Projects

This seminar combines the orginal research conducted by second year students, providing two quarters for students to plan, construct, collect, and compose an original research paper for their capstone writing course in English. The ORCA team also worked on an article for publication in the Council for Undergraduate Research quarterly journal. The collaborative writing process helped faculty gain a clearer sense of the work they do to encourage undergraduate researchers and share the lessons learned with others in the CCURI network and beyond.

In the Snohomish River estuary, the tides and river flow are key to productivity in the estuary. By starting with modeling the physical properties of water and then going out and taking real time measurements, students are able to construct their own understanding and begin to ask questions about topics of interest. Most university research experiences occur during the summer, whereas ORCA students ask and attempt to answer their own original research questions over the course of two years. The support from CCURI is vital to this endeavor.  Now with an outboard engine for our inflatable boat , ORCA students can sample in the river, measuring d.o. temperature and salinity (DOTS) data. What starts on a SOPS trip as an inventory of mammals observed can evolve into a student generated question. Last year, one student wondered if the heavy metals that we tested in the sediments were present in harbor seal scat. She designed a research protocol to test her question. Both harbor seals move upriver with the tide and river otters come downstream to the estuary to feed, resulting in feces available for students to collect and study. Both John Van Neil from Finger Lakes CC and Tom Murphy from Edmonds CC have offered their assistance with this emerging student study.

At ORCA, we have found that student learning increases when faculty work together to address real world issues that do not neatly fit into traditional disciplines. Students work on the SOPS project for at least one year, with students fully vested in a testable research question involving real-time research (Kveven, 2009).  The real world application of science to address open-ended problems increases student enthusiasm; motivation; and confidence and reduces attrition in STEM pre-requisite courses. The success of the undergraduate research at ORCA resulted in a grant from the National Science Foundation to renovate a laboratory dedicated to research training.
 Please visit www.everettcc.edu/orca to view SOPS Updates.

ORCA Students have attended the last two biennial Salish Sea Ecosystem Conferences and presented their State of Possession Sound research to the scientific community. Last fall, nine students attended the conference in Vancouver, BC. One student poster received honorable mention in the student poster competition, where most of the other posters were generated by graduate students.