ED41C-01 INVITED
LectureTools: An Open Source Technology to Promote Student Inquiry
While the use of data in introductory classes is not a new concept, technology offers some new and expanded opportunities to engage students with interpretation and analyses of authentic observations. LectureTools is an open-source tool that facilitates exploration of real-time and archived data sets through in-class activities including text-based and image-based questioning and map analyses. This talk describes the LectureTool System, developed by geoscientists for geoscience courses and how its use has spread to chemistry, statistics and even political science at the University of Michigan and how its value is being assessed in terms of student learning and student attitudes about science and technology. http://www.lecturetools.org/
ED41C-02
An Innovative Teaching Method To Promote Active Learning: Team-Based Learning
Traditional teaching practice based on the textbook-whiteboard- lecture-homework-test paradigm is not very effective in helping students with diverse academic backgrounds achieve higher-order critical thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Consequently, there is a critical need for developing a new pedagogical approach to create a collaborative and interactive learning environment in which students with complementary academic backgrounds and learning skills can work together to enhance their learning outcomes. In this presentation, I will discuss an innovative teaching method (‘Team-Based Learning (TBL)") which I recently developed at National University of Singapore to promote active learning among students in the environmental engineering program with learning abilities. I implemented this new educational activity in a graduate course. Student feedback indicates that this pedagogical approach is appealing to most students, and promotes active & interactive learning in class. Data will be presented to show that the innovative teaching method has contributed to improved student learning and achievement.
ED41C-03
NQRY Coaching: Scientists and Science Educators Energizing the Next Generation
A recent National Academy of Science report recommends that science educators focus strategically on teaching the practice of science. To accomplish this, we have devised and implemented the Science Performance Collaboratory, a collaborative research, education, and workforce model that brings scientists and science educators together to conduct scientific inquiry. In this session, we demonstrate how to form active inquiry teams around Arctica Science Research content areas related to the International Polar Year. We use the term Arctica Science Research to refer to the entire scope of exploration and discovery relating to: polar science and its global connections; Arctic and Antarctic research and climate sciences; ice and cryospheric studies on Earth; polar regions of the Moon, Mars, and Mercury; icy worlds throughout the Solar System, such as Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Pluto and the Comets; cryovolvanism; ice in interstellar space, and beyond. We apply the notion of teaching the practice science by enacting three effective strategies: 1) The Inquiry Wheel Game, in which we develop an expanded understanding of what has been traditionally taught as "the scientific method"; 2) Acting Out the Science Story, in which we develop a physicalized expression of our conceptual understanding; and 3) Selecting Success Criteria for Inquiry Coaching, in which we reframe how we evaluate science learning as we teach the practice of science.
ED41C-04
Live Interrogation and Visualization of Earth Systems (LIVES)
Twenty tablet PCs and associated peripherals acquired through a HP Technology for Teaching grant are being used to redesign two freshman laboratory courses as well as a sophomore geobiology course in Geology and Geophysics at Louisiana State University. The two introductory laboratories serve approximately 750 students per academic year including both majors and non-majors; the geobiology course enrolls about 35 students/year and is required for majors in the department's geology concentration. Limited enrollments and 3 hour labs make it possible to incorporate hands-on visualization, animation, GIS, manipulation of data and images, and access to geological data available online. Goals of the course redesigns include: enhancing visualization of earth materials, physical/chemical/biological processes, and biosphere/geosphere history; strengthening student's ability to acquire, manage, and interpret multifaceted geological information; fostering critical thinking, the scientific method, and earth-system science/perspective in ancient and modern environments (such as coastal erosion and restoration in Louisiana or the Snowball Earth hypothesis); improving student communication skills; and increasing the quantity, quality, and diversity of students pursuing Earth Science careers. IT resources available in the laboratory provide students with sophisticated visualization tools, allowing them to switch between 2-D and 3-D reconstructions more seamlessly, and enabling them to manipulate larger integrated data- sets, thus permitting more time for critical thinking and hypothesis testing. IT resources also enable faculty and students to simultaneously work with simulation software to animate earth processes such as plate motions or groundwater flow and immediately test hypothesis formulated in the data analysis. Finally, tablet PCs make it possible for data gathering and analysis outside a formal classroom. As a result, students will achieve fluency in using visualization and technology for informal and formal scientific communication. The equipment and exercises developed also will be used in additional upper level undergraduate classes and two outreach programs: NSF funded Geoscience Alliance for Enhanced Minority Participation and Shell Foundation funded Shell Undergraduate Recruiting and Geoscience Education.
