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by Katie Gardner

Move It Or Lose It – Fish Migration Game

April 29, 2011 in Education Materials

Developed by: Katie Gardner, Kate Florio, Cathy Yehas, Aly Busse

Download the pdf of this lesson

Topic:

Introduce different species that depend on specific water conditions for survival. Participants take on the role of a species forced to migrate to stay in its favored water conditions over the course of one year.

Audience:

Age 9 and older

Length:

30 minutes

NJ State Standards:

  • 5.3.4.C – Interdependence

Objectives:

  • Compare and contrast how marine and terrestrial animals generally inhabit their environment
  • Describe possible reactions to changes in an animals’ environment

Introduction:

This activity is intended to help students understand how marine organisms can react to changes in their environment through role-play. While this is by no-means entirely scientifically accurate, it is meant to model the behavior of animals in response to habitat changes.

Background:

Within the open ocean, habitat is often defined by the physical water conditions present, such as temperature and salinity. Species inhabiting the open ocean might have several different responses to changing temperatures. They could go dormant, have a wide range of conditions they live in, or they move with the favorable conditions. Many migrations in the ocean are triggered by changing conditions.

Materials:

  • Playing tarp (See ConstructionGuide_Fish_Migration.pdf for instructions to make this.)
    Additional materials are listed in the construction guide to prepare the playing tarp.
  • Color print out of fish cards (Fish_Cards.pdf)
  • Paper cutter – fish cards are printed 2 per page
  • Laminator (optional – to protect fish cards)
  • Container of small tokens to use as Energy Points (paper clips, or beads for example)
  • Small cups, one per student to hold their supply of Energy Points
  • Powerpoint presentation (Fish_Migration_Game.ppt)
  • Computer Projector
  • Projection Screen
  • Small binder clips (have 2 per student available)

Procedure:

I. Preparation

  1. Print fish cards, and cut pages in half, so each card is only displaying information about one fish. (If desired, laminate the cards to protect and improve durability).
  2. Lay out playing tarp
  3. Set-up projector with PowerPoint Presentation in a way that students won’t block the projection while on the tarp.
  4. Pass out the one Fish Card to each of the players in the game
  5. Pass out 6 energy points to each player to start the game

II. Activity

This activity relies on the honesty of players. Students may decide to cheat to “win” by not paying enough for movement, or moving to “safe” squares while unobserved. This needs to be strongly discouraged, “dying” is not a failure, just a lesson learned.

Explain the rules:

  1. There will be 12 rounds to this game- one for each month of the year.
  2. The students (who are now playing the role of an animal, using information they get from the Fish Cards) will have to make decisions based on the information on their card.
  3. The object is for each student to try to ‘survive’ the year by keeping their animal in the habitat that it likes to live in (information found on the Fish Cards) and to have enough food to keep moving on their migration/movement path.
  4. The students have to move around the playing tarp trying to stay within their particular animals’ range of habitat requirements.
  5. The colored areas on the slides represent different temperatures of ocean water, which will change each turn because they change each month; the salinity of the open ocean is relatively constant, and students will not have to worry about this during game play.
  6. The yellow stars are food sources (energy points).
  7. Each turn:
    • The facilitator will announce the month that is that turn.
    • A map will appear with the SST for that month (via PowerPoint)
    • The facilitator will then hand out energy points to any animal standing on a food source at the beginning of the turn. (4 points) Note: No food is given at the being of the first month as students have just received 6 energy tokens to start the game.
    • The students must decide if they are going to use energy to move towards their (end) goal location or if they should wait (end location information on Fish Cards).
      • If they decide to move, the students must pay the energy amount to move (1 point per square moved, students may move in any direction, including diagonally).
      • If at any time, the student does not have enough energy to move, they cannot move; they are stuck! Their fish survives as long as whatever changes in water temperature that occurs to that area is within their comfort range.
    • Students can obtain more energy points by standing on a food-rich area at the beginning of the month. (4 points)
    • Those animals that did not survive the month are out of the game and should sit on the side. This means that any student who is outside the temperature range of their fish species at the end of the month once they’ve had a chance to move, dies. (Alternate: students who are out of the game could choose an active player’s species to track for the rest of the game).
    • Students will receive a binder clip when they reach their mid-point, and another when they reach their finish point.
    • Students do not have to be on their Start/Finish Location at the end of turn 12 if they have both binder clips.
  8. If an animal completes their migration without going outside of their comfort range of temperature, they win!

Evaluation:

  1. Once the students have finished- either reached their migration goal or didn’t succeed, talk about the factors that effected their travels:
    1. What was the hardest part:
      • Not knowing what the water temperatures would be?
      • Trying to stay in the range of temperature?
      • Having enough food to survive?
    2. How do you think real marine organisms decide where and when they are going to migrate?

    Safety Precautions:

    Students must walk at all times during this game.

    Extension:

    Have students select a species on the tagging of Pacific predators website and observe it’s movements within the Pacific basin. Try comparing the movements of those species to ocean conditions at the same time, (view live data). Can students determine what factors influence the migration patterns of these predators?

    Resources:

    These files can be used if you have a colorblind student.

    • Color print out of fish cards (Fish_Cards_Colorblind)
      The winter flounder should be used for a color blind student, this can be passed out without singling the student out in anyway.
    • PowerPoint presentation with geometric pattern (Fish_Migration_Game_ColorBlind)

    Additional Links:

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by Katie Gardner

Seasonality in the Ocean

April 27, 2011 in Education Materials

Developed by: Katie Gardner, and Kate Florio

Download the pdf of this lesson

Topic:

Explore the concept of seasonality within the ocean. Compare and contrast differences between seasons on land and seasons in the ocean. Discuss the reasons for the similarities and differences. Students will be introduced to ocean data in the form of sea surface color (chlorophyll) and sea surface temperature (SST).

Audience:

Grades 8 – 12

Length:

30 to 45 minutes

NJ State Standards:

  • 5.1.A – Understand Scientific Explanations
  • 5.4.A – Objects in the Universe
  • 5.4.E – Energy in Earth Systems
  • 5.4.F – Weather and Climate
  • 5.4.G – Biogeochemical Cycles

Objectives:

  • Observe similarities and differences between seasons on land and seasons in the ocean.
  • Explain scientifically why differences are observed, and why there are similarities.
  • Use understanding of seasons to interpret ocean observing system data products.

