PolarTREC has been an incredible experience for me, both professionally and personally. The expedition and experience have shifted the way I teach about science in the field and how I approach this with the students. It has also reiterated the fact that I am educating my students to think critically and ask testable questions. This experience
On 25 August, teacher Svea Anderson gave a presentation on the highlights from her PolarTREC expedition at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum at their annual Teacher Appreciation Night.
Teacher Svea Anderson and researcher Dr. Donie Bret-Harte discuss research from Toolik Field Station on Shrubs, Snow and Nitrogen in the Arctic. This event was broadcast live on August 13, 2018.
In a “March Madness” game of survival of the fittest, will your microbe and its genes survive the test of changing conditions on Planet Earth and beyond? Students choose genes from a “toolbox” and pit their microbe against their classmates’, using critical thinking and argument writing to determine the microbe with the best chance of success. Based on PolarTREC
In this investigation, students will measure production of CO2 from surface water and consider the role of surface waters in the global carbon cycle and climate change. They will gather data on using Vernier CO2 sensors. This lesson presents a wonderful opportunity for student-designed experiments.
This is a good lesson to get students thinking about the complexity of the systems involved in providing our society with energy, the consequences of energy use and efficiency. Students are encouraged to explore the data sets on their own, ask their own questions about energy use and present their findings to each other.
Researcher Elizabeth Webb discusses her experiences working in the field with a PolarTREC teacher. She worked with John Wood in 2011 and 2012, and Tom Lane in 2013, on the Carbon Balance in Warming and Drying Tundra expedition near Healy, Alaska. (She primarily discusses her time with John Wood since this interview was taken in 2013, before Tom Lane's expedition.)