HR: 1340h
AN: ED53A-0325    [Abstracts]
TI: Demonstrating Climate Change and the Water Cycle to Fifth Grade Students
AU: * Murphy, J G
EM: j.g.murphy@uea.ac.uk
AF: School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ United Kingdom
AU: * Murphy, J G
EM: j.g.murphy@uea.ac.uk
AF: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AB: Scientists in academia often want to share their knowledge of and enthusiasm for science with K-12 students, but feel wary of the time commitment and logistical details involved with volunteer work. As a PhD student at UC Berkeley, I participated in the Community in the Classroom program, organized by the non-profit Community Resources for Science. CRS acts as the liaison between local schools and scientists in the community, taking care of all the administrative details regarding the classroom visits. Volunteers are asked to prepare a fun, hands-on presentation for a specific grade level, which is linked to elementary science standards. I chose to visit several fifth grade classrooms and talk about the connection between climate change and the water cycle in California. My presentation included a demonstration of the greenhouse effect, an experiment to see where the water on the outside of a cold glass comes from, and an investigation into the role of temperature in the phase changes of water, using plastic containers, icepacks and mitten warmers. The students were encouraged to make predictions about the impact of climate change on the water cycle based on their recent observations. I will share my demonstrations, discuss feedback from the students and teachers and offer suggestions to those interested in volunteer teaching.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005