A middle school investigation into developing environmentally friendly packaging

Abstract

This STEM research project asks middle school or high school students to work towards creating ecologically friendly packaging. Packaging that can be composted instead of thrown away and collected in landfills and oceans like plastics. This inquiry uses nanocellulose and focuses on water permeability. The fibers of nanocellulose can be dried to make a rather strong and thin film, but due to the spaces between the fibers the film is too water permeable and therefore makes poor packaging materials on its own. Students will create nanocellulose composite films with other biodegradable materials, in an attempt to fill the inter-fiber microscopic spaces and create a new film that can be easily tested for water permeability. Students set up a straightforward science experiment with films, water, and mason jars. They will collect and graph data to determine if their nanocellulose composite films reduce water permeability compared to plain nanocellulose and how close they are to the present standard, plastic. This research is an amalgam of disciplinary core ideas like properties and states of matter, as well as a combination of science and engineering practices. It ignites students’ curiosity, provides an organic path to science fair extensions, while also helping to cultivate future scientists, engineers, and environmental activists.

Keywords:

• Physical Science
• engineering
• secondary
• mathematics
• critical thinking
• inquiry
• NGSS

Introduction

Almost everything we buy is packaged in some manner, and most of that packaging is discarded as trash. Think about how many people order a daily breakfast beverage from their favorite coffee shop, grab a bag of chips and/or packaged baked goods to put in their lunchbox, as well as going to a drive-through restaurant to order dinner. Once the food is consumed, the packaging is discarded. Go to the grocery store and walk through the frozen foods, snacks, or cereal aisles. Food packaging, especially plastic food packaging is a big problem. Once we consume the food item, we are left with environmentally pernicious plastics. According to the “Eat Your Food and the Package Too” article in National Geographic (Royte 2018), this is a big problem.

Of the 78 million metric tons of plastic packaging produced globally each year, a mere 14 percent is recycled. Lightweight and floatable, plastic that escapes collection flows into our oceans - nine million tons annually…

“The ubiquity of plastic has become a curse, with discarded objects clogging water ways and landfills. And when plastic does finally fall apart, minute particles disperse in the environment (Shute 2023).” Plastics derived from fossil fuels tend to break down in size (physical change) and not so much chemically (Harris 2010). The scientific concept of physical and chemical properties and changes is fundamental for middle school students (NGSS DCI PS1.A). They should understand that the plastic itself does not break down chemically into safer molecules and elements, but instead gets smaller and smaller while maintaining its chemical composition. These tiny pieces of plastics are classified as microplastics, defined as pieces of plastics that are less than 5 millimeters in size. Microplastics have been found in the depths of the Mariana Trench as well as near the peak of Mount Everest (Wilke 2020 & Wilkinson 2020). They have been found in Artic ice cores and even in our own bodies (Wilke 2020). According to Pinto-Rodrigues (2023) microplastics have been found in the lungs and blood of people. The microplastics and larger pieces of plastic waste that make their ways to the oceans are often caught by large ocean gyres. Ocean gyres are large circular ocean currents that are created due to the Earth’s rotation and global wind patterns. One of the largest of these plastic filled ocean gyres is call the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch located between California and Hawaii is about 1.6 million square kilometers in size (Cho 2022), which is bigger than Texas and California combined and slightly smaller than the state of Alaska. Plastic pollution is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but as we become more aware of the detrimental impacts plastics have on our environment and the human body it highlights the importance and opportunities for supporting environmentally friendly packaging alternatives research. If people from all over the world dive into and tackling small pieces of the plastic puzzle we will eventually be able to mitigate this challenging issue. Here is where middle school students can address a real word problem by employing their science and engineering practices and imagination to help find sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. This project will provide students opportunities to examine the complex relationship between people and petroleum-based plastics. Student will pose scientific questions about alternative packaging composites. They will collect, manipulate and analyze data to generate explanations for their observations. There is compelling evidence that shows these types of open ended scientific investigations help to ignite students’ understanding of science concepts and taps into their curiosity (Michaels, et al. 2008).

