This American Public Media Educate podcast features PolarTREC alumni, Melissa Lau. She talks about how her experiences in PolarTREC has influenced how she approaches teaching climate change in the classroom. Here's the link to the Education podcast:
Melissa Lau spent a month in the tundra ecosystem gathering data using a device called a Greenseeker. This device measures exactly how green a plant is by calculating its NDVI or Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. In this lesson, students will explore light waves, how they interact with plants, and find out how green is green.
IMOLD is a highly interactive website designed by Drs. Michael N. Weintraub and Daryl L. Moorhead in collaboration with the Center for Creative Instruction at the University of Toledo. Susan Steiner, PolarTREC teacher with Dr. Weintraub on the expedition, Tundra Nutrient Seasonality, collaborated on IMOLD’s design. Other teachers have contributed wonderful classroom activities that can be found posted
Small groups of students will establish their own phenology plots for long term study. Students will make a field sketch of a sample plot and turn it into a scale map. The map will accurately place plants the students have identified for tracking phenophases, so that the plots can be monitored long term. Phenology is a vital part of