Introduction:

This activity is meant to open discussion on the idea of seasonality within the ocean. How would students know what season it is if they didn’t have a calendar? What things do they think of in the spring, summer, fall, winter? Does the ocean have seasons? Do all places in the world have the same seasons?

Background:

The data products used for this activity are seven year monthly composites of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Ocean Color measured and compiled from the New York Bight region of the Atlantic Basin. Four months of the year (January, April, July, and October) were chosen as representative of a season.

SST data is measured using satellites, which record infrared radiation from the ocean surface in several different wavelengths. This can be a good real world application to discuss or review the electromagnetic spectrum. The temperature values measured are converted to a color in order to create a false color map. False color maps are created as a visual tool to observe patterns and differences within the data collected. These maps are not in true-life color nor are they photographs/pictures.

Ocean color is a satellite measure of how green the water appears. This measure is a proxy* for the amount of chlorophyll in the ocean. Chlorophyll is a chemical in plants that facilitates photosynthesis, allowing plants to convert sunlight and CO2 into organic compounds for energy and structure. Most varieties of this chemical are green, and this is why many plants are green. Chlorophyll is present in ocean plants too, the mostly microscopic forms of phytoplankton found in the surface ocean. More green means more chlorophyll, and hence more plants. This data is also presented as a false color map.

*A proxy is measuring one thing, and directly relating it to another variable that we are interested in. Proxies are often used when direct measurement of a variable is not easily performed, or available.

Materials:

  • Color printouts of the Chlorophyll and Temperature Data Sheets* (SeasonalDataSheets.pdf)
  • One Plastic sheet protector for each print out sheet (optional)

* This data was provided by Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory (RU COOL), specifically for this lesson. It is a 7 year composite from 2000-2006 of January, April, July, and October. Each data page represents one month. The use of composite data was chosen to focus students on patterns of temperature and chlorophyll.

Procedure:

I. Preparation

  1. Print out one set of data sheets for each pair or group of students
  2. Slide each sheet into a plastic sheet protector if desired

II. Activity

  1. Hand out color copies of the chlorophyll/temperature data.
    There are 4 pages of data; each page is one month of the year.
  2. Have students work in pairs or small groups of to decide which page is in each season, and order them winter, spring, summer, fall.
  3. Some questions that would help guide students could include:
    1. When is the most chlorophyll present? Why?
    2. Does this data show seasons in the ocean the same way we think of seasons on land?
    3. What other data could you look up that would show changes in seasons?
  4. When viewing these data sheets, do not rely on the chlorophyll data directly along the coast. This coastal growth is seen year round. It grows on the nutrients entering the ocean in estuaries, as rivers bring their load in from the continent; there is also a lot of sediment and other particles that can color the water in these areas (remember we are using color as a proxy for chlorophyll). Connections can be made between this and health of watersheds. Ocean blooms will be seen further from the coast.
  5. Data Sheet Key:
    1. Fall – highest water temperatures, bloom in the ocean is fading to yellow and small in size.
    2. Winter – low water temperatures, little to no phytoplankton in St. Georges Bank region.
    3. Summer – warm temperatures, slightly smaller orange bloom in ocean.
    4. Spring – cold water temperatures, large bright red bloom in the ocean.

Evaluation:

Have students share how they ordered the data sheets, and then explain whether they are correct or not. Students often need help understanding the discrepancies between what they think about seasons, and what is observed in the ocean. The temperature data can be misleading if you use your experience with air temperatures. Summer has the hottest months for air; however water has a much higher heat capacity than air. This means that it takes longer to heat up in the spring, and longer to cool down in the fall. The highest surface ocean temperatures are generally recorded in early September and slowly cool through the fall.

The growth of phytoplankton is related to two major factors: the availability of nutrients, and amount of sunlight. Focus on the bloom that occurs in the ocean off of Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, not along the coastline. This region is known as St. Georges Bank, a productive fishery. During the short days of winter, there is little primary productivity seen in the section of ocean shown on the data sheets. Storms are common in the region throughout the winter months, and this serves to mix the water column, bringing up nutrients from deeper water. As the days lengthen, phytoplankton use the nutrients in the water to reproduce quickly, leading to the spring bloom. As spring progresses, warming temperatures will start to stratify the surface ocean , forming layers which block continued upwelling of nutrients. The phytoplankton use up their nutrients and the bloom reduces in size. There is some recycling of nutrients within the surface through the summer, and also heavy grazing by zooplankton. As the days shorten in the fall, productivity drops off. The cooler surface water is less stratified, and storms aid in mixing; starting the seasonal cycle over.


The above composite data is a cross section of temperatures produced by Slocum gliders off the coast of New Jersey. It is shown to illustrate what is meant by temperature stratification in summer vs. winter. A similar temperature pattern is seen in the St. Georges Banks region. Winter temperatures are similar from surface to bottom due to mixing. Summer temperatures are stratified. In this image, a thermocline has developed at 15m depth. A thermocline is a horizontal boundary across which a sharp change in temperature is measured. A connection to water density and the relationship to temperature can be made here.

Extension:

Following the activity and explanation, can students explain why one location on the coast experiences different climate than a location at the same latitude on the interior of a continent? (New York City vs. Chicago) Can students relate the heat capacity of water in the ocean to having a local effect on nearby land masses? What climate differences would students expect to observe based on their reasoning? Have students find climate data to support their reasoning.

Resources:

  • Earth Exploration Toolbook explains in more detail some of the dynamics associated with ocean blooms.
  • The CoolRoom is an ocean data source for public users.
  • RUCOOL is a source for a wider array of both real time and older ocean data.

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Avatar of Kate Florio

by Kate Florio

Sea 3-D

April 22, 2011 in Education Materials

Developed by: Kate Florio, Katie Gardner, Cathy Yehas, Aly Busse

Download the pdf of this lesson

Topic:

Establish the three-dimensional nature of ocean habitats, and expand to idea that there is not a uniform temperature and salinity throughout the ocean.

