River HomeLink students learn about bird strikes

BATTLE GROUND — Seventh- and eighth-grade students at River HomeLink had the opportunity to learn about “bird strikes,” and how to keep skies safer for airline passengers, planes and birds. The class is part of teacher Ken Graham’s Problem-Based Learning course, in which students work online and in the classroom. Students began the nine-week course by studying U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in 2009 after the airplane struck a flock of geese. Students analyzed data about prevalence of bird strikes nationwide, then took a field trip to Portland International Airport to hear from experts. They met airport Operations Manager Sterling Kesler; Horizon Airlines pilot Darin Chung; Port of Portland Environmental Specialist Nick Atwell and several members of the port’s operations, maintenance and fire and rescue teams. “Engaging with professionals who are working in the fields we’re studying in the classroom makes for a unique, authentic learning experience for students,” Graham said in a news release. “Seeing the work of experts up close and in person helps students connect conceptual learning with the real world.” Experts from PDX visited the school on Oct. 25 to serve as panelists and ask students questions after they presented their findings.