Imagine if we were able to create ecologically friendly packaging. Packaging that we were able to compost instead of throw away. Composting is an aerobic process that converts organic materials into nutrient rich soil through natural decomposition. The Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) at the University of Maine is one institute that is currently investigating how nanocellulose can be used as alternative materials for more environmentally friendly packaging. Nanocellulose is nano-structured material from wood cells, which is liberated from cellulose via grinding into nanofibers also called cellulose nanofibers (CNF). One important requirement of many packaging applications is low water permeability. If you look at an atomic force microscopy (AMF) scan of dried CNF (Figure 1) you will see the nanofibers arranged randomly over and next to each other. The fibers make the films rather strong but not water impermeable, due to the spaces between the fibers. Films made from 3 wt% nanocellulose slurry (three percent of the sample’s mass is made of dried nanocellulose and the rest is water) allow too much water to penetrate and therefore make poor packaging materials on their own. By focusing on this packaging parameter, middle school students can model cutting-edge research. Specifically, students may mix nanocellulose with other biodegradable materials in an attempt to fill the inter-fiber microscopic spaces and create composite films that can be tested for water permeability. The students will need to research the physical properties of ecologically safe items to add to their composites and justify why or how they think the material will work with the CNF. The teacher would have the final say of what is doable and safe to work with in the lab. Selecting the biodegradable materials for the nanocellulose compost is a good way to have students work on problem solving and employ information literacy, which requires students to identify the problem, and then locate, evaluate, and effectively use the information.

Figure 1. An atomic force micrograph of dried CNF fibers. Image taken by Ethan O’Banion June, 2023 University of Maine REU Hub and Spoke program.

AMF of dried CNF.

Students in the past have created a packaging composite by using crushed peanut shells and CNF (warning, peanuts are a common allergen and should not be used in class if a student is allergic). Peanut shells are lignocellulosic and are, comprised of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. In this regard they are similar to wood, however they also have a complex fibrous structure that is quite unique. It was hypothesized that this fibrous structure would help create a CNF composite that is not as water permeable as CNF films itself. Alternatively, other students have created CNF composites employing blue green algae, Spirulina, a filamentous cyanobacterium with the rational that the fibrous cyanobacteria would clog the microscopic spaces between the wood fibers. Ground up mushrooms (caps and stems) were mixed with CNF for similar reasons. Crushed lobster shells (warning, shellfish is a common allergen and should not be used in class if a student is allergic) were also used. It was thought the crushed shells would paste over and seal the gaps within the dried CNF films to create a better water barrier. Students have also investigated the efficacy of films coated on CNF film surfaces, for example students have tried coating CNF films with tung oil, an oil that comes from the seed of a tung tree. The rational behind this idea was that the tung oil would seal the CNF film so that less water would be able to escape. The class can come up with one biodegradable material to test and the different groups can test different ratios of dried CNF to the biomaterial in the composite films. Student groups could also select their own crushed up or coated biodegradable material and test 90% CNF fines to added biomaterial and/or 80% CNF fines to added biomaterial films to see which treatment has the best results. This is a relevant, open, but also guided research project for students where the results from past classes can be presented to help inform the present class. The choices for biodegradable materials should be wide open but must be based on research and the physical properties of the material. Students need to have a clear hypothesis that is supported with research and maybe some prior knowledge. It is important students be able to defend why they think their material will improve the water permeability of CNF film and not just make random guesses. This investigation also presents an opportunity for students to practice their critical thinking skills, research, writing, and presentation skills. It also provides an extension opportunity for students’ that want to do similar and more elaborate projects for science/engineering fair.

