Planting Science: Digging Deeper Together

Plants are all around us. They are essential to our existence. Yet despite their ubiquity, how many science teachers truly understand plant biology and know how to effectively teach it to their students?

Digging Deeper, a BSCS Science Learning research and development project, has been investigating this question for the past four years. Building on the success of PlantingScience, Digging Deeper adds a robust professional learning model that engages teachers and scientists as collaborators in teaching and facilitating real-world science experiences for students.

Until now, the impact of bringing teachers and scientists together to learn, reflect on, and implement meaningful science experiences for students has been unexplored. Results of Digging Deeper will help validate methods and protocols that not only serve to eradicate “plant blindness” and prepare future scientists for plant biology challenges facing the planet but are also relevant to developing teacher and student expertise in inquiry-based science in any science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) discipline.