Education ForumMy Life as a Plant
Now Available in Japanese!
BY KATIE ENGENASPB Education Coordinator

In July 2012, Kazuki Saito(RIKEN Plant Science Center–Yokohma) visited the ASPB
Education Booth during Plant
Biology 2012. He was excited about
the potential of the newly released
activity book funded by ASPB
called My Life as a Plant. Kazuki
initiated a translation by working
with ASPB staff and recruiting
Keiko Yonekura-Sakakibara andAyuko Kuwahara-Seo, also fromRIKEN, as volunteer translators.
The team worked to not only transform the text, but also set up a formal connection for posting the final
product on the Japanese Society ofPlant Physiology website. (See adon page 32 for all access options tothe translated book.)

Translator Contributions—
In Their Own Words
Kazuki: The project was initiatedafter I met Katie twice in Austin—
once at the ASPB booth at the annual meeting and accidentally thesecond time at the Austin airport.
My role was small—I just carried
the original English booklet from
Austin to Japan (a world tour!) andfound two excellent plant biologists
who volunteered to do the translation. My hope is that Japanese kids
will enjoy the book and that it will
give them a good impression ofplants they will carry with themthroughout their lives.

30lSusan Whitfield
Keiko: I mainly translated thelatter part of the book. It was agreat pleasure to contribute tothis excellent project and now
read the Japanese version to my3-year-old daughter. I hope thebook will provide an opportunity
for Japanese children to discover
the fascinating world of plants.
Ayuko: It was my great pleasure
to have an opportunity to workon such a wonderful project
for Japanese children and theirparents. I mainly translated thestory section pages for younger
children. I believe many children
will enjoy the book, including my
6-year-old daughter.

Preparing for Publication
Going from the Roman (English)
alphabet to Japanese characters

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Ayuko Kuwahara-Seo (left) and Keiko Yonekura-Sakakibura.
was rather challenging when it
came time to format the translated
text within the book’s art-laden
template files. Book coauthor
Alan Jones (University of NorthCarolina; UNC) brought in someskilled help from the Chapel Hillcampus. Susan Whitfield, thevisual arts specialist in the department of biology, has a BA degree
in botany from UNC. She has
been the scientific illustrator in theBiology Department since 1980
and provides illustration services(along with assistance on the biology website) to the faculty, staff,
and students in this large, diversedepartment. Susan consulted withnative-speaking UNC graduate
student Ariko Urano to finalize
this publication.
Susan reported on the logistics
and technicalities of the project:
My contribution began withassembling all of the text fromthe pages of the original version
continued on page 32

Education Forum

New ASPB Higher Education Resource
Inspiring Students to Study Successfully for the Sciences
BY KATIE ENGENASPB Education CoordinatorDo any of these concerns fromstudents sound familiar to you?
t I don’t have time to study all
this stuff. And even if I spend
hours, it doesn’t really pay off.
t How do I use the textbook?
How does it fit with class notes?
t I understand the different
parts but can’t fit it together.
By the time the test comes, I’m
just confused.
t I just can’t do science.
Many students actually expect
to fail science courses or abandon
the pursuit of science altogether
because they are overwhelmedwith course content, study skill,or time management issues. That’s
why ASPB now offers a new
resource of practical tips that canhelp undo underperformanceand stomp out science-oriented
apathy stemming from the fears
and inefficiencies students havewhen learning science.

Inspiring Students to
Study Successfully for theSciences
Practical tips to help your students overcome their struggles
with course content mastery(http://tinyurl.com/qcl82gb).
These tips are based on a presentation by Doug Gaffin andMarielle Hoefnagels, of theUniversity of Oklahoma, given
at the Introductory Biology
Project 2012 Summer Meeting inWashington, D.C. (http://tinyurl.
com/omh337k).

Stay Calm and Study On
Inspiring Students to Study
Successfully for the Sciences will
help you encourage students tot Set a goal to replace study skill
insecurities with curiosityand confidence about content
mastery by interacting withmaterial and thinking criticallywhile studying.
t Select one or two techniquesthat fit best with their learningstyle, your presentation methods, and scheduling realities.
If you make students feel theymust use every technique forall classes, they’ll run screaming for the humanities (wherethey still could use these techniques, of course).