Audience:

Grades 5 – 8

Length:

45 minutes

NJ State Standards:

  • 5.1.8.B – Generate Scientific Evidence through Active Investigations
  • 5.1.8.D – Participate Productively in Science
  • 5.4.8.E – Energy in Earth Systems
  • 5.4.8.F – Climate and Weather

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Build an understanding of what a cross section is
  • Experience an introduction to real time data
  • Work with a visual aid when first learning about complex data
  • Gain skills to interpret real time data and false color images

Introduction:

This lesson explores the properties of seawater with depth. The ocean is three-dimensional and physical properties can change with depth as well as horizontal distance. Students translate false color ocean data from a three-dimensional model into a two-dimensional image to help them contextualize the information, and then discuss the changes in ocean properties with depth and their effects on circulation and biology.

Background:

The density of seawater is affected by temperature, salinity, and depth. Differences in density result in layers of water masses in the ocean. Many layers have distinct characteristics that allow scientists to determine that water mass’ origin and track its movement over time. Salinity has a larger impact on water density than temperature but is less likely to fluctuate a lot over time in the open ocean. Density driven currents, known as thermohaline circulation are one of the major forces mixing seawater vertically in the ocean, and bringing nutrients from the deep sea to the photic zone in biologically productive upwelling zones. Water masses may also have characteristic nutrient concentrations, allowing scientists to study the links between circulation and biology. Real time data from autonomous underwater vehicles allows scientists to study current conditions and changing conditions in near surface water masses. Some of the features commonly studied include the thermocline, a layer where there is a sharp separation in water temperature, and the halocline, similarly the layer where there is a sudden change in salinity.

Materials:

  • Student worksheet with bathymetric profile being studied
  • Pencils
  • Crayons or colored pencils
  • Laptops for students to access real-time data (if available/desired)
  • Foam Box with map and data columns (See related Construction Guide and Layout Guide .)

Procedure:

I. Preparation

A. Prepare the boxes as directed in the Construction Guide .

B. Look at real-time data ahead of time and choose some profiles you would like to highlight with students. Some ideas include:

Current local conditions

Interesting ongoing research

Concurrent profiles for temperature, salinity, and density

II. Activity

A. Students will work in groups using the model. Students are to create a cross section of a seawater property using the data available from the model blocks.

B. Review false color with students – what is false color, and what do the colors on the scale you will be using represent.

C. Have students select a block to lift. They will place it horizontally on their paper in the correct water column (lining up the bathymetry), and mark the colors on their paper based on the block. Be sure to have them note again what the colors they are using represent.

D. Students will replace the first block, and choose another to repeat the process.

The goal will be for students to create a cross section of ocean data on their paper by transferring the information from the 3-d blocks into a 2-d format.

E. Have students fill in the holes in their data as they color to create the full cross section.

Optional: you may have students choose only one or two of the blocks and predict what the full cross section will look like. Then they may use the remaining blocks to check their answers.

F. Define thermocline and halocline for students. Have them determine whether the data you have used for your model depicts a thermocline or halocline.

G. You may also give students composite data collected from gliders for each of the four seasons. Challenge them to locate the thermocline or halocline on each data set.

H. Discuss the seasonal differences in thermo/halocline, if any, that students observed.

I. Have students discuss what impact their observations might have on organisms living in this region.

Resources:

You can access both current and archived Slocum glider data from Rutgers University’s Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (the COOL Room) here:

http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/auvs/

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by Kate Florio

The Carbon Cycle Game

April 20, 2011 in Education Materials

Developed by: Kate Florio, Katie Gardner

Download the pdf of this lesson

Topic:

Introduce students to the importance of carbon and its cycling between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem and earth system.

Audience:

Grades 8 – 12

Length:

20 to 45 minutes

NJ State Standards:

  • 5.4.G – Biogeochemical cycles

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Model the movement of carbon through different reservoirs.
  • Compare and contrast fast and slow processes (short and long residence times) that move carbon.
  • Understand that the path taken by an atom through a biogeochemical cycle is complex, not a circle, and provide an example of conservation of matter.
  • Put processes such as photosynthesis and respiration in the larger context of biogeochemical cycling.

Introduction:

Students will take on the role of a carbon atom and record which reservoirs in the carbon cycle they visit. They will compare and contrast their trip with those of their classmates to discover information about sources and sinks, and residence times of the different reservoirs. Ocean processes are highlighted to allow the educator to define the biological pump and explain its importance to climate.

Background:

Understanding the sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide is necessary to understanding the causes and consequences of climate change. The carbon cycle is complex, with many reservoirs both living and nonliving, each with a number of sources and sinks. To put the carbon cycle in the context of understanding climate change and the issues scientists are concerned with, we focus on the sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the fate of the carbon after it is removed from the atmosphere. As people burn fossil fuels for energy, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. This introduces a large source of both carbon, and a greenhouse gas. Scientists interested in the long term effects and possible outcomes of this source of greenhouse gas are interested in sinks that not only remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but provide a source of carbon to a reservoir with a long residence time. Understanding the connections between reservoirs, and the interaction between long and short residence times, is very helpful in understanding ongoing scientific research and its importance to concerns about climate change.

Materials:

  • Carbon Cycle Game Dice(Color or black and white)
  • Scissors
  • Scrap paper (optional but recommended)
  • Tape
  • String or lanyard (at least an 8” length per student)
  • Pony beads (white, light blue, dark blue, light green, pink, dark green, orange, purple, grey, and brown; if not necessarily these, you will need 10 distinctly different colors)
  • Cups (at least one for each station)
  • Carbon reservoir Station Markers (Color or black and white)
  • Carbon Cycle Game Worksheet (1 per student)
  • Pencils or pens
  • Unopened undisturbed bottle of seltzer or clear soda (optional)

Procedure:

I. Preparation

A. Print out the Carbon Cycle Game Dice (color or black and white, your choice):

It is helpful, but not necessary, to have more than one die for each station.

B. Cut out the dice and crease along the lines between the faces.

C. Tape the open edges together to make a cube.

It is helpful to weight the dice with a ball of scrap paper about the same size as the finished cube. Filled dice roll more easily than empty ones.

D. Print out the Station Markers (color or black and white).

E. Set up each station in a different location around the room. Each station should have:

1. At least one die. (Duplicates are especially helpful for the Atmosphere and Surface Ocean stations; students will visit these often, and not having to wait in line to roll dice will make gameplay faster.)

