This is a semester-long research project that I use to provide students …
This is a semester-long research project that I use to provide students with the opportunity to design a class-wide collaborative research project in connection with a local community partner.
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There are several different ways to get ants for an ant farm, …
There are several different ways to get ants for an ant farm, depending on when you would like to start the farm and how long you would like for your ant farm to last.
This collection is made up of phase diagrams exercises. (Note: this resource …
This collection is made up of phase diagrams exercises.
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This field study introduction to biology helps students answer the questions "What …
This field study introduction to biology helps students answer the questions "What is biology" while looking at the biology that can be found in everyday surroundings.
Colorado BINGO. This is the Lesson 2 Understanding Colorado Agriculture activity, from …
Colorado BINGO. This is the Lesson 2 Understanding Colorado Agriculture activity, from Unit 1 Introduction to Agriculture, from the DIGS (Developing Individuals, Growing Stewards) AmeriCorps Curriculum from CSU. The curriculum focuses on introducing students in grades 3-5 to Colorado agriculture, industry and environmental issues. The curriculum is matched to State Standards 2021. The curriculum upon request. Visit: https://engagement.colostate.edu/programs-old/developing-individuals-growing-stewards/
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience …
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience in Colorado. It is hosted by the College of Natural Sciences Education and Outreach Center at Colorado State University each year in early April. For more information visit: https://www.cns-eoc.colostate.edu/science-fair/
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience …
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience in Colorado. It is hosted by the College of Natural Sciences Education and Outreach Center at Colorado State University each year in early April. For more information visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwqSL6z6_NY&list=PLJ_83ppVw-aQ2yQeuVBBxbd09vU4m6LAm&index=6
This video features CU Boulder Professor Jeff Mitton and his research team, …
This video features CU Boulder Professor Jeff Mitton and his research team, who study the effects of mountain pine beetle infestations on the forest ecology in the Rocky Mountains. They explain the pine beetle life cycle and how they attack trees. An outlook into the future is also provided.
Why do minerals have color? When is that color diagnostic, and when …
Why do minerals have color? When is that color diagnostic, and when is it likely to fool you? Why is color important, and what can it tell us about the chemistry of minerals? This exercise will try to answer some of these questions, and to introduce students to the fascinating world of mineral spectroscopy, where chemistry meets mineralogy.
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This transect across northern Washington State was one of our most geologically …
This transect across northern Washington State was one of our most geologically and biologically diverse field trips. The trip started with a drive across the relatively uniform basalt flows of the Columbia plateau and then traversed the extremely