Abstract
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines have become key focus areas in the education community of the United States. Newly adopted across the nation, Next Generation Science Standards require that educators embrace innovative approaches to teaching. Transforming classrooms to actively engage students through a combination of knowledge and practice develops conceptual understanding and application skills. The partnerships between
PolarTREC teacher Jacquelyn Hams' expedition is featured in Foundations: the Newsletter of the Geo2YC division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.
Plan and run a family fun afternoon or evening with several hands-on activities. Students help run the activity stations and share what they have learned about the Polar Regions. A great culminating activity for a unit on the Arctic, Antarctica, or both, and a fun way to involve families in the learning experience.
Teacher Betsy Wilkening and researchers publish an article in the Journal of Geophysical Research stemming from their work on the PolarTREC OASIS project.
PolarConnect event with Anne Marie Wotkyns and the team aboard the Swedish Icebreaker Oden en route from Punta Arenas, Chile to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
PolarConnect event with Anne Marie Wotkyns and the team aboard the Swedish Icebreaker Oden en route from Punta Arenas, Chile to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Students will use marshmallows to simulate toxins in the environment. Concentrations of these toxins will be modeled and calculated as they bioaccumulate up the food chain. Methylmercury and POPs are substances that bioaccumulate in the Arctic food chain. OASIS scientists studied these in Barrow, Alaska. (See Ocean Atmosphere Sea Ice and Snow (OASIS) Project at www.polartrec.com)
Students will discover how a simple action such as turning on a television will lead to toxins in our food supply. Many of these toxins concentrate in the Arctic because of long-range transport of pollutants in the atmosphere. Scientists in the OASIS project (http://www.polartrec.com/ocean-atmosphere-sea-ice-and-snowpack-interactions) study these pollutants in the Arctic. Students will learn about actions that they can take to