Hillis, Heller, & Berenbaum, 2011 ²⁰).

 

 

 

Diatoms in the Informal Learning Environment

 

It has been suggested that in our lifetime, 5% of learning occurs at school. The remaining 95% of learning stems from informal learning environments such as aquariums, museums, nature, and zoos ²¹. We also consume scientific information through free-choice learning and use ‘funds of knowledge’ such as books, magazines, the internet, and television ²². Therefore, informal environments and free-choice learning can be attractive avenues for disseminating diatom knowledge. We can capture the public’s attention through informal settings, such as diatom displays at a science and art exhibit ²³, an interactive touchscreen at a museum ²⁴, or sculptures on a sidewalk (Fig. 2) ²⁵. For free-choice learning, I encourage you to connect with children in your own family or local community by reading The Hidden World of Diatoms ²⁶ or go watch One Strange Rock episode 1 on Netflix in which the famous actor Will Smith conceptualizes our ability to breath because of “those little fellas under the sea” ²⁷.

 

 

Fig. 2. Human-sized diatom sculptures near Portland State University (Image Credit: Trimet ²⁸).

 

In addition to informal settings and free-choice learning, we also need to engage the public in the diatom world. In my past experience, I brought diatom outreach to programs such as Bioblitz. Bioblitz is an event where scientists and citizen scientists document the biodiversity in a given area in a short time span ²⁹. During my one-hour time slot with the public, I led participants to the edge of Lake Texoma (at the University of Oklahoma Biological Field Station, USA) to sample diatoms with simple spoons and turkey basters. When people came back inside to observe their samples, they asked questions like “Why does this one have squiggles”? Not only is Bioblitz beneficial in fostering an appreciation of natural history, but it can result in new scientific discoveries. For example, a Bioblitz in New Zealand led to the description of a novel diatom genus and species, Skeletomastus and Pleurosigma inscriptura, respectively ³⁰. So the diatom community’s participation in educational activities can and does benefit the public and lay people can help diatomists in improving our collective understanding of diatom diversity.

 

Diatoms: The Cherished Algae?

 

Although much of our lifetime learning occurs in informal settings, school is still important because learners from elementary children to preservice teachers develop stereotypical views of scientists ³¹ and myths about science ^32-33. Their misconceptions of science are perpetuated by boring ‘cookbook labs’ in the classroom which can lead to disinterest in science ^34-35. I think we can address some of these issues by infusing diatom education and finding a balance between formal and informal learning (Fig. 3).

 

 

 

Fig. 3. Five ways that you can use diatom education to contribute to the public’s knowledge of diatoms (Image Credits: The Hidden World of Diatoms ²⁶; The Microscopic World of Diatoms ¹⁹; One Strange Rock ²⁷).

 

Essentially, if we want the general public to better value and understand science, we need people to get more exposure to authentic science. Diatom education provides opportunities to involve the public in understanding the relationship between diatoms and society. As science education has largely excluded diatoms from the narrative, the diatoms need you, diatom friends all over the world, to advocate for them. I know that participating in diatom education takes time, effort, and strong commitment. However, the diatoms are depending on you to become better appreciated and understood by present and future generations.

 

*Andrews Institute of Mathematics and Science Education, Texas Christian University, USA

Email Shelly or drop a message if you have questions about her post, or visit her website to know more about her research.

 

References

 

1.     What are Diatoms? (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://diatoms.org/what-are-diatoms

2.     Christensen, C. L. (1971). Diatoms, the neglected organisms. The American Biology Teacher, 33(2), 98-105.

3.     Hildebrand, M., Davis, A. K., Smith, S. R., Traller, J. C., & Abbriano, R. (2012). The place of diatoms in the biofuels industry. Biofuels, 3(2), 221-240.

4.     Armbrust, E. V. (2009). The life of diatoms in the world’s oceans. Nature, 459(7244), 185-192.

5.     Siver, P. A., Lord, W. D., & McCarthy, D. J. (1994). Forensic limnology: the use of freshwater algal community ecology to link suspects to an aquatic crime scene in southern New England. Journal of Forensic Science, 39(3), 847-853.

6.     Dixit, S. S., Smol, J. P., Kingston, J. C., & Charles, D. F. (1992). Diatoms: powerful indicators of environmental change. Environmental Science & Technology, 26(1), 22-33.

