A little over 1 year ago, I received a phone call that changed my life. I had been selected to become a PolarTREC Teacher and would be heading to Antarctica in the fall of 2017. Words cannot adequately describe the joy and excitement I had in that moment. I knew I was headed for
Impacts of a field experience on teaching high school science
Early in my teaching career, I learned that authenticity is essential in creating working relationships with my high school students. By showing them that I am a human being with experiences, ideas, dreams, and opinions, I’m able to connect in ways that invite their attention as I teach skills
Students will observe how soils and rocks of different densities behave in wind and in water. They will make predictions and careful observations as they learn about sediment transport and sediment rates in streams and rivers.
Students experiment with a “blubber glove” to experience how insulation affects heat transfer, and how the adaptation of blubber helps penguins as well as seals, whales and walruses survive in bitterly cold waters.
During Lesley Urasky’s expedition, “Glacial History in Antarctica”, the team collected rock samples which were taken back to the University of Washington to be dated using cosmogenic (exposure) dating. This method of radiometric dating measures the ratio of isotopes of Beryllium (9Be:10Be) produced by the interaction of cosmic rays with minerals in rocks. This lesson will introduce the student to