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Mr. Van Arsdale's Classroom

  • Eagle River High School
  • Eagle River, AK
  • More than a third of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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show projects from all time

Past projects 5

  • Bone Boxes

    Funded Oct 17, 2018

    This week my students are making use of the tools and bone casts that we were able to purchase through your donation to better understand gender differences that appear in human bones. This is a critical step to building an understanding of how bones are used in forensic anthropology. Forensic anthropology, popularized by the television show "Bones," is frequently the most popular unit in my Forensic Science class. Thanks to this and other donations students can learn to make bones "speak" through hands on and inquiry driven activities.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Van Arsdale

    This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron Fuel Your School.
  • Putting the DNA in our DNA Fingerprint

    Funded Mar 29, 2017

    The donations made to this project allowed my forensic science classes to do hands-on work in gel electrophoresis and the forensic use of DNA.

    Students were able to pour gels, run their cut DNA through their gels, read the gels, and interpret the results.

    In the next week we will learn about how DNA evidence is being used both to convict and to exonerate.

    Next week, we will also be visited by the State CODIS Administrator. She will be a guest lecture for the day. Last time she visited my class, my students were riveted with the technical details of how science fits into solving crimes.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Van Arsdale

    This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 2 other donors.
  • Pig Autopsies and Forensic Pathology

    Funded Oct 16, 2017

    This week my students were able to complete their "pig autopsy" for forensic science.

    This is the final unit for their toxicology and pathology unit. Although it shares some similarities to a traditional dissection, using the autopsy format forces student to look at each glad, organ, or tissue with a critical eye. What is normal? How does it differ from diseased or damaged?

    Most students respond very well to the autopsy project. I find it is a perfect activity for students to do during the week before finals. It allows them to engaged in an activity that is hands-on and interesting. It makes my room a sanctuary (albeit a stinky sanctuary) from the stress going on in the rest of their world.

    Most of my Forensic Science students will not take AP Biology or Anatomy, and this gives almost 100 more students a window into the wonders of the body.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Van Arsdale

  • Inspiring Science Through Biotechnology

    Funded Oct 20, 2015

    Biotechnology, in general, and gel electrophoresis, in particular, have become critical techniques in the fields of biology and forensic science. The tools to do gel electrophoresis or DNA fingerprinting with science classes are very expensive. However, the process of doing the hands on work is very meaningful. I think that most Forensic Science teachers really struggle with how to get these critical tools into the hands of their students. Chevron's Fuel Your School/ Donors choose grants have had a significant impacts on my Forensic Science classes, by allowing me to do just that.

    As my students worked through their gel electrophoresis it gave me entry points into two key issues with forensic use of DNA technology. First, the process is really quite simple. As long as students have a steady hand, pipetting samples into the gel, running, and reading the gel is well within their abilities. Second, it gives me a great window to talk about the risks of contaminating samples and how that impacts forensic investigations. Without having done the work themselves, its difficult to understand how easy it is the contaminate samples or the gel's themselves.

    The best way to teach science is to let students do science. This lab experience is a culminating learning opportunity for our unit on DNA and its use in forensic science.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Van Arsdale

  • High Precision Measurements in Biology

    Funded Oct 17, 2014

    Thank you for funding my project - High Precision Measurements in Biology.

    Where does the mass of a plant or a tree come from? Ask a dozen people, and you will get a wide range of answers, most of them wrong. Most will say the soil or the water. Almost none with say the Carbon Dioxide in the air. An important concept for all biology students to understand is how the process of photosynthesis turns air (more specifically CO2) into plant (more specifically carbohydrates.)

    This is easily demonstrated by growing plants from seeds and measuring the dry mass of the plant once its grown to a reasonable size. The frustration for my students has always been the lack of high precision balances that allow us to note small differences is mass amongst seeds and the small accumulations of mass over a few weeks time.

    The purchase of high precision jewelry balances (that measure to the 0.001 g) has significantly aided in my goal of addressing this misconception. My students found the balances easy to use, and they were pleased with how much easier it was to document change when you could make very precise measurements.”

    With gratitude,

    Mr. Van Arsdale

    This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and one other donor.
I teach at a small Alaskan high school not far away from Anchorage. My students are predominantly middle class, with a high percentage that are dependents of active duty military. About half of my students will have been in our school system since first grade, and the other half will not (or have not) spend all four years of their high school career in Alaska. Our school is both highly stable and highly transient. That dynamic creates a cohesion that, we like to think, leaves both groups of students better off for the mix.

About my class

I teach at a small Alaskan high school not far away from Anchorage. My students are predominantly middle class, with a high percentage that are dependents of active duty military. About half of my students will have been in our school system since first grade, and the other half will not (or have not) spend all four years of their high school career in Alaska. Our school is both highly stable and highly transient. That dynamic creates a cohesion that, we like to think, leaves both groups of students better off for the mix.

About my class

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