2. A station marker posted where students can easily see it once moving around the room.

3. A cup filled with the corresponding color of beads.

F. Cut lengths of string or lanyard for each student and knot one end.

II. Activity

A. Review with students why carbon is so important (to biology, and climate).

B. Tell students they are going to pretend to be a carbon atom moving through the carbon cycle. Review the water cycle as a familiar concept, and introduce terms such as reservoir, source, and sink using the water cycle as an example.

C. Go over what reservoirs will be included in the carbon cycle game.

Note for students that there are many other reservoirs we are not including, such as fossil fuels.

D. Review the rules of the game:

1. Students will keep track of their journey by adding a bead to their string to represent each reservoir they visit.

2. Students should add a bead first, so they don’t forget, then roll the dice.

3. Students should read the dice carefully for information about the process that is moving them from one reservoir to another, and then go to their next station as instructed by the dice.

4. If a die tells them to stay in place for a turn, they should add another bead of that color before re-rolling.

5. As students represent carbon, an element, they don’t “want” to go to any particular place. There is no “goal” they are trying to get to and they should go where the dice take them. Each turn they should roll the appropriate die ONCE, and whatever it says is what they do.

(Monitor students during game play to make sure they are not cheating, i.e. “I wanted a ____ bead!”)

6. Students should continue moving through the cycle until they have fifteen beads on their string.

E. Give students their starting location. The carbon cycle is a large and complex topic, so how you distribute them is up to whatever connections you would like to make during the discussion portion.

1. If you would primarily like to discuss residence time, start a couple groups of students in the atmosphere and surface ocean, and a couple in the sediments and deep ocean dissolved reservoirs.

This is where it is helpful to have duplicate dice for some stations – if you would like eight students to start in the atmosphere, you may want to make at least eight atmosphere dice.

2. For the biological pump, start all students in the atmosphere and surface ocean. Be sure you don’t let any students begin in deep ocean particles or ocean sediments.

3. Once students get the hang of it, the game goes quickly, so if you have enough materials you can certainly run the game more than once, with a slightly different focus each time.

F. Monitor students as they move through the cycle and remind them of the rules if needed.

G. When students have finished their cycle, pass out worksheets and have them decode their string of beads back to which reservoirs they represent.

H. Have students compare their cycle to their neighbors’.

I. Use the diagram to represent the journey through the cycle as a series of arrows. Is a cycle a circle?

J. Discuss the journeys students took. Possible discussion topics include:

1. Overall, which reservoirs did students visit the most?

2. Which reservoirs have long residence times? Which have short residence times?

3. What are the processes that move carbon from one reservoir to another? (Choose a few to highlight.)

Use the seltzer or soda to discuss carbon dioxide moving between air and water. Initially many students will use the terms “evaporation” and “condensation” when you ask them how carbon moves from one to the other; remind them that those are terms for the water cycle and for changes in state of matter.

The soda is helpful both to show that air and gas dissolves in water in the same way that solutes such as salt do, and to help them connect to the short residence time of gas in liquid (“If I open this and leave it here overnight, will it still be fizzy tomorrow?).

4. What processes move carbon from the atmosphere to the ocean sediments?

Define the biological pump for students. The biological pump is the set of processes in the ocean that sequester carbon (make it unavailable to be recycled back into the atmosphere for a long period of time).

Identify if any students were sequestered (Atmosphere – Surface Ocean – Ocean Plants – Deep Particles – Ocean Sediments. Can also stop at Ocean Consumers between plants and particles). Scientists are interested in areas of the ocean with a very efficient biological pump, as well as areas of the ocean where the biological pump is either less efficient than expected, or decreasing in efficiency.

Higher level students can research iron fertilization experiments and make connections back to these concepts.

5. Have students brainstorm what reservoirs and processes have not been included in the game (soils, fossil fuels, sedimentary rocks; burning of fossil fuels, subduction of sediment and volcanic eruptions for a few examples). As an extension, have students make sample dice to try and represent the sources and sinks for these reservoirs, and their fluxes and residence times.

This requires students to understand that a) each face of a die represents a sink from that reservoir, b) the larger the flux for a particular sink, the more faces of the die are assigned to it, and c) the longer the residence time the more “roll this station again” faces a die needs.

Extension:

For upper level students who are spending more time studying biogeochemical cycles, challenge students to adapt the game for another element, such as nitrogen. Students can decide which reservoirs to include and how to represent the sources, sinks, fluxes, and residence times by varying the dice. They can play their created game to see how well they represented the cycle.

Optional: If you don’t have the materials to have the students use beads/make bracelets to record their journey, you may use a simple worksheet to have them keep track of their journey as they go.

Reference:

Helping students understand conservation of matter (in this case, carbon) in processes like photosynthesis and the carbon cycle as a whole is essential to their understanding of environmental issues surrounding clean energy and climate change.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110107094904.htm

The inspiration for this game comes from Project WET’s activity “The Incredible Journey.” Find Project WET resources at: http://projectwet.org/.

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Avatar of Sage Lichtenwalner

by Sage Lichtenwalner

Reflecting on Practice Workshop for Informal Science Educators (2011)

February 14, 2011 in Events

COSEE NOW partner Liberty Science Center, in collaboration with Rutgers University and Lawrence Hall of Science, is pleased to offer a free day-long workshop for informal science educators.

The workshop will take place Monday, April 4, 2011 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. It will give science educators in informal environments (beginning and veteran) an opportunity to reflect on and enhance their teaching practice in light of current research and theory on learning and teaching science. This workshop is a great opportunity to participate in a community of practice across all institutions facing the challenge of communicating science in informal settings.

During the workshop, we will alternate between interactive and reflective activities. The interactive sessions will engage participants in activities and discussions related to their beliefs and actions, the habits and traditions of their institution, and the practical implications of educational research. The reflective tasks encourage participants to critique their own thinking and practice including observing and discussing videos of their own teaching with others at the workshop.

After the workshop, participants will have an opportunity to participate in a series of online follow-up sessions. These webinars will include presentations on additional informal education topics and will provide participants time for further reflection on their teaching style within their peer learning community.

Please register online for this workshop by March 4th, 2011.

If you have questions, please contact Katie Gardner, Senior Science Educator at LSC. You can also download the workshop flyer to show to your colleagues.

