In this activity, students use a spreadsheet to calculate the net carbon …
In this activity, students use a spreadsheet to calculate the net carbon sequestration in a set of trees; they will utilize an allometric approach based upon parameters measured on the individual trees. They determine the species of trees in the set, measure trunk diameter at a particular height, and use the spreadsheet to calculate carbon content of the tree using forestry research data.
This interdisciplinary course is a real-world collaborative multi-year project that connects various …
This interdisciplinary course is a real-world collaborative multi-year project that connects various departments, courses, and independent study projects on a college campus. Using the client/consultant model, students from several departments and a wide range of environmental backgrounds come together to explore the design of an efficient future student house on campus. Over a couple of years, students research and test building designs, energy for heating and power, natural flows of available energy, natural ecosystem processes including living machines, and possible materials to use in the eventual construction of the eco-house. This SERC Starting Point site includes learning goals, context for use, teaching tips and materials, assessment, and references.
Environmental Studies Course, Carleton College Professor Gary Wagenbach gwagenba@carleton.edu and Lecturer Richard Strong rstrong@acws.carleton.edu, Compiled by Suzanne Savanick, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College, ssavanic@carleton.edu
This semester-long project on conducting an environmental audit of a college campus …
This semester-long project on conducting an environmental audit of a college campus can be done by an individual or by groups of students working in teams. Each group will research a different aspect of campus operations; they will collect data, analyze their findings, and make recommendations for improvements. This SERC Starting Point site includes learning goals, context for use, teaching tips and materials, assessment, and references.
Suzanne Savanick, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College. Based on a Greening the Campus environmental studies colloquium course taught at Carleton College in 1991.
The Environment and the Earth class at the University of South Carolina …
The Environment and the Earth class at the University of South Carolina participated in a campus environmental service-learning project where students collected data lighting, water fixtures, recycling bins, and trash in five academic buildings.
Compiled by Suzanne Savanick, Science Education Resource Center. Based on Bixby et al. (2003), Ecology on Campus: Service Learning in Introductory Environmental Courses, Journal of College Science Teaching, v. 32, n.5, o, 327-331.
Students study aquatic organisms in relation to the environmental conditions of lakes …
Students study aquatic organisms in relation to the environmental conditions of lakes and streams. The course develops substantial quantities of data concerning the local watershed. This data is used by community partners in many contexts.
This activity supports educators in the use of the activities that accompany …
This activity supports educators in the use of the activities that accompany the GLOBE Program's Earth System Poster 'Exploring Connections in Year 2007'. Students identify global patterns and connections in environmental data that include soil moisture, insolation, surface temperature, cloud fraction, precipitation, world topography/bathymetry, aerosol optical thickness, and biosphere (from different times of the year) with the goal of recognizing patterns and trends in global data sets.
The Protistan Tales of Atlantic White Cedar Swamps WebQuest features a guided …
The Protistan Tales of Atlantic White Cedar Swamps WebQuest features a guided exploration of microbial diversity. It introduces students to the extreme habitat of the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp and encourages them to explore characteristics of the microorganisms that live there. The WebQuest applies the personification theme of Aesop's Fables as a means to acquaint students with protists. It challenges them to search for microbial "personality traits" and to implement these traits into a creative storyline. Through the use of on-line images, descriptions, videos, and reference sites, students will carefully research specific protists while independently developing observational skills essential to microbiology. Upon completion of this WebQuest, students should be able to differentiate protists based on physical characteristics and specialized forms of locomotion, describe the microbial diversity of Atlantic White Cedar Swamps, and apply learned observational skills to hands-on laboratory activities.
This course is an introduction to the aspects of marine geology and …
This course is an introduction to the aspects of marine geology and oceanography that affect the environment and marine resources. Service-learning is an essential component of how students learn about the earth. We deliver part of the content of this course by arranging for students to solve a problem with a local community partner.
Course taught by Prof. Ed Laine, Bowdoin College (edlaine@bowdoin.edu) and Cathryn Field, Lab Instructor (cfield@bowdoin.edu). Example compiled by Suzanne Savanick, Science Education Resource Center (ssavanic@carleton.edu).
In this JAVA-based interactive modeling activity, students are introduced to the concepts …
In this JAVA-based interactive modeling activity, students are introduced to the concepts of mass balance, flow rates, and equilibrium using a simple water bucket model. Students can vary flow rate into the bucket, initial water level in the bucket, and residence time of water in the bucket. After running the model, the bucket's water level as a function of time is presented graphically and in tabular form.
Students gain experience using a spreadsheet and working with others to decide …
Students gain experience using a spreadsheet and working with others to decide how to conduct their model 'experiments' with the NASA GEEBITT (Global Equilibrium Energy Balance Interactive Tinker Toy). This activity helps students become more familiar with the physical processes that made Earth's early climate so different from that of today. Students also acquire first-hand experience with a limitation in modeling, specifically, parameterization of critical processes.
In this activity for undergraduate students, learners build a highly simplified computer …
In this activity for undergraduate students, learners build a highly simplified computer model of thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean and conduct a set of simulation experiments to understand the complex dynamics inherent in this simple model.
The Sarita Wetland restoration on the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus …
The Sarita Wetland restoration on the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus is used as teaching tools by numerous classes. Students, staff and faculty have collaborated on the planning and implementation of the project. This example highlights the restoration process, and specifically references one of the classes, the Water Quality class.
Suzanne Savanick, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College, ssavanic@carleton.edu. Based on a Water Quality class taught by Jim Perry, University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Sustainable Campus Initiative, coordinated by Suzanne Savanick.
This series of activities is designed to introduce students to the role …
This series of activities is designed to introduce students to the role of sediments and sedimentary rocks in the global carbon cycle. Students learn how stable carbon isotopes can be used to reconstruct ancient sedimentary environments. Students will make some simple calculations, formulate hypotheses, and think about the implications of their results. The activity includes an optional demonstration of the density separation of a sediment sample into a light, organic fraction and a heavier, mineral fraction.
In this activity, students use Google Earth to investigate a variety of …
In this activity, students use Google Earth to investigate a variety of renewable energy sources and select sites within the United States that would be appropriate for projects based on those sources.
This activity with a lab report instructs students to solve and plot …
This activity with a lab report instructs students to solve and plot 160,000 years' worth of ice core data from the Vostok ice core using Excel or similar spreadsheets to analyze data. Students learn about ice cores and what they can tell us about past atmospheric conditions and the past atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and CH4.
Students consider why the observed atmospheric CO2 increase rate is only ~60% …
Students consider why the observed atmospheric CO2 increase rate is only ~60% of the CO2 loading rate due to fossil fuel combustion. They develop a box-model to simulate the atmospheric CO2 increase during the industrial era and compare it to the historic observations of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The model is then used to forecast future concentrations of atmospheric CO2 during the next century.
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