DO Try This at Home (orDorm or Library)
Go to http://tinyurl.com/qcl82gb
for simple-yet-detailed instructions and insights for study skillsin these categories:
Note Taking: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Before diving headfirst into heavy
content, start your class with anupbeat, well-paced review of effective note taking.
Rewritten Notes: Simple can beeffective. Rewriting the information clearly and in familiar correctterms is a critical step that moves
new information to long-term
memory and links it to previously
mastered content.

Flashcards: Vocabulary? Sure. Yet
flash cards also can be used toconnect and apply information.
Concept Maps: Build on thebrain’s network-building tendencies by linking terms with phrases
that explain connections andrepresent deep thinking. Start
small and bulk up as the term
progresses.
Blank Paper: When studying has
degraded to little more than ablank stare, put away the pile ofnotes and cards, get out a blankpiece of paper, and try some newtechniques.
Office Hours: They exist for a reason. Even if confidence and grades

are high, students should go atsome point early in the term.
Table of Contents: If a class relies
on a textbook, take advantage of
its organization as you review for
exams later in the term.
Three Study Habit–Killing
Misconceptions and a Posse of
Antidotes: Attitude is everything.
Perception matters. Help yourstudents manage three major
misconceptions and they willadvance.
See complete explanations
and tip lists to share with yourstudents at http://tinyurl.com/
qcl82gb. ■The Important Distinction ofFace Time vs. Virtual Learning
Student–teacher interactions are fundamental to successful learning.
However, because face time is so valuable, it’s in everyone’s best interest
to determine which interactions require face time and which learning opportunities can be effectively applied or even enhanced with online learning—which can be considered as another type of study skill.
In their Science editorial (22 Mar 2013, p. 1359) titled “Two Revolutions
in Learning” (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6126/1359.full),Susan Singer (Carleton College) and William Bonvillian (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology) advocate for the need to scale up innovative,
research-based teaching techniques for effective undergraduate learning,
especially for use in ever-expanding virtual classrooms (a.k.a., MOOCs).
They agree that “across all sciences, students struggle with fundamental
concepts and underlying ideas.” And they note that “research demonstrates that problem-solving skills can be developed through discussionoriented learning environments.” Susan and William hope that more
research will address these needs and lead to properly designed online
learning options to create quality hybrid models (online and face-to-face)that help to accelerate learning.
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Education ForumJAPANESE COLORING BOOK
continued from page 31of the publication into a single
document. This document wassent to the translators, whoconverted the text into theJapanese language and had thetranslated document returnedto me. I replaced the English
text in the original illustration
files with the translated text,
receiving invaluable assistancefrom Ariko Urano, who wasable to tell me where the text
line breaks could be made. Thetranslated, resaved pages werethen returned to the originaltranslators for another review,
and a few additional changes

were made. The final productwill surely provide fun, educational plant-based activities
for Japanese parents and children, just as they have for theEnglish-speaking parents andchildren already enjoying theoriginal published version. It isgratifying to have participatedin this small way to the production of the Japanese version of
My Life as a Plant.

ASPB’s Activity Book for
the Youngest Scientists
Now Available in Japanese!

ASPB is grateful for the time,energy, and expertise each persongave to this project. For options toacquire and/or sell bulk amounts oftraditionally printed hard copies of
the Japanese (or English) version,please contact katie@aspb.org. ■CreateSpace (https://www.createspace.com/4306266)Free PDF: http://tinyurl.com/khe49gw or
http://my.aspb.org/?page=My_Life_As_A_Plant

English VersionAvailable!
Order paperback copies from:Amazon (http://tinyurl.comAmazonMyLifeAsAPlant)

Also Available in:Australian–English and German

Coming Soon
British–English conversion, Chinese,
Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish,
Swedish, and Turkish translations

32l

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