Content Area: Physical Science, Engineering

Grade Levels: 6-8 Middle School or High School

Purpose: Develop and compare the water permeability of biodegradable packaging materials made from cellulose nanofiber (a wood-derived nanostructured cellulose) and other biodegradable materials. This science investigation aligns with the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) MS-ETS1-2 Engineering Design: Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem, and MS-PS1-3 Matter and its interaction: Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. See Table 1 for the NGSS connections and explanations of how students meet the standards. It also aligns tightly to several Science and Engineering practices: Asking questions and defining problems, Engaging in argument from evidence (did their CNF composite films prevent water permeability?) Analyze and interpret data as well as developing and using models. The Mason jars help model how the CNF film composites retain moisture. The influence of science and engineering as a Crosscutting Concepts is demonstrated with the students’ research directly addressing a real world problem.

Table 1. The NGSS engineering and science standards, science and engineering practices, the disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts the alternative packing research covers from grade 6-8 along with explanations of how these standards apply to the alternative packaging project.

NGSS Engineering, Technology and the Application of Science
MS-ETS1-1 Define the Criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision. This alternative packaging project requires students to develop a nanocellulose (CNF) composite film that is less water permeable than CNF itself. MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process. Students are asked to either compare the results of different biodegradable materials used within the CNF composite or to compare different concentrations of the same composites. They will also compare the results of open jars and jars with standard plastic films. MS-ETS1-3 Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences. Students will average the trials in each treatment to see if there is a significant difference between all of the treatments. MS-ETS1-4 Develop a model to generate data from iterative testing. Students will experiment with Mason Jars filled with water to model and measure packaging water permeability. Each treatment (open jars, plastic film, CNF film, and their bio + CNF composites) will have three trials. The class can pool and compare their data to see where all the different composites fall or compare the different ratios of one single composite.
Science & Engineering Practices	Disciplinary Core Ideas	Crosscutting Concepts
Asking questions and defining problems. Students are trying to create a film that is less water permeable than CNF films. They will do this by selecting a biodegradable material that will be added to CNF to make a composite film. Engaging in argument from evidence. Once students graph their data that shows the amount and rate of water loss over five days, they will need to argue whether or not their composite film decreased the water permeability as compared to 100% CNF films or plastic films. Analyzing and interpreting data. Students will collect data over five or more days. They will then average the mass of all the different trials for each treatment to discover how well their composites compare to open jars, CNF films and plastic. Developing using models. This entire research project is a model in investigating more ecofriendly alternative packaging	ETS1.A Designing and delimiting Engineering problems. This project presents the environmental problems that plastics presents and asks students to research and then test a biodegradable composite film that reduces water permeability. ETS1.B: Developing possible solutions. Students use their critical thinking skills to propose and test a possible biodegradable CNF composite that could be used as an alternative to plastic. ETS1.C Optimizing the design solution. Students will compare the results from their entire class to see which CNF and biogradable composite performs the best in reducing water permeability or which ratio of biodegradable material to CNF performs the best.	Influence of science, engineering and technology. This project allows students to explore a real world problem and employ the computational thinking skills concept of decomposition to allow students to focus on water permeability, which is one important criterion for creating alternative packaging.
NGSS Matter and its Interactions MS-PS1-3 Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources an impact society. Students are being asked to think about, research, and test CNF composites films for water permeability with the intention of replacing petroleum-based plastics. Composites are created when two or more substances are combined to create a physical change. This physical change can result in “improved” physical properties.
Science & Engineering Practices	Disciplinary Core Ideas	Crosscutting Concepts
Asking questions and defining problems. Students understand why CNF fails as alternative packaging and they will ask themselves how can they reduce the size of the gaps within the CNF film to make better alternative packaging materials that could reduce plastic dependence. Engaging in argument from evidence. Students will test their film composites to see if the results are better than 100% CNF or approach the water permeability ability of plastic from the amount and rate of water loss over five or more days. Analyzing and interpreting data. Students will collect mass data over five or more days. They will average the trials for each treatment to discover how well their composites compare to open jars, CNF films and plastic. Using mathematical and computational thinking. Students will use spreadsheets to determine concentrations and graph results. They have to use logic, procedural algorithms, patterns, and abstractions when focusing on their part of the experiment. Along with collaboration with the class and creativity in solving the problem with 100% CNF. Developing using models. Students will be making small-scale models of new alternative packaging materials that they test for water permeability.	PS1.A Structure and properties of matter. Students learn about the properties of nanocellulose and investigate possible composites to make it a better biodegradable packaging material through a physical change. Also, students will understand water will change from a liquid to a gas (vaporization – evaporation) and escape the jars through microscopic holes in the composite films.	Patterns. In the introduction students will see how the petroleum based plastics problem is growing exponentially (Lebreton et al. 2018) and how ubiquitous the plastics and microplastics problem is around the world Cause and Effect. Students will learn the cause and effect of the plastic problem is and how creating a composite will change the water permeability of CNF based films. Structure and function. Students will create new films that have different structures that increase or decrease the water permeability function of a material.

