Bob and Tina King were participants of Deep Earth Academy's 2007 School of Rock, after which each worked exceptionally hard to bring the information they learned to the level of their students - 5th through 12th grade. Dr. Mark Leckie, one of the primary instructors of School of Rock, and the Kings remained in touch through the lesson development process to be sure the content remained authentic and accurate, while becoming age appropriate. This relationship culminated in an invitation for Mark to share his knowledge and infectious enthusiasm with their students directly.
Mark's first stop was to West Elementary in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee where he and Tina co-taught their activity based on authentic data from Dr. Leckie's ODP Leg 130 in the western equatorial Pacific to three 5th grade classes. This activity uses Mark's data to examine groups of foraminifera that lived at different periods in geologic history. Tina writes: "Mark also brought slides with the real forams on them, so the students could see the forams from their activity. Mark didn’t have one second to breathe. He skipped lunch and went to visit the second grade classroom. He spent the last hour of the day making a presentation about [the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP)] and his research to our 5th grade students (~80 students). The students were engaged every second with him. He is truly amazing! The students hated to see Mark go!"
West Elementary School gave Dr. Leckie a warm welcome, including a greeting from the Superintendent.
"Wanted Dead or Well Preserved….Mohawk guy and his Band of Neogene
Planktic Foraminifera Friends for Crimes against Calcareous
Nannofossils and other Phytoplankton"
"It was fun to watch the students respond to Mark and to begin to
read and interpret his "real" data. What was most amazing of all- The
students that normally had trouble staying on task and completing work
were the ones that seemed to be the most engaged. They had eagle
eyes! This activity engaged every student! They were very involved
and excited throughout the lesson." ~ Tina King
Next, Mark Leckie visited Bob’s school, Friendship Christian School, in Lebanon, Tennessee. He spent the whole day at Friendship (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). During the course of the day, he presented to over 150 students (8th through 12th graders). The students were fascinated to hear about how computer- aided thrusters kept the ship in position during the drilling. They also thought it was amazing that the ship could reenter a drill hole. He passed around a bottle of "actual" forams, so the students could see the real forams from the activity the Kings developed with Dr. Leckie, "Wanted Dead or Well Preserved….Mohawk guy and his Band of Neogene Planktic Foraminifera Friends for Crimes against Calcareous Nannofossils and other Phytoplankton".
"Mark is a very interactive teacher. He didn't hesitate or need
any encouragement to immediately interact with the students. This gave
him a chance to personally connect with each student, and the students
were excited to have this opportunity to talk to him about his research. " ~Tina King
The students were also able to see these sand-sized fossilized forams under a flex cam microscope. The students were surprised to find that something as small as a speck of sand was actually a well preserved fossil foram that they could identify. They especially liked "Bad hair day guy", other wise known as Globigerinoides fistulosus. During the PowerPoint presentation, the students were able to ask questions from a "real" scientist. One of the eighth grade students wanted to know if it was darker in space or the deep ocean. A senior was interested in knowing more about the educational background to be able to go into the field of science.
The "Rocks and Minerals" and "Oceanography" Science Olympiad teams benefited the most because they had individual interaction with him. They were able to work with him on a one-to-one basis to discuss concepts and questions from a recent Science Olympiad competition. He was able to answer their questions in a manner that both, the middle school and high school students, could understand. He even left one of his books to be used as a reference book for oceanography. He went over concepts by utilizing maps, drawings, and connecting on-line resources to illustrate certain concepts, such as seasonal changes of chlorophyll on land and in the ocean. He also explained how atmospheric circulation was connected, such as Westerlies, trade winds, and horse latitudes. He discussed the Coriolis Effect and Ocean Circulation, as well as Carbonate Compensation Depth. In addition to answering questions about the coring operation, the Science Olympiad team had numerous questions concerning the core model and its texture and coloration. He showed a model of a sediment core, which initiated these questions.
Mark Leckie is a true communicator and motivator. The students could sense his excitement for his science research and his love for learning. He gave the students a better understanding of what it means to be a scientist. He made the world of science real to them.
"Mark was truly amazing with the students, and I loved how he brought the students up to look at maps and plot temperature and depth data. He introduced new learning in a way that the students could understand. He made them feel successful. Mark is an inspiring teacher and scientist because his love for learning, for the planet, for science, and for his research comes through immediately." ~Tina King
