Microscopes and stereoscopes are proven to be transformative tools in today's innovative classrooms. For the Biology classes, stereoscopes are essential for certain labs like the Plant Reproductive Structures Lab. Students are able to see an enhanced view of the pollen granules and eggs within the flower's ovaries. Students will be able to address the plant structures, reproductive and response interaction TEKS and how it relates to other organisms. 

The flower dissection lab (TEKS 10B) ideally should take a completion time of 1 class period, but unfortunately, due to the limited supply of the stereoscopes, it took us three precious learning days for it to complete. Students were also rushed to complete because we were sharing the very few amongst the 500 freshmen. In order for students to fully obtain the science exploration experience of these plant reproductive structures, they need more time to fully grasp the concepts. If this grant is approved, students will then be able to grasp the in depth understanding of plant systems interactions, which is an essential TEK. 

The Plant TEKS 10B is a readiness standard that is seen not only in our unit exams and milestones, but also yearly in the STAAR Biology test. We will assess students with a unit test to confirm understanding as well as a milestone exam to analyze student comprehension of the presented TEKS. For the Flower Dissection lab, which takes place in our classrooms, we have stations set up for students to explore the dynamics of the plant's reproductive structures and how it relates to the real world. Each station has students completing the task of identifying various flower parts and presenting to the class. Two of the stations involved will have the student using the stereoscope to view and identify a magnified image of both pollen granules and ova within the flower's ovary. It allows for our 500 students to see the major size differentiation between the two reproductive structures as well as how the two structures fit together (species gamete differences and how they have evolved). This lab will also bring back the evolution TEK 7E on reproductive isolation which is also a readiness standard. Not only will the students explore two major readiness standards, but it will also allow for the application of the acquired knowledge from using the stereoscopes in this lab. The usage of this tool and the knowledge obtained will allow for students to become familiar with equipment that is used in many of today's careers such as in cell biology as researchers in major labs (hospitals, universities, and pharmaceutical companies), agricultural careers like the USDA, US Customs and farming facilities as well as the environmental sector like TCEQ and the EPA. Research shows that hands on learning solidifies the learning process for kids of all ages. There is better retention of material presented as well as improvement in their attention span. 
It also allows for students to get a sneak peek at some of the equipment/tools utilized for certain college majors and careers. One study compared test scores of middle schoolers who were lectured about water quality with students who built a water purification device. The students who went through active learning saw much higher test scores and improvement rates. Another study found that students who didn’t engage in hands-on learning were 1.5 times more likely to fail a course than students who did. (https://byf.org/is-hands-on-learning-better/)