The NGSS engineering and science standards, science and engineering practices hits and explanations.

Time: The research requires about three forty-minute classroom sessions to introduce the topic, research and select a composite material, as well as set up the experiment. The subsequent collection of data requires only five to ten minutes at the beginning of class for five days. The data should be recorded at the same time of day for five consecutive days, but meaningful conclusions can still be made with data that are interrupted by weekends, school schedule disruptions, or student absences.

Pre-Laboratory Activities: The teacher will start a class conversation about plastics with students and use the board or a Padlet to record the results of what students know or what they think they know about plastics. Padlet.com is an online way for students and teachers to digitally share and organize ideas. Next, the teacher will ask students to pair up or work individually to select a scientific article about plastics or microplastics from Newsela, an online news based platform that supports student literacy and allows for differentiation by having students select their appropriate lexile levels. Or use Science New Explores, an online middle school appropriate site of science articles with “power words” definitions, and additional resources. Provide time for students to read the article, summarize the information and share with the class. Once everyone has shared their articles, show a three minute You Tube video titled “How Big the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Really Is.” Produced by Sharma and Shira (2018) from Insider Science. After the video, ask students if they think biodegradable alternative packaging might be worth investigating? Discuss and develop a list of parameters important for such alternative packaging. Bring up water permeability? Should packaging need to hold in moisture? Ask students why we do not typically package food items in paper. Introduce Nanocellulose and show the AMF of dries nanocellulose and discuss the physical properties. Explain to students that composites are when you mix two or more substances together to create a physical change. This physical change can produce improved properties. From this discussion, the instructor can springboard into this alternative packaging investigation.

Cost: Minimal, The cost to cover several classes is less than $200.00, assuming the science classrooms/lab already have digital scales, safety goggles, and graduated cylinders, the cost of the nanocellulose is $75.00, the food dehydrator about $80.00 (optional), small Mason jars or jelly jars are about $14.00 per dozen, twenty 100 mm x 15 mm petri dishes is about $10.00, and the plastic wrap is and $2.00. Everything is reusable except for the nanocellulose and plastic wrap.

Safety: Goggles while pouring composite samples (goggles required for the pouring of 3 wt% aqueous slurry), and disposable latex or nitrile gloves.

Essential Preexisting Knowledge: Students should know the difference between physical and chemical properties and changes; phase changes (vaporization/evaporation) the water cycle, and what selective permeability means.

Possible Student Misconceptions: Some students may not understand that the Mason jars with films covering the openings, is not a true closed system. Even the jars with plastic will have some water loss. They do not understand the water is vaporizing and escaping through microscopic holes in the films. Some students do not understand that evaporation of the water occurs at the surface and not throughout the sample of water. When analyzing data some students do not understand standard error and do not know that although averages can be different they might not be significantly different.

