The History The Science The Curricula Land Acknowledgement
Rediscovering the past, together

the Curricula

An integrated approach to community-Engaged science education

 

Using the Boulder apple trees as a focal system, we are combining course-based undergraduate research (CUREs) with the practices of place-based education, which emphasizes local civic engagement. We call this approach the Power of Place Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience or PoP-CURE.  

Calls for reform in science education highlight involvement of students in research as a mechanism that increases persistence in STEM. At the same time, there is increasing emphasis on building students’ civic responsibility and engagement, essential skills to interact in today’s rapidly changing world.

Our goals are to retain more students in STEM, with an emphasis on retention of students from underserved groups, strengthen civic engagement and support community-institution ties. Our ultimate goal is to develop, test, and refine our model so that we may both expand it internally and offer it for adoption by other institutions.

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A Power of Place Learning Experience and Research Network, or APPLE R Net, is a multi-institution research network that introduces students to field research by involving them in a project examining apple trees across the Rocky Mountain region. We are a dedicated team of educators experimenting with implementing new curricula on apple trees in their biology/ecology classes. We are also eager to provide opportunities for our students to get hands-on experience with ecological research in a classroom environment. Course-based undergraduate research experiences, or CUREs are a way to more equitably give students experience doing authentic research for course credit. Our CUREs focused on building relationships with community partners to co-produce ecological data that is relevant to the local community. We are assessing how participation in these CUREs might impact a student’s likelihood to use their science skills to help their community. Civic engagement improves skills needed for leadership and social change, and we aim to provide concrete ways for all students to serve local and regional communities as they progress in their careers.

 
 

Our program has 4 main parts:

  1. Develop curricula. Provide a source of vetted curricula for instructors to integrate into their classes that is revised with participating instructors

  2. Coordinate the network. Compile the ecological data across participating institutions and our two long term reference sites in Boulder and Cortez Colorado

  3. Provide support. We are here for instructors implementing apple tree research into their classrooms by helping them identify apple trees, connecting with community partners, and offering summer professional development series. 

  4. Evaluate impact. With our research hats on, we are assessing potential benefits students may perceive after participating in the research experiences such as increased sense of belonging, confidence as a scientist, and likelihood to use their science skills to help their communities. 

 

Learn more about the Power of Place CUREs offered at CU Boulder in 2019 and 2020 through Course Source.

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are you an incoming CU-Boulder freshman?

Join our fall cure: ebio 1250

We are pleased to offer our first Boulder Apple Tree Project CURE this Fall. Students who enroll in EBIO 1250, one of several introductory courses offered to freshmen and transfer students by the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department, will have the opportunity to engage in authentic research on Boulder’s apple trees and support their community!

In this field-based CURE course, students visit three research sites with apple trees of different ages and explore the ecosystem services of the trees on the surrounding landscape. Students finish the course with a poster presentation at the Apple Symposium. For questions about the course or to enroll, contact Lisa Corwin.

 

Bring POP-CURE into your classroom!

We would love to infuse the boulder apple tree project
into your course curricula

Collect fruit and leaves as a class

The information you collect about the tree and fruit characteristics will help us identify cultivars and compare fruit ripening among trees. Identifying cultivars is the first step to understanding the diversity of apple trees we have in Boulder and will allow us to explore research questions about how differences in the local environment and climate change may affect these historical trees in our community.

 

Undergraduate Students from Biology, Environmental Science, and Computer Science designed and created products for the Apple Tree Project

Over the summer of 2023, a team of undergraduate students from EBIO and ENVS helped to plant and nurture a demonstration orchard in collaboration with Boulder OSMP. These students prepared a plant guide featuring the native and introduced plants found at the Lousberg Parcel and the plants specially planted as part of the understory vegetation experiment that will promote pollinator visitation, foster soil health, or enable greater habitat complexity.

Since 2019 the Apple Tree Project has partnered with the University of Colorado Computer Science Capstone course to sponsor projects that will enable greater community engagement with the BATP. The first project was the Interactive Map. Our second project was the BATP Collect App for Apple and Android devices. The third project is a searchable database that will be accessible by our institutional partners who include BATP curriculum in their courses.