• News
  • Student Life
  • Athletics
  • Faculty/Staff
  • Campus Portal Login
  • News
  • Student Life
  • Faculty/Staff
  • Athletics
  • Campus Portal Login

Mangiante’s hydroponics guide published in peer-reviewed journal

salvetoday Posted On July 19, 2019
0


0
Shares
  • Share On Facebook
  • Tweet It

A guide for designing windowsill hydroponics systems developed by Dr. Elaine Silva Mangiante was recently published in Science Scope, the National Science Teaching Association’s peer-reviewed journal for middle level and junior high school science teachers.

“Engineering a Windowsill Hydroponics System to Grow Lettuce” presents an integrated science/engineering unit for middle school classrooms in which students design a windowsill hydroponics system for the home using a wicking material to supply water to lettuce plants.

The hydroponics unit was partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Procured by Dr. Jameson Chace and Boston College professor Dr. Michael Barnett, the grant provided hydroponics systems, materials, curriculum and professional development to middle and high school teachers in Rhode Island and the Boston area over the course of three years.

In creating the hydroponics unit, Silva Mangiante, an assistant professor in the Department of Education who specializes in science and engineering education, designed the engineering challenge and developed assessments for teachers to evaluate their students’ understanding of the design process and the factors needed to promote plant growth.

Silva Mangiante recruited four middle school teachers in three Rhode Island districts to implement the hydroponics unit and investigated the validity and reliability of its related assessments. “I was particularly interested in having teachers from urban, suburban and rural districts examine the curriculum and assessment tools with different student populations,” she said.

Together with Amy Semerjian, a research designer and analyst at Boston College’s Innovation in Urban Science Education Lab, Silva Mangiante visited classrooms, provided support to the teachers and interviewed participating students to gather data. “The teachers were enthusiastic to offer this learning opportunity to their students and provide feedback on the engineering challenge and the assessments,” she said.

Silva Mangiante said that throughout the implementation, students showed significant gains in understanding both the engineering design process and of hydroponics plant growth. Students also presented their design prototypes and revisions to Silva Mangiante, Semerjian and Chace in a “Shark Tank” format.

“This unit provides middle school students with a learning experience in life science integrated with an authentic engineering design challenge for food production,” Silva Mangiante said. “Using a multidisciplinary approach to learning, the unit was effective not only in fostering significant learning outcomes for students in different communities, but also in serving the needs of concrete learners as well as those who thrive from a conceptual challenge.”

0
Shares
  • Share On Facebook
  • Tweet It




  • RSS Calendar of Events

    • Honors Senior Thesis Exhibition
      Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021 (All day) to Thursday, April 22, 2021 (All day)
      Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery

      The Honors Senior Thesis Exhibition showcases the work of six outstanding seniors from the Department of Art and Art History: Victor Aguirre Williams, Samantha Gaudette, Jeremy Lukasiewicz, Ryan...

      Contact: Ernest Jolicoeur
    • Black Lives Matter community art exhibition
      Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 (All day) to Friday, April 30, 2021 (All day)
      McKillop Library first floor

      The Black Lives Matter community art piece was created by local artists Nycole Marvelous and Jy-Tique Harris, adjunct professor Melody Gamba and students from Gamba's course Arts for Social...

      Contact: Gretchen Sotomayor
    • Stressbuster: Loaded study room raffle
      Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 (All day) to Thursday, April 22, 2021 (All day)

      Complete a short Earth Day quiz by noon Thursday, April 22 to be entered into a raffle for a four-hour study and snack session in the...

      Contact: Gretchen Sotomayor
    • TIAA financial counseling sessions
      Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 (All day)

      TIAA representative John Cislo will be available for virtual financial counseling appointments with faculty and staff.

    • Earth Day meditation
      Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - 10:00am
      McAuley Hall lawn

      Join Jesse Harding, adjunct professor in the Department of Religious and Theological Studies, for an outdoor meditation focusing on easy to follow mindfulness-based stress reduction practices....

    • The "More Than" garden: Audio installation and sun prints
      Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - 10:00am to 3:00pm
      O'Hare Academic Building front entrance

      Stop by the front of O'Hare to make a cyanotype sun print with Dr. Jen McClanaghan, associate professor in the Department of English, Communications and Media, and the students of her ENG224...

    • Adopt-a-spot launch and planting
      Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - 11:00am to 1:00pm
      Ochre Court lawn

      Salve Regina is launching a new adopt-a-spot with the city of Newport, committing for two years to tend to this spot of earth for the common good. Join us on this Earth Day to begin plantings...

      Contact: Mary Pelletier
    • Things for Thursday: Ben & Jerry's
      Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - 12:00pm to 4:00pm
      Gerety Hall

      Come grab some Ben & Jerry's ice cream at the Campus Activities Board's last Things for Thursday event of the academic year.

    • Study abroad information session
      Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - 4:00pm

      Interested in studying abroad but don’t know where to start? Join the global ambassadors from the Office of International Programs for a crash course on everything you need to know to start your...

    • Arboretum tree planting
      Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 - 3:15pm
      McKillop Library front lawn

      Join us outside of McKillop Library for the annual Arbor Day tree planting and dedication of two Elizabeth magnolias to add to our campus arboretum.

  • Browse Sections

    Salve Success

    Health and Wellness

    Mercy Mission

    Arts and Humanities

    Science and Technology

    Event Coverage

    Business and Economics

    Graduate News



Stay Updated

Latest news from SALVEtoday

 

  • Salve Regina University

    100 Ochre Point Avenue
    Newport, Rhode Island 02840 USA

     (401) 847-6650

    (c) 2021 Salve Regina University

  • SALVEtoday Archives

  • Social Media Directory

  • Mercy Emergency Relief Fund


  • News
  • Student Life
  • Athletics
  • Faculty/Staff
  • Campus Portal Login
Press enter/return to begin your search