Overview

With SERC's Student Training in Aquatic Research (STAR), students in Grades 9 through 12 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed can develop and implement their own Chesapeake Bay-related research projects.

The program assists teachers and students during all phases of the research process, from thinking about a research question, to field sampling, data analysis, and publication of results.

Students participating in STAR learn to use state-of-the-art research methods and equipment, working directly with educators and researchers at SERC, Arlington Echo, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). STAR assists in the development of classroom curricula and then provides the research tools, field sampling opportunities, and expertise for field data collection.

Learn more about STAR

Learn about STAR Program objectives (below on this page) or use one of the following resources:

Video:
Watch a 5-minute introduction to the program

Brochure:
Download the STAR brochure (pdf).

Publication:
Erb, Amy S. and Anna van der Heijden. 2005. The STAR Program: An Innovative Approach to Teaching the Scientific Method to High School Students (pdf). Proceedings of the Third Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education.

Objectives of the program

The STAR program has the following objectives:

1. Incorporation of watershed science into school curriculum.
2. Enabling students to develop meaningful research topics and associated experimental design.
3. Enabling students to carry out field sampling and data collection.
4. Dissemination of students’ experiences and environmental knowledge.

1) Incorporation of watershed science into school curriculum.

STAR is aligned with learning standards for Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The program's classroom preparation, outdoor experiences, and analysis and publication activities align with standards for science as well as mathematics, language arts, and civics and government.

Learn more about STAR's alignment with Science Learning Outcomes for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

2) Enabling students to develop meaningful research topics and associated experimental design.

The STAR program assists teachers and students during all phases of the research process, and the first step is to develop a sound research question that can be tested by field sampling and data analysis. STAR encourages individual research. Students typically develop individual research projects or in a small group. See the list of student projects for examples.  

3) Enabling students to carry out field sampling and data collection.

The R/V Saxatilis is SERC's 42-foot research vessel, used by the Center's scientists and students in the STAR program to sample various stations on the Rhode River and Chesapeake Bay.

Using SERC and Arlington Echo research vessels and equipment, students go out on the Rhode and Severn Rivers and Chesapeake Bay to take field notes and collect water and other samples for analysis. After the field sampling, students analyze the samples and use the data to answer their research question.

The data collected in the STAR program meets the highest quality control standards (as described in the EPA's Volunteer Estuary Monitoring, a Methods Manual). The data can therefore be incorporated into other scientific databases used to support watershed monitoring and assessment.

4) Dissemination of students’ experiences and environmental knowledge.

STAR educators will also assist students and their instructors with analyzing the collected data, as well as with the publication of their results. A special STAR symposium is scheduled for the spring of 2004 to highlight the students' work.