Materials: Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) 3 wt% aqueous slurry (5-gallon bucket from the University of Maine, $75 https://umaine.edu/pdc/nanocellulose/nanocellulose-products/order-nanocellulose/). Such a bucket will last several years if tightly sealed and stored in a refrigerator; Common size petri dishes (100 mm x 15 mm); graduated cylinder; digital scale; Mason jars or jelly jars with metal rings, tap water, plastic wrap, and a food dehydrator to expedite the drying of the CNF composite films (optional). Students will need a science notebook to organize and record their data or they can use the provided student handout that is available in the resources section. The student handout includes background information, tables to record data and a 100-point grading rubric

Film production

1. Students should record their work in ether a science notebook or use the student hand out provided in the appendix (Appendix A) or a copy can be found in the resources. Each group should make three 3wt.% CNF nanocellulose films and three films of another percentage (x wt.%) chosen by students/class and created by adding the calculated amount of 3wt.% CNF in grams (based on its dry mass) and the specified amount of biodegradable material. Example: 30 g of 3wt.% CNF slurry contains 0.9 g of dry CNF (the approximate target mass of each film) In order to create films that are 50wt% dried CNF and 50% another material, one should mix 0.45 dry g (of the other biomaterial into 15 grams of 3wt% CNF).

   1. Table 2 presents a spreadsheet used to calculate the amount of biodegradable material to add to a specified mass of the 3wt.% CNF slurry. A digital copy of the spreadsheet is available at:

      1. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IDF0eHa5Mw0YA8ULIs1Jar_argKyZJsbyflayqNzfGw/copy

2. Label the bottom of all petri dishes with the composition of the contents with a grease pencil (Example: petri dishes #1 - #3 can be labeled as 100% CNF and petri dishes #4 – #6 can be labeled 80% CNF).

3. Place the first of three empty petri dishes on a digital scale, tare, and add about 30g of 3wt.% CNF. Repeat for the remaining two petri dishes (#1 - #3 100% CNF) (record mass in a science notebook or student handout). Gently tap the bottom of each petri dish to evenly distribute the material throughout the dish. Care should be taken not to lose any material. Once the CNF is distributed evenly the petri dishes should be set out to dry uncovered or place in a food dehydrator.

4. In order to form the composite mixtures, tare each petri dish on the digital scale and add the allotted amount of 3wt.% CNF slurry and the allotted amount of crushed biomaterial (record the total wet masses in the science notebook or student handout). Mix the combined contents of the petri dishes well and gently tap the bottom of each petri dish to distribute the material evenly across the dish (see Figure 2). Once the composite is distributed evenly place open petri dishes out to dry or place in food dehydrator.

5. Allow films to dry (24 - 72 hours depending on humidity). Note the use of a food dehydrator decreases the amount of time required for films to dry (see Figure 3).

6. Once films are dried to touch, carefully remove films from dishes without ripping. Films should then be numbered and labeled with their composition using a permanent marker.

7. Note, dried films may be coated with a biomaterial to form an alternate type of composite. To create this type of film you would brush a liquid material (e.g. tung oil) directly onto the 100% CNF films. If desired, students can evaluate how the number of coats brushed on to the base CNF films affects water permeability. Making these films will require more drying time and may extend the film production by an additional day or two.

Figure 2. An image of a composite mixture of 3 wt% CNF slurry and blue green algae, spirulina, a cyanobacterium. This dish should be lightly tapped several times to make sure the mixture is as evenly distributed as possible, before drying. Note that the image depicts the mixture prior to even distribution.

Evenly distributing the CNF slurry in the petri dish.

Figure 3. Five 100% CNF films being dried with a food dehydrator. When using a food dehydrator, films can be dried within 6 - 10 h versus 24 – 48 h.

Use of a food dehydrator to accelerate the drying of CNF Films

Table 2. Spreadsheet to determine the amount of dried biomaterial to add to the 3 wt% CNF slurry (3 wt% CNF and 97 wt% water). Column a was determined by taking the amount of 3 wt% CNF typically used (30 g) to make one petri dish film (30 g * 0.03 = 0.9 g). Column B is the wt% of dried CNF per sample. Column C is the total amount of dry CNF in a single film which is the approximate mass of the dried film multiplied by the wt.% of CNF per film and then divided 100 (spreadsheet formula) =A3*B3/100. Column D is the initial weight percentage of dried CNF within the CNF slurry, in this case it is 3 wt%. Column E is the amount of dried biomaterial that should be added to the composite, which is calculated by subtracting the approximate mass of the dried film (column A) from the total amount of dry CNF within the film (column C), i.e., spreadsheet formula = A3-C3. Column F is the amount of wet 3 wt% CNF that should be added, which is calculated by taking the total amount of dried CNF and dividing it by 0.03, i.e., spreadsheet formula = C3/(D3/100). Finally, Column G is simply the sum of the biomaterial used and the total amount of 3 wt% CNF slurry needed (=SUM(E3:F3)). a copy of this google sheets is provided. https://bit.ly/SS4DryCNF.

