The fourth grade social studies book for the MI Open Book Project …
The fourth grade social studies book for the MI Open Book Project introduces students to geography, economics, history, and civics all through their study of the United States of America. Explore the regions and physical geography of the united states, learn about important economic concepts, and delve into the history of Michigan post statehood. A PASST performance task has also been included as students study the problems associated with sharing the water in the Great Lakes.
This service-learning impact analysis project had students look in detail at the …
This service-learning impact analysis project had students look in detail at the current employment and purchasing practices and policies of the University of Vermont. Unlike traditional impact analyses that attempt to calculate the total impact of an institution on the local economy, this project attempted to identify where the University could change policies and practices to increase positive local impacts both from an efficiency and equity perspective. Students worked with a 14-person advisory committee from the University, local and state government and local non-profits.
In preparation for the activity a lecture is given on the properties …
In preparation for the activity a lecture is given on the properties and history of polychlorinated biphenyls and other contaminants. Each student is assigned to one of six groups with an interest in the outcome of the debate. The teams must meet and prepare a position paper on the proposed environmental dredging in the Upper Hudson River. Each team must represent the interests of its assigned constituency. Data and background information is found on the world wide web and from the instructor's collection of related articles. On the day of the debate the student's orally present their position paper (some make posters or powerpoint presentations). After each group has made their opening statement the invited guest senators on the panel (other faculty, myself, interested students, those who were absent for the preparation) ask each group a series of questions related to their stance. After this a general debate begins with detailed and sometimes heated discussions between the groups and the panel. A few moments are saved at the end of class and everyone is allowed to drop their assumed affiliation and speak their mind on what should be done. Before leaving the class is give a series of big picture topics to think about over the weekend and these are discussed during the next class.
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The Uranium Boom: Stop 9 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch …
The Uranium Boom: Stop 9 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. The Uranium boom made Grand Junction famous. Its nickname became “The City That Glows.” David Bailey explains the effect the Uranium boom had on Grand Junction.
In this role-playing exercise, students represent groups interested in buying the same …
In this role-playing exercise, students represent groups interested in buying the same piece of land and will need to consult land-use laws.
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This lesson is connected to but can be used independently of "Using …
This lesson is connected to but can be used independently of "Using Big Data to Identify and Understand Educational Inequality in America (1)"
Students will develop CS skills and behaviors including but not limited to: learning what an API is, learning how to access and utilize data on an API, and developing their R coding skills and knowledge. Students will also learn basic, but important, sociological principles such as how poverty is related to educational opportunities in America (and how this relationship varies between and among states). Although prior knowledge of CS and sociology is helpful, neither is necessary for student (or instructor) success on this project. Three instructional hours.
In this classroom project, students and faculty help a local housing non-profit …
In this classroom project, students and faculty help a local housing non-profit identify area U.S. Census tracts most in need of its assistance in promoting decent and affordable homeownership to low- to moderate- income individuals. While this example describes an experience in a small, upper-level elective economics course, it includes suggestions for modifications of design and learning goals for other learning levels and environments.
Use the clickers to generate data for demand and supply curves by …
Use the clickers to generate data for demand and supply curves by asking students to give numerical values for their maximum willingness to pay for something and their minimum willingness to accept for something. Use the data generated to graph both the demand and supply curves.
This technique reverses the usual order of definitions and examples used in …
This technique reverses the usual order of definitions and examples used in class to one of presenting an example or examples first and then having students "discover" the concept when asked with carefully constructed clicker questions.
Students engage in peer editing and cooperative discussion to enhance research questions …
Students engage in peer editing and cooperative discussion to enhance research questions based on criteria designed to generate effective economic research questions.
This module looks at the feasibility of using deeper wells as a …
This module looks at the feasibility of using deeper wells as a source of low As water. The data sets are described in detail by van Geen et al. (van Geen et al., 2003; van Geen et al., 2002).
Students are being introduced to background information about the Arsenic problem in Bangladesh in lecture format. This includes health aspects and the history of the issue. They also have been using the sand tank groundwater model distributed by the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/watershed/Pages/GroundwaterModelWorkshop.aspx) to develop an intuitive understanding of groundwater flow and transport and are familiar with basic hydrogeological concepts. They inject a dye into the shallow aquifer of the model and study how pumping effects the migration of the Arsenic plume (Fig 1).
Students get an Excel spreadsheet that contains the longitude, latitude, and depth of 6000 wells and a satellite image that shows the area of investigation. They use Arc GIS software to plot data on the satellite image (Fig. 2), or alternatively plot the data as a function of longitude and latitude as a bubble plot in Excel. They find that the distribution of As in many regions is very heterogeneous. They then select sub-regions and look at the depth distribution and find that often there is a gap in the depth population of wells which turns out to be due to a clay layer varying in thickness that separates the shallow aquifer from the deep aquifer. The depth distribution (Fig. 3) of As also shows a characteristic pattern with most of the elevated As concentrated in the top 30 meters. Students then discuss remediation options, in particular the possibility of switching to neighboring wells and using deeper groundwater as an alternative source of drinking water. They find that in many regions there are safe wells within a few hundred m of the high As well. However, it is not clear how long these wells will remain low in dissolved As and there are social barriers as well to use the neighbors well. They then determine a depth below which As concentrations are low in their region and elevate the risk of using deeper groundwater for drinking water and irrigation. They find that personal use is resulting in only ~1cm year-1 of water use, while irrigation (~1 m year-1) would considerably lower the water table and potentially could contaminate the deeper aquifer as well. The conclusion is that if deeper groundwater is utilized its use should be limited to personal use.
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Undergraduate Learning Assistants -- prepared to work productively with students -- have …
Undergraduate Learning Assistants -- prepared to work productively with students -- have been used to facilitate ungraded, voluntary oral assessments offered prior to exams. Oral assessments last one hour, and are offered prior to the three course exams. Orals are geared to improve student understanding and allow instructors to work with students on an individual basis to address misunderstandings. Students attend oral assessments in groups of 5-6 and work at a board to answer scripted, conceptual questions. The facilitator asks the initial scripted questions as well as follow-up probing questions and encourages students to work together.
Use metaphor frames throughout a course to help students both learn various …
Use metaphor frames throughout a course to help students both learn various concepts and to assess how they are understanding them.
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A variation of the think-pair-share technique is used to reinforce understanding of …
A variation of the think-pair-share technique is used to reinforce understanding of the income and substitution effects associated with a price change.
This activity demonstrates geo-demographic consumer segment lifestyle consumption patterns. The information available …
This activity demonstrates geo-demographic consumer segment lifestyle consumption patterns. The information available on the site is relevant to segmentation and targeting strategies used by marketers.
This activity offers one of the reflection activities we developed in our …
This activity offers one of the reflection activities we developed in our learning community "Exploring Natural History in Word and Field." In this class, the students learn about natural history by reading natural history essays and participating in field trips. In this activity, we use reflection before and during a field trip to an Old Growth Forest to help our students clarify their own stance for a Position Paper on whether and under what conditions logging should be allowed in Old Growth Forests.
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CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing technology with potential to expand the agricultural industry …
CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing technology with potential to expand the agricultural industry and improve human health. However, this technology may have unforeseeable consequences and adverse effects for society. Statistical procedures are often used to study public perceptions of controversial technologies. In this unit plan, students will design and administer surveys to investigate how their peers feel about various applications of gene-editing technology. In the process, students will apply random sampling methods and learn how to minimize response bias. Once their surveys are completed, students will analyze the results using contingency tables, confidence intervals, and hypothesis tests. The ultimate goal of this unit will be to help students to create clear policies for regulating the use of CRISPR-Cas9 and defend these policies with their statistical findings.
In this individual research project, a senior thesis student conducts a regression …
In this individual research project, a senior thesis student conducts a regression analysis that explores whether high school GPA or standardized test scores are better predictors of the cumulative GPAs of college graduates at her own university. The data are easily obtainable from the Office of Institutional Research. The project can be modified to be a group research project in a Research Methods Class or a Special Topics Upper Level Economics class.
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