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Avatar of Kate Florio

by Kate Florio

Design an Aquarium Exhibit

January 24, 2011 in Education Materials


Developed by: Cathy Yehas, Aly Busse, Katie Gardner

Download the pdf of this lesson

Topic:

Introduce the different species that depend on different physical & biological properties (temperature, salinity, sunlight, food, habitat) in the ocean and how they move to find their ideal habitat.

Audience:

Grades 5 – 8

Length:

45 to 60 minutes

NJ State Standard:

5.3.8.C – Interdependence

Objectives:

  • Compare and contrast the environments different marine species inhabit
  • Interpret and apply layers of water quality data
  • Consider food web dynamics, temperature ranges, and salinity ranges in designing an aquarium.

Introduction:

Students will create an aquarium exhibit using information that they have learned about the ocean and its organisms.  The students only have one tank that can be maintained within a certain temperature and salinity range - they must determine what temperature and salinity will support the species they choose.  The students will be given a 10,000 gallon aquarium to populate, and can choose up to 5 large fish (over 3 feet) and up to 12 smaller fish (less than 3 feet) to use in the aquarium. Using A list of species with habitat requirements for each species, the students will be creating a plan to find, collect, and transport the species they choose to have in their exhibit. Students must also make sure the species they choose do not eat each other leaving an empty tank with a few fat fish.  If time allows, students can present their exhibit to the rest of the group.

Background:

Knowing and maintaining the water properties fish need to survive is vital for any aquarist.  Aquariums attempt to replicate the conditions a species would naturally live in.  Also, it is important to know what everyone eats and place compatible species together; tank mates eating each other leaves an empty tank and wastes all the hard work done collecting specimens.  When capturing species, using ocean data is important to help you locate the animals you desire.

Materials:

Procedure:

I. Preparation

A.   Print out one the following for each group of 2-4 students:

  • The Aquarium Planning Worksheets
  • Maps of the collection area and SST
  • Marine Species Information booklet

B. If you would like to use the pictures provided when the students construct their exhibits, print out the Aquarium pictures document

II. Activity

A. Explain that the students will be acting as a museum curator and will need to stock a new exhibit with fish that they will collect.

B.  Review the characteristics that fish require for their habitat (i.e. temperature, salinity, and food). Some fish can survive in many areas while others are confined to their particular environment. (Note:  Take a moment to talk about each of these points, especially if the students are not familiar with salinity)

C.  Like any real curator, the students will need to plan within constraints of:  exhibit space and water properties (temperature and salinity), fish feeding behavior, where to collect the fish, and unpredictable ocean conditions when collecting.

D. Distribute the Marine Species Information booklet and Aquarium Planning Worksheets. Have the students look through the booklet and start to think about which fish they would like in their exhibit.  They should start to notice the temperature and salinity requirements for each fish, as well as the size.

E.  Students should make a tentative list of the fish and the quantity of each they would like to collect for their exhibit (students are limited to a maximum of 5 large fish (over 3 feet) and up to 12 smaller fish (less than 3 feet) but may also substitute 2 smaller fish for each large).  When making their lists, students must consider the following:

Temperature – The species must live within a five degree temperature range.

Salinity – If two of their chosen species cannot live in the same salinity range, they must choose only one of those.

Size – Size must be considered to limit the amount of biomass for the exhibit.  Discuss some of the problems that could occur with keeping too many fish in one tank.  Problems include: Water quality control (more fish, more fish waste), disease (more fish allow diseases to spread more rapidly through a tank population), and care taking (more fish to feed, and monitor health on for museum staff).

Habitat – Fish may be found at different depths and in difference places throughout the water column.  Fish may be benthic (bottom dwelling), demersal (living near the bottom), and pelagic (adapted to open ocean). Fish may also live in very shallow water and may  need a place to hide (these fish stay out of view most of the time but it is worthwhile for visitors to try and find them).  It is a good idea to get a mix of fish with different environmental preferences because if the tank has only benthic fish, all of the fish will spend their time on the bottom.

I.    Once students have a plan of which fish species they want, it is time for the first day of collecting.

J.     Distribute the collection area map and explain that they might need to adjust their exhibit plan a little during the collection process.  Students will have 3 collection days to get their fish.  The days will be four months apart to potentially give students the opportunity to catch species in many temperature ranges.  (Flexibility is required for real aquarists too – this happens in real life also!)

K.    Give each group the “Day 1” temperature data.  Students will use this information to locate where they will collect each fish, (assume that if the student is collecting in the temperature range of the fish they want, they will get it).  Students may collect no more than 7 fish per day since space limitation on collection boat.  Have students record the coordinates that they captured each fish at by letter and number (for example, E-10).  Students may need help using the SST maps (information can be found at http://new.coolclassroom.org/files/adventures/1/popup_sst_tutorial.htm).

L. Go through the other two days of collecting: pass out the data maps one at a time, just before the collecting will begin. Students again must record fish coordinates, and can collect no more than 7 fish per day.

M.   Once complete allow the students to sketch and color their completed tank exhibits (distribute the aquarium pictures handout if desired).  If time allows, have student group present it to the class.

Evaluation:

1.   Students are asked to explain why they chose the species that they did.

2.   Students are asked to explain why their species will survive in the aquarium.

3.   Talk about what difficulties they encountered (what was hardest, easiest?)

4.   What educational value will their aquarium add to our museum?  Convince me why I should make your aquarium vs. someone else’s in the class.

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Avatar of Kate Florio

by Kate Florio

Ships, Ocean, and Satellites (S.O.S.)

October 26, 2010 in Education Materials

Developed by: Katie Gardner, Aly Busse, Cathy Yehas

Download the pdf of this lesson

Topic:

Using data to exploring spatial changes in seawater properties in the surface ocean.

Audience:

Grades 6 – 8 (Expandable to 12th)

Length:

45 minutes

NJ State Standards:

  • 5.1.8.B – Generate scientific evidence through active investigations.
  • 5.1.8.D – Participate productively in science.
  • 5.4.8.E – Energy in Earth Systems.
  • 5.4.8.F – Climate and weather.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Interpret data and describe the pattern of sea surface temperature in a given area
  • Explain the advantages and limitations of in-situ sampling.
  • Gain a basic understanding of data resolution, and associated limitations of random sampling.
  • Discuss the benefits, disadvantages, and applications of in-situ and remote sampling

Introduction:

This lesson introduces students to sea surface temperature data, as well as the concept of spatial resolution.  Students work in groups to collect a limited number of “sea surface temperatures” from a simulated ocean.  They discover patterns of sea surface temperature, along with challenges related to spatial resolution.  Throughout the lesson, students are asked to collect and interpret data from their activity boards and from real time sources.