Approx. Mass of Dried Film (g)	The % of overall CNF per film	The total amount of dry CNF in film (approx.. mass (g) * CNF content (%))	Starting % of CNF	The amount of bio-material to add (target bio-material mass in film)	The amount of wet 3% CNF to add (Total dry CNF / Starting % of CNF)	Total mass (g) of material
Target mass (g)	CNF content (%)	Dry CNF (g) in Film	CNF (%)	? Furnish (g)	Wet CNF (g)	Total Mass
0.9	100	0.9	3	0.00	30.00	30.00
0.9	95	0.855	3	0.05	28.50	28.55
0.9	90	0.81	3	0.09	27.00	27.09
0.9	85	0.765	3	0.14	25.50	25.64
0.9	80	0.72	3	0.18	24.00	24.18
0.9	75	0.675	3	0.23	22.50	22.73
0.9	70	0.63	3	0.27	21.00	21.27
0.9	65	0.585	3	0.32	19.50	19.82
0.9	60	0.54	3	0.36	18.00	18.36
0.9	55	0.495	3	0.41	16.50	16.91
0.9	50	0.45	3	0.45	15.00	15.45

Amount of Dried CNF to Biomaterial for film Composites.

Experimental set-up

1. Fill 12 Mason jars halfway with tap water.

2. Jars 1-3 = no film, just metal ring. Jars 4-6 = plastic film with metal ring. Jars 7-9 = 3wt% CNF films with metal rings. Jars 10-12 = x wt% CNF composite films with metal rings (see Figure 4). Note that in order to save time and decrease the number of Mason jars required, the teacher can set up the jars without film and the jars with plastic covers so the entire class could share the data.

3. Students should create a table in their science notebooks and record the mass of each jar, each day, for five days or they can enter the information in the appropriate tables on the student handout. As an extension or to incorporate more mathematic and computational thinking skills, student may be asked to create a spreadsheet for their data were they enter formulas that automatically calculate the total mass of water lost each day. Each measurement will enable students to determine the amount of water loss (g) due to evaporation for a given sample by subtracting the newly determined daily mass from the initial mass of each jar. The data for each trial may then be averaged and plotted on a time (days by date) versus water loss (grams) line graph.

Figure 4. Different treatments (film compositions) for the study, with three to five replicates per treatment. The top row are the open mason jars. The second row are the mason jars covered with plastic film (industry standard). The third row are mason jars covered with 100% CNF films. The fourth row are composites of 90% dried CNF and 10% spirulina. The fifth row are composite films of 80% dried CNF and 20% dried spirulina.

CNF film treatments trials:

Gather data

Once the experiment has started, students will record the mass of each jar each day in order to determine the amount of water lost (measured in grams). This can be done in a science notebook or on the student handout. Note, the data do not necessarily have to be collected over five consecutive days. However, the date of each collection should be recorded in order to understand the experiment’s time frame.

Analysis

Students will determine the daily aggregate amount of water lost since the initial day of the investigation employing the average of the three trials for each treatment to create a line graph of the loss of water (g) over five days by date (see Figure 5). The line graph may include standard error bars for each day’s data that were collected, if desired. The 10% standard error of the mean measures how far the treatment trial means (the average water lost) is likely to be from the true population mean (all trials). A bar/histogram graph could also be used to compare the water loss over the duration of the project.

