HR: 17:00h
AN: ED34A-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Using Paleoclimate Proxy Data with Middle School Students
AU: * Gardiner, L
EM: egardine@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Ammann, C
EM: ammann@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research Climate and Global Dynamics Division- Paleoclimatology, 1850 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
AU: Foster, S
EM: susanf@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Johnson, R
EM: rmjohnsn@ucar.edu
AF: UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Haller, D
EM: doug@hallerconsulting.com
AF: Doug Haller Consulting, 5550 Stonewall Pl. #23, Boulder, CO 80303 United States
AB: Collaboration between scientists and educators has culminated in a collection of classroom activities about paleoclimates that incorporates various types of paleoclimate proxy data. While proxy data sets have been used as backbones for several of the activities, data has been translated into various visual formats or summarized to make sure that activities are appropriate for the middle school level. Through this suite of activities, students learn both about the climatic changes that occurred during the Little Ice Age, and also develop skills in data analysis and interpretation, which serve as an important foundation for future scientific training. For example, the tree ring exercise allows students to interpret 600 years of tree ring data by focusing on large-scale patterns without getting bogged down in a year-by-year analysis. In this activity, students analyze mock tree cores. The thickness of the rings in the mock tree cores is based on data. Students analyze the mock tree cores in 50-year increments and draw conclusions about the change in average tree ring thickness through time and determine the timeframe of the Little Ice Age. This collection of activities addressing paleoclimate forms a unit within the 'Climate Past' section of NCAR's new Climate Discovery Teacher's Guide. The standards-aligned lessons plans may be downloaded from the NCAR education and outreach web site (http://eo.ucar.edu/educators/ClimateDiscovery/LIA.htm).
UR: http://eo.ucar.edu/educators/ClimateDiscovery/LIA.htm
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005