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
For three students at Monona Grove High School and their teacher Juan Botella, science and travel are best when paired. The group recently traveled to Chile to attempt a journey to the Antarctic as part of a science trip. Along the way, the students documented their trip in detail, offering viewers a glimpse into their scientific and cultural experience.
Tune
Printed in the Herald-Independent about the Joint Antarctic School Expedition. Three MG high school students and a teacher returned on Feb. 28 from a joint expedition. Although the trip did not go as planned, it was still a cultural and learning experience for the group.
Pilot program to let U.S. high-school students experience Antarctic science at a Chilean station
http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/joint-antarctic-school-expedition-2014
Three high-school students and a teacher from Wisconsin will participate in a joint pilot program of the U.S. and Chilean Antarctic programs that will send them to a Chilean research station this February for hands-on experience with Antarctic environments and ecosystems research.
The U.S
Programa Piloto permite a Estudiantes de High School de los Estados Unidos Aprender sobre Ciencia Antártica en una Estación de Investigación Chilena
http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/joint-antarctic-school-expedition-2014
Tres estudiantes de bachillerato (high school) y un maestro de Wisconsin
participarán en un programa piloto de colaboración entre los programas
antárticos de los Estados Unidos y Chile, que los llevarán a una estación de
investigación
Over three months in Antarctica, PolarTREC teacher Juan Botella took hundreds of pictures a day. He will now display many of those photos in an art exhibit entitled, "ArtArctic Science" at the Overture Center in Madison, WI. The exhibit includes not only Botella’s pictures but artwork by four Monona Grove high school students and two recent graduates.