The introductory activity is designed to limit the data students have to work with and interpret.  They are visually able to see the low spatial resolution that results.  Students use the data they have to describe the patterns of sea surface temperatures.  The activity progresses towards the introduction of real time data from sources like satellites, shore or bottom mounted stations, buoys, and autonomous submersibles like gliders.  Throughout the activity, discussions of the advantages and disadvantages of different sampling techniques are discussed, as well as the resulting resolutions different technologies can produce.

Background:

Resolution is a concept many students are familiar with in terms of technology like digital cameras.  The more pixels per square inch the camera can take, the better the pictures.  The same idea is also true for ocean data.  The more data points obtained over a specific area or period of study, the better the picture.  In the field of oceanography spatial and/or temporal resolution is important to understand for data interpretation and discussion.

Historically Oceanography has been limited to discrete, in-situ sampling, a method that takes 1 sample from 1 location at 1 time.  The sheer size of the ocean poses challenges to when and where scientists can sample.  The resulting data can be low resolution.

The hostile nature of the ocean environment imposes many design challenges to technology.  With these physical limitations, scientists have looked at ways to remotely study the ocean, in addition to ocean based observing.  There are now many satellites in Earth orbit to measure a variety of ocean properties, as well as shore based stations monitoring coastal processes.  As more of these systems come online, scientists have gained a better understanding of the interconnected systems within ocean basins, combining remote data with in-situ buoy, remote glider, or bottom mounted stations and traditional sampling methods shipboard.  Many people are unaware of the new ways these scientists are sampling and studying the ocean.

Introducing students to real time data, and the potential uses it has in their own lives demystifies some of the processes of research science, and increases awareness of ocean observing systems.  Students are highly receptive to the real time data streams and feel involved in the scientific process.  Students are excited to learn that concepts they’ve been taught already about heat transfer and hydrologic cycle are directly related to the marine science concepts examined in this lesson.  This activity expands on students’ prior knowledge to make the science they’ve already studied relevant to ocean science.

Materials:

  • Data/Map Worksheet to record sampling observations (1 per student, plus 1 to compile class data)
  • Pipettes (4 per group of students)
  • 50 mL beaker (1 per group)
  • Test Tubes (30 per board)
  • Water
  • Food Coloring
  • Colored markers, pencils, or crayons
  • Teacher computer with projector
  • Foam Board for Test tubes, with map (See related Construction Guide)

Procedure:

This lesson is facilitated by a teacher, and relies on student group work.  Students work in groups of four or five, and are guided through the activity step by step by the teacher.  Careful questioning techniques are used to direct the activities and students’ thinking.  These questions focus on getting students to think of ways to improve their spatial resolution, and interpret the data they have collected.  The differences between observations and interpretations are stressed.

The introductory activity simulates ocean data at a low resolution using the constructed foam boards.  These boards are prepared ahead of time so during class they only need to be distributed to each student group.

I. Preparation

A.   Create a coded map of what color test tube should be in which hole.  The map code we use was simplified from average SST data for the East coast of the United States in Late September.   (Available on slide #9 in the Construction Guide, if you wish to use the same geographic area and data.)

B.    Fill test tubes with colored water to represent different temperatures.  We specifically chose to use the Fahrenheit scale rather than metric Celsius for this age range so the numbers are meaningful to students.


1. Use the coded map to place these test tubes in the grid.

2. Place map “lid” on top and secure.

Note: Do not tip foam boards while filled test tubes are inside; ensure students leave their boards flat on their table.

C.    Student Materials

1. Each student will have a map data sheet (matches lid), and colored pencils/markers/crayons to fill in the map.

2. Each group will also have four pipettes, and a small beaker for sample waste.

II. Activity

A.   A brief introduction to the lesson assesses students’ prior knowledge and gets them thinking about the connections this has to ocean science.  If the students are not already, divide them into groups of four or five.

(Italic text throughout the activity offers suggested script sections you can use, if you wish.)

“Have you ever been to the shore at different times of year?  Why does water temperature change?  Many things can change the temperature of the surface ocean.  In order to try to figure out why ocean temperatures are different from one time and place to another, it is first helpful to sample the ocean and try to see what temperature the water is where at one time of year.  We are just going to sample the surface ocean.  The water in the deep ocean, below about 100 meters, is constantly cold; sunlight can never reach it and warm it up.  The most solar energy is absorbed around the equator year round, so the warmest ocean water should form in the tropics.  The poles get cold in winter, and have almost no sunlight then, so we should find the coldest ocean water near there.”

B.   Simulated ocean data activity

1. Explain that the students are to conduct a study of ocean surface water temperatures, each student group represents one research vessel and the group as a whole may only take four samples.  The student groups may decide which holes in the board they will use a pipette to sample.

“Scientific sampling of the oceans has always been a difficult and expensive study. Traditionally scientists went to sea and took samples directly, which you are about to do on our model ocean here. These studies are limited mostly by the money you have available. It costs to charter a research vessel, and pay for a crew and fuel to operate it. You are to conduct a study of ocean surface water temperatures, but each group only has enough money to sample four locations total. You must decide, as a group, where you want to sample. Remember your table only gets four samples. We will be using a model ocean (show box) and something called ‘false color’ information. The different colors of the water samples represent different temperatures: red for the warmest water and purple for the coldest. You will use the colors to show where the surface water is different temperatures on your map –like a weather map, but for the ocean.”

2. Pass out worksheets, and orient students on the map.  Show a map from one of the boards to the whole class (which should match the map on their worksheets) and point out what is land, what is water, and what part of the world they are looking at (on our map, shown in the Construction Guide, we point out the east coast of the United States, and where New Jersey is.).