7.     Killip, M. (Director). (2017). These kaleidoscopic masterpieces are invisible to the naked eye [Video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxkbSk--EUY

8.     Tessmer, M., & Cowlishaw, R. (2011). Time for slime. Science and Children, 49(4), 38-41.

9.     Frazier, W. (2006). Magnifying students’ interest in science. Science Scope, 29(8), 32-35.

10.  Bourdeau, V., & Arnold, M. E. (2008). Inquiry goes outdoors: What can we learn at the pond?. Science Scope, 32(1), 64-67.

11.  Hoffer, J., Mayama, S., Lingle, K., Conroy, K., & Julius, M. (2011). SimRiver: Environmental modeling software for the science classroom. Science Scope, 34(5), 29-33.

12.  Marrero, M. E., & Stevens, N. (2011). Earth’s most important producers: Meet the phytoplankton!. Science Scope, 34(8), 25-31.

13.  Hungerford, J. J. (1988). Diatoms: The ignored alga in high school biology. The American Biology Teacher, 50(7), 449-449.

14.  Conger, P. S. (1956). Lesson of the diatoms. The American Biology Teacher, 18(6), 187-193.

15.  Grimm, K. E., & Ellis, B. (1963). Spotlight on diatoms. The American Biology Teacher, 25(1), 9-17.

16.  Raham, R. G. (1979). Stalking the wild diatom. The American Biology Teacher, 41(8), 460-465.

17.  Eichman, J., Lundstrum, C., Eckhart, J., & Griesemer, B. (1993). 3-D ecology: Diatoms, density, and diversity. The Science Teacher, 60(3), 45-49.

18.  Hodgson, J. Y., Barber, K. O., & Hustead, C. J. (2016). An inquiry-based investigation of freshwater diatom ecology. The American Biology Teacher, 78(8), 664-668.

19.  Sultany, M., & Bixby, R. (2016). The microscopic world of diatoms. The Science Teacher, 83(8), 55-64.

20.  Sadava, D. E., Hillis, D. M., Heller, H. C., & Berenbaum, M.R. (2011). Life: The science of biology. (9^th ed.). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.

21.  Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2010). The 95 percent solution. American Scientist, 98(6), 486-493.

22.  Falk, J. H., Storksdieck, M., & Dierking, L. D. (2007). Investigating public science interest and understanding: Evidence for the importance of free-choice learning. Public Understanding of Science, 16(4), 455-469.

23.  Mayama, S. (2005). A novel approach to the popularization of diatomology. Diatom, 21, 61-70.

24.  Ma, J. (2013, April). Engaging museum visitors with scientific data through visualization: A comparison of three strategies. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

25.  Cook, S.A. (2013). Walking Portland, Oregon. Guilford, CT: Morris Book Publishing. 

26.  Samaritani, E. (2018). The hidden world of diatoms. Retrieved from https://thehiddenworld.co.uk/shop/the-hidden-world-of-diatoms/

27.  Aronofsky, D., Root, J., Handel, A., Lovering, P., Franklin, S., Pastore, T., & Renner, M. (Executive Producers). (2018). One strange rock [Television series]. New York, NY: National Geographic. Retrieved from: https://www.nutopia.com/projects/one-strange-rock

28.  Trimet: Public Art on MAX Green Line. (2019). Retrieved from https://trimet.org/publicart/greenline.htm

29.  Baker, G. M., Duncan, N., Gostomski, T., Horner, M. A., & Manski, D. (2014). The bioblitz: Good science, good outreach, good fun. Park Science, 31(1), 39-45.

30.  Harper, M. A., Patterson, J. E., & Harper, J. F. (2009). New diatom taxa from the world’s first marine Bioblitz held in New Zealand: Skeletomastus a new genus, Skeletomastus coelatus nov. comb. and Pleurosigma inscriptura a new species. Acta Botanica Croatica, 68(2), 339-349.

31.  Haynes, R. (2003). From alchemy to artificial intelligence: Stereotypes of the scientist in western literature. Public Understanding of Science, 12(3), 243-253.

32.  McComas, W. F. (2015). The nature of science & the next generation of biology education. The American Biology Teacher, 77(7), 485-491.

33.  McComas, W. F. (1996). Ten myths of science: Reexamining what we think we know about the nature of science. School Science and Mathematics, 96(1), 10-16.

34.  National Research Council. (2006). America's lab report: Investigations in high school science. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

35.  Aschbacher, P. R., Li, E., & Roth, E. J. (2010). Is science me? High school students' identities, participation and aspirations in science, engineering, and medicine. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(5), 564-582.