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.
Scientists are studying the effect of climate change on vegetation in the Alaskan tundra. In this activity, students will analyze data collected from control plots and plots with Open Top Chambers (OTC's) over them. An open-top chamber is like a tiny greenhouse that increases the temperature in a vegetation plot an average of 2-3 degrees, simulating the effects of
After spending 5 weeks in the Arctic learning about tundra vegetation and phenology, Alejandra Martinez wanted to have her students observe the growth of plants in their school. In this lesson, students will grow plants in multiple locations and track their growth to compare their phenology.
Objectives
Students will learn what phenology is and make observations about plant growth
South Texas is pretty far removed from the Arctic. When I mention climate change in my classroom, my students think of emaciated polar bears roaming the Arctic Ocean for a few minutes and then carry on with their day. I needed to find a way to connect what was happening in the Arctic to
Florida International University (FIU) Preeminent Program research team hunts for the drivers of global climate change in the Arctic. Video produced by Florida International University, May 2019.
PolarTREC, funded by ARCUS (Arctic Research Consortium of the United States) and the NSF (National Science Foundation), endeavors to connect educators and researchers in real field work experiences. Educators then take that experience back to their learners and community and share their experience in the form of lessons, lectures, and enhanced experiences in the classroom. As
Students will find an expedition within the PolarTREC archives and use the research to make a video explaining why studying polar science is important.
Overview
PolarTREC supports teachers on expeditions with real scientists to study in the field. Studying in the Arctic and Antarctic environments can be a harsh and rewarding experience. I participated in Operation IceBridge, an aerial study