ED41C-05
Astronomy Village Reaches for New Heights
We are developing a set of complex, multimedia-based instructional modules emphasizing technical and scientific issues related to Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope project. The modules" pedagogy will be open-ended and problem-based to promote development of problem-solving skills. Problem- based-learning modules that emphasize work on open-ended complex real world problems are particularly valuable in illustrating and promoting a perspective on the process of science and engineering. Research in this area shows that these kinds of learning experiences are superior to more conventional student training in terms of gains in student learning. The format for the modules will be based on the award-winning multi-media educational Astronomy Village products that present students with a simulated environment: a mountaintop community surrounded by a cluster of telescopes, satellite receivers, and telecommunication towers. A number of "buildings" are found in the Village, such as a library, a laboratory, and an auditorium. Each building contains an array of information sources and computer simulations. Students navigate through their research with a mentor via imbedded video. The first module will be "Observatory Site Selection." Students will use astronomical data, basic weather information, and sky brightness data to select the best site for an observatory. Students will investigate the six GSMT sites considered by the professional site selection teams. Students will explore weather and basic site issues (e.g., roads and topography) using remote sensing images, computational fluid dynamics results, turbulence profiles, and scintillation of the different sites. Comparison of student problem solving with expert problem solving will also be done as part of the module. As part of a site selection team they will have to construct a case and present it on why they chose a particular site. The second module will address aspects of system engineering and optimization for a GSMT-like telescope. Basic system issues will be addressed and studied. These might include various controls issues and optimization issues such as mirror figure, mirror support stability, and wind loading trade-offs. Using system modeling and system optimization results from existing and early GSMT trade studies, we will create a simulation where students are part of an engineering design and optimization team. They will explore the cost/performance/schedule issues associate with the GSMT design.
ED41C-06
Exploring NASA Earth Science Satellite Data in the K-12 Classroom Using MY NASA DATA
Mentoring and inquirY using NASA Data on Atmospheric and earth science for Teachers and Amateurs (MY NASA DATA) is an Internet-based project aimed to bring real NASA Earth system satellite data into the K-12 science classroom. MY NASA DATA consists of a Web site that collects lesson plans, science project ideas, and specially developed documentation to help the target audience more easily use NASA's vast collection of data about the Earth system. The core engine of MY NASA DATA is the Live Access Server (LAS) that provides access to over 128 satellite data parameters for student inquiry. The LAS allows students to make custom geo- referenced color plots, line graphs and data files for spreadsheets for any given parameter, time and location of choice. Students may also actively compare parameters and generate difference or overlay plots to explore real issues and topics in Earth science. The MY NASA DATA Web site already contains over 50 user-contributed lesson plans and science projects that introduce teachers and students to using the LAS interactive analysis tool, and about twenty more contributions will be posted by mid-2008. Each lesson plan is linked to national and state Standards of Learning (SOL) for easy implementation into the science curriculum and includes learning outcomes, prerequisites, and other key pedagogical elements. In-depth unit plans and science fair project ideas are also collected to engage students in longer-term research and interpretation of the NASA satellite data parameters. Several of the projects encourage students to collect local scientific data over a period of time for comparison with the satellite data. Each lesson or project provides the age-appropriate scaffolding that allows students to make new discoveries by exploring real data while teaching basic scientific principals and methods. The MY NASA DATA project also utilizes new developments in media and technology to provide more options for involving users remotely. Digital Learning Network (DLN) videoconferences, summer teacher workshops, and short courses at regional and national conferences are available for more intensive training in using MY NASA DATA in the classroom. Lessons using LAS data with Geographical Information System (GIS) software and data formats are also available for advanced audiences. A mentor network has been established to allow students to ask professional scientists and engineers scientific or career questions via e-mail. Feedback from outreach efforts has been extremely positive, and Web site metrics currently show over 8000 unique users per month. http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov
ED41C-07
From Local to EXtreme Environments (FLEXE): Promoting Earth Systems Science Literacy Through Student Inquiry and Real Data
From Local to EXtreme Environments (FLEXE) is an innovative new project of the GLOBE Program that involves middle and high school students in systematic, facilitated analyses and comparisons of real environmental data. Through FLEXE, students collect and analyze data from various sources, including the multi-year GLOBE database, deep-sea scientific research projects, and direct measurements of the local environment collected by students using GLOBE sampling protocols. Initial FLEXE materials and training have focused on student understanding of energy transfer through components of the Earth system, including a comparison of how local environmental conditions differ from those found at deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities. While the importance of data acquisition, accuracy and replication is emphasized, FLEXE is also uniquely structured to deepen students' understanding of multiple aspects of the process and nature of science, including written communication of results and on-line peer review. Analyses of data are facilitated through structured, web-based interactions and culminating activities with at-sea scientists through an online forum. The project benefits from the involvement of a professional evaluator, and as the model is tested and refined, it may serve as a template for the inclusion of additional "extreme" earth systems. FLEXE is a partnership of the international GLOBE web- based education program and the NSF Ridge 2000 mid-ocean ridge and hydrothermal vent research program, and includes the expertise of the Center for Science and the Schools at Penn State University. International collaborators also include the InterRidge and ChEss international research programs. http://flexe.psu.edu
ED41C-08
Satellite Ocean Data Tools in the high school classroom.
The NASA-sponsored Ocean Motion website (http://www.oceanmotion.org) documents the story of humankind's interest in and observations of surface currents from the early seafaring Polynesians to present day satellite observations. Ocean surface current patterns impact our lives through their influences on the weather, climate, commerce, natural disasters and sea life. The Ocean Motion web site provides inquiry based, classroom ready materials for high school teachers and students to study ocean surface currents. In addition to the information resources posted on the website, there are also investigations that lead students to explore patterns and relationships through data products (color- coded map images, time series graphs and data tables). These investigations are done through an interactive browser interface that provides access to a wealth of oceanography data. This presentation focuses on use of surface current data and models in student investigations to illustrate application of basic science principles found in high school science curriculum. Skills developed using data to discover patterns and relationships will serve students in other courses as well as empower them to become stewards of the Earths environment. http://www.oceanmotion.org