Figure 5. A Graph made by students showing the amount of water loss over five days for seven different treatments (open jars, 100% dried CNF, 90% dried CNF and 10% of spirulina, 80% dried CNF and 20% of spirulina, 70% dried CNF and 30% of spirulina, and 60% dried CNF and 40% of spirulina composites). The results show that plastic (the industry standard) had the least water loss and that 80% CNF to spirulina showed significantly better results than 100% CNF.

Total water loss from CNF & Spirulina film covered Mason jars.

Conclusion

Once all the data has been analyzed, students will formulate a conclusion either in their notebooks or on the student handout. The next step to this process is getting students to effectively communicate their research, which is an important scientific and engineering practice. Students should create and present a quadrant or quad chart to their class. Quad charts can be hung up in class or featured on a school bulletin board to share results with other students and teachers. A quad chart is a technical document students use to briefly describe their alternative packaging results through writing, illustrations (graphs) and photographs. Students write an introduction where they summarize their rational for using a certain biodegradable item within their CNF film. They outline their procedures, display their results as a graph, and then share their conclusions. A copy of a quad chart template is provided in the resources along with an example of former student’s work. A forty point grading rubric for the quad chart is also provided (see Table 3)

Table 3. This is a 40-point grading rubric to use for student quad chart presentations.

Project Elements	Description of Criteria		Possible Score	Score
Quad Chart Sections	Background	Data
	Procedure	Conclusion
Title & Description	Title of investigation is specific and provides an overview of project		0-2
Background	Research results – highlights important people or discovery Significance – explain importance of this problem addressing or project Facts - tells what is known about the topic and explains major terms & definitions Bibliography-Includes at least 1 source		0-5
Testable Question & Hypothesis	Testable Question: Asks a specific, measurable, cause & effect question or has a clear purpose of the project. Hypothesis: Expresses a reasonable prediction about how specific changes affect the expected outcome.		0-4
Procedure & Conditions	Describe process for Experiment. Includes step-by-step process of experiment. Independent (time - days), dependent (mass of jars - to indicate water loss - grams), and controls (open jars & plastic jars) are included and the rest of the treatments are clearly defined. Project can be repeated after reading.		0-8
Trials	At least 3 trials are indicated.		0-2
Data and Identification	All data should be clearly labeled and identify the experiment. Graphs should contain title, x and y-axes labeled with units and intervals are equal. Demonstrates appropriate application of mathematical and statistical methods. Average of treatment trials.		0-8
Conclusion & Reflection	Reflects what the student has learned. What would you do differently or to continue the project? Includes statement answering problem and hypothesis.		0-8
Additional items
Photos/Illustrations	Use photos or illustrations to show how the experiment was set-up. This can be included in the procedures section or the data section.		0-3
TOTAL SCORE: _________			0-40

Quad Chart Alternative Packing Grading Rubric: 40 points.

Possible extension

Students could potentially extend the research into a science/engineering fair project. Specifically, students could consider the class’ results and decide which biomaterial showed the most promise in decreasing water permeability. Such an analysis may result in hypothesized performance of modified treatments, which could subsequently be trialed experimentally.

This inquiry project has been designed to promote student awareness of the real-world plastic pollution issue and to challenge students to create biodegradable packaging. It is a cross-curricular experience that incorporates reading nonfiction, citing textual evidence, promotes comprehension, and presentation of knowledge. It also incorporates computational thinking skills like algorithms, logic, decomposition, and pattern recognition. This robust inquiry has proven to be a fun and an interesting way to ignite students’ curiosity and to focus their creative energies in helping to solve a pressing global issue. It is also the hope this project cultivates future scientists, engineers, and environmental activists.

Acknowledgements

The work reported in this paper was supported by National Science Foundation grants EEC-1063007 REU Site: Explore it! Building the Next Generation of Sustainable Forest Bioproduct Researchers and an associated RET Supplement. As well as The Hub & Spoke Sustainable Materials & Manufacturing Alliance for Renewable Technologies (SM²ART) - UT-Battelle LLC with the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE AC05 00OR22725 (subcontract number 4000174848)