3. Clear instructions must be given before handing out the boards, or pipettes.

4. Rules:

a. No one may lift or tilt the foam board once it is placed on the table. No one may lift up the map or look under it.

b. Each group is given four pipettes, no pipette may be reused. (Be explicit that the groups will only have 4 data points total, not four per group member.  Ensure students do not try to cheat and obtain more than 4 samples per group.)

c. Insert a pipette into the hole in the map you wish to sample.  Do not remove the map if you have trouble, ask for help.  Squeeze the pipette bulb, then let go to draw up a water sample.  Do not remove the pipette from the hole in the map.

d. Record the water data (color) you obtained on the corresponding square on your worksheet.  Each person should record all four of their group’s samples on their worksheet.  Also look at the color key on your worksheet and remind yourself what temperature each color represents.

e. Do not return sample water to the board.  If you removed your pipettes, place them in the provided beaker. (Students are not to return sample water to a test tube, even the one they drew it out of.  Watch students to ensure there is no cross contamination of colors.)

5. Never tell students how to record or color in their sheets, they should decide this for themselves.  Often they choose to color the whole quadrant box, and this isn’t necessarily correct.  This common mistake can be pointed out after the exercise is complete: for example, explain that you only know the temperature of the exact point you sampled at (the center of the square).  Coloring the whole box is making a broad assumption.

6. Have the students try to interpret their data.  Even with only 4 points, they may be able to make some observations such as “water is warmer in the south”.

“With the data points you’ve collected, what can you say about sea surface temperature along the east coast (or change this to the location you are using, if different)?  Can you discuss, accurately and with detail, what is happening in the ocean regarding temperature? Why not? If you can’t afford to go back to sea, what would be another way to fill in the gaps?”

7.  Collaboration is an important part of science.  Scientists frequently share data so everyone has more information to work with.  Allow students to share their data between groups, and discuss whether this collaboration improves their resolution.  There are frequently duplicate samples between groups and the class will rarely end up with more than half of all the possible data points.

a. Can the students make any better interpretations of the data?

b. Are the previous observations and interpretations from four data points still correct?

8.  Finally give students all the possible data for the map and see if their observations and interpretations still hold.  Allow them a chance to “connect the dots” and create a false color map of their sea surface temperature data before showing the false color map created by the teacher.

a. Discuss the patterns that are seen in temperature and what students think is responsible for each.  For example: “There is a narrow band of warm water there.  I wonder if that is a current of some kind.  If it is a current, which direction is it flowing?” (Warm water from the tropics traveling north.)

b. Some patterns to look for: currents (narrow bands of temperature very different from the water around it), upwelling (cold water right at the shoreline), warmer water near the continent (deeper water columns change temperature slower than shallow water, heat capacity).

9.  Lead a discussion about the assumptions students use to create their maps.

a. Did they mark only the location they sampled (the center of the quadrant) or did they just color an entire quadrant the same color?

b. Did they mark two neighboring quadrants with a 5 or 10 degree temperature difference as sitting right up against each other, or did they try to develop temperature gradients between sample locations?

c. What rules did the teacher use in the creation of their false color map? How does it differ from students’?

10.  Before continuing to the second half of the lesson ensure that students understand that scientists make a list of rules based on prior data interpretations for creating different data maps, and these rules are codified in computer programs when technology is used to generate the map.  The resulting visualizations can be altered if the program parameters are changed.

C.  Real Time Data Interpretation

1.  Use the teacher computer to project a real time sea surface temperature map of the same region used in the previous activity boards.  (See Resources section at the end of this lesson for links to places to find data maps.)

“Let me show you a map of the ocean surface temperatures taken from satellite.  Is this map better than the one you completed?  Why do you think so? (Show more than one example, if you like and if you have time.)

These maps are examples of remote sensing data.  Scientists can measure the surface ocean temperature using a satellite and never have to go there.  When you went to sea to sample, you were limited to a few data points, and each sample you gathered scientists would call an in-situ sample.  You took your samples directly from that location.  The satellite takes data in wide swaths, and transmits lots of data in real-time (the ocean looks like this right now).  Scientists call this remote sensing.  This satellite isn’t going to each location in the ocean it measures; it gets its data from Earth orbit.”

Have students discuss whether this map is better resolution than their own, and why they think so.  Show an older map with cloud obscurities and anomalies, and again discuss the quality of the data.

2.  Introduce the idea of real time data, and some of the technologies used to obtain it.  Have students brainstorm the limitations each kind of technology might have, like clouds obscuring a satellite’s view.  (See the Resources section for some good references on satellites.)

3.  Also ask students to brainstorm what kinds of information about the ocean can NOT be measured remotely.  Can you think of something you might want to know about the ocean that you can’t measure with a satellite? Some great examples are most chemistry measurements like salinity and dissolved oxygen, biological information such as types or amount of bacteria, types and numbers of animals, and especially anything below the surface.  We can’t measure the temperature of the bottom water, or the amount of carbon in the sediment at the bottom of the ocean.  Satellites can only “see” the very top.

Evaluation:

Conclude the lesson with a discussion of integrating data from different sources to provide maximum information.  Scientists can use remote data to plan in-situ sampling trips or to supplement previously obtained field data.  Ensure students realize that ocean data has interdisciplinary uses from biologists mapping plankton blooms or predicting fish spawns, to meteorologist, to the physical oceanographers modeling ocean water movement.  How can students use this kind of data?  Let the students decide the relevance of ocean data to their lives, for any or all of the following activities: weather prediction, fish location, planning a beach day, kayaking or sailing, storm tracking and flood prediction, etc.

Resources:

Data

How to read a sea surface temperature map (for your reference, or have your students read).

http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/index.php/COOL-Data/how-to-read-sea-surface-temperature-map.html

Sea Surface Temperature data from the Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (COOL Room) at Rutgers University’s Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.

http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/sat_data/?product=sst&nothumbs=0 – use the boxes on the map to select what part of the east coast you want to look at.

See all the types of data they have available here:

http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/index.php/COOL-Data/

Satellites

See where satellites are now at http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov/Eyes/eyes.html select a satellite, then click “real time” at the bottom of the screen showing the earth.

Science Education Gateway, Center for Science Education at Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley.

Lessons on How Satellites See (3rd – 8th grade, multi day unit)

http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/lessons/indiv/wilder/summary.html

General Ocean Resources

The ocean is an important part of the Earth’s climate system – water, especially ocean currents, carries a lot of heat from one place to another around the world.

To learn more, go to this link, and then click on “The Ocean’s Impact on Weather and Climate”

http://coseenow.net/2008/11/ocean-literacy-interactive-animation/

If you don’t have materials to construct the model boxes described above, you can download instructions for a simpler paper version instead.

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Avatar of Sage Lichtenwalner

by Sage Lichtenwalner

Using Ocean Data in Education

April 30, 2010 in Events

COSEE NOW is pleased to present a new webinar series on Using Ocean Data in Education. In this series, we will explore effective strategies for incorporating real ocean data in formal and informal education products and programs, as a way to connect students to scientific concepts and real-time science.

Who should attend? This series is designed for informal educators, especially those who are part of the Ocean Observing System (OOS) community or museum/aquaria staff interested interested in Ocean Science. We also encourage the participation of OOS Scientists interested in increasing their outreach capacity.

Presenters: The webinar series is supported by the National Science Foundation’s Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence Networked Ocean World (COSEE NOW) and will be delivered by science education professionals at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Rearch Institute (MBARI), Hatfield Marine Science Center, and Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education.

Session A: EARTH: Education And Research: Testing Hypotheses

Date: May 11, 2010 at 1:00 pm EST
Presenter: George Matsumoto, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

It is clear the ability to collect data has not been matched by our ability to disseminate this information to the public or the educational community and that both researchers and educators are still learning how to use existing data effectively. Dr. Matsumoto will discuss his involvement with EARTH, the well-received program of MBARI to enable engagement of students with real oceanographic and other data by provision of data, supporting lesson plans and activities, as well as training, to educators.

As the MBARI observatory efforts ramp up, EARTH is beginning to be recognized as a portal to this wealth of MBARI data, both archived and near-real-time, as well as ocean observing data from other instruments. The EARTH website has a focus on data distribution (near-real-time and archived) with supporting lesson plans and activities. Anyone who is already using data in the classroom or would like to, will benefit from his wealth of experience of what works and what doesn’t.

Sessions B & C: Beyond the Wow! Helping public audiences make sense of scientific visualizations

Date: May 17th and 25th, at 1pm EST
Presenter: Shawn Rowe, Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center

Public audiences, school audiences, and even scientists in training often have trouble with all kinds of scientific visualizations. In fact, developing skill at using visualizations is part of becoming an expert. We know from research that experts and novices actually SEE and INERPRET visualizations differently. Novices need

  1. explicit direction and modeling in how to SEE what experts see in visualizations,
  2. multiple entry points to making sense out of visualizations, and
  3. conceptual and perceptual anchors within visualizations.

If we want audiences to see, make sense of, and use our visualization products, we must explore ways to both support audiences in becoming more expert, and also developing visual cues within images that make them more accessible.

For this two part workshop, we will examine some of the theoretical issues and empirical work surrounding visualizations as communicative and cognitive tools, go out and try our hand at improving visualizations and return to develop some common tools, techniques, and questions that can guide our future work.

Session D: COOL Classroom: Building a Collaborative Design Team for Science Curriculum Development

Date: June 8th, at 1pm EST
Presenter: Ravit Duncan, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education

Ravit will discuss the development of the COOL Classroom, and strategies for incorporating data products into inquiry driven classroom lessons.

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Avatar of Katie Gardner

by Katie Gardner

The Challenge of Understanding Measurements

August 14, 2009 in Ocean Observatory Stories

One morning as I taught a group of sixth grade students, I learned a lesson about how students process the information I teach. This incident from a lesson on ocean data collection will remain with me and guide my future educational development efforts. My name is Katie Gardner, and I am a senior science educator at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. We are partners with the Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences on COSEE-NOW (a National Science Foundation sponsored program) and have developed several lessons to present ocean observing systems and real time data to middle school students.

The morning started out like many in our Jennifer Chalsty Center for Learning and Teaching: a class of 20 sixth graders came in for a lesson on Sea Surface Temperature. I scanned the room and noticed many of the typical classroom divisions. In the back a group showed their disinterest. Up front were several attentive students. And chatty ones were sprinkled throughout. The student who engaged most with me and the lesson was Sarah. She asked tons of questions and answered even more. Whenever I posed a question to the class, Sarah’s hand shot up, with an enthusiastic “Oooo. Me. Me.” wave to it.

As part of the lesson, students used digital probes to measure temperature and conductivity of several water samples placed at stations throughout the room. I instructed them to go to the stations, record the data, do a quick conversion of conductivity to salinity, and move on. The class followed the instructions and rapidly copied down their data readings at station after station.

Suddenly Sarah read her digital thermometer and looked puzzled. She looked again, and then at her worksheet several times before glancing at the papers of her classmates. She saw that they wrote the same value, so she dutifully copied down the reading, but continued to frown at it. Finally, I prompted Sarah to come over to me. She held her worksheet up to show her reading with the question clearly shown on her face but not spoken. Much to her frustration, I didn’t give her an answer; instead I wanted her to ask the class.

Sarah continued to frown at her worksheet, torn between just accepting the number and moving on, or resolving her question. Finally she announced, “I got a temperature reading of -82° C for sample three.” Her classmates paused, looked at their worksheets, and then back at Sarah. Roughly half shrugged, “yeah, and…?” The other half also now began to frown. Encouraged by this reaction Sarah continued.

“I think this is wrong.” Again all the students looked at their worksheets and more frowns appeared around the room. Sarah looked back towards me, and I think she noticed my smile and continued. “Water freezes at 0° C, this sample should be frozen if the thermometer is right.” All around her heads bobbed in unison. Then, frowning, they all turned to face me.

I asked one question of them; “Does equipment malfunction?” At this point the students lead by Sarah met the question with an emphatic yes, obviously. The trick disgusted them, but for the rest of the lesson students questioned everything, making sure they didn’t fall for any more.

This incident continues to personally worry me though. Sarah was the only student out of 20 to notice a problem during her data collection. All her classmates knew the freezing point of water, but none were integrating previous knowledge with their current experience. Successful completion of a lesson or lab activity must include combining the experience with prior knowledge, not just following a set of instructions. I aspire to create future lessons and challenges that will encourage students to engage mentally as well as moving through the motions of an activity.

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