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.
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
We are all teachers and students throughout our lives – even as adults we are students and even as children we are teachers. As adults, we are often afforded unusual opportunities to learn as we push ourselves in our interests and abilities. Through these opportunities—both expected and unexpected—our own understanding of what is possible expands as well as our desire
Models are great to use to make a concept easier to understand, to visualize a process or outcome, and also to allow a scientist to test selected variables. IMOLD is a great model of leaf decomposition, because it allows the students to interact with two variables affecting decomposition rates, and test those variables in many more ways than they could
This lesson describes how decomposition happens, and the role of microorganisms in this process. The animation, which runs for 3:23 minutes total time, covers information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one suggestion for working your students through the animation. By actively taking notes during the animations, students can engage in a dialogue with the
The purpose of this lesson is to highlight the importance of the structure of a leaf at its implications for how it decomposes. The animation, which runs for 2:03 minutes total time, covers information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one suggestion for working your students through the animation. By actively taking notes during the
The purpose of this lesson is to highlight the importance of the Carbon Cycle in the natural cycles of photosynthesis and respiration. It also models how human activity can alter the carbon cycle. The animation, which runs for 2:56 minutes total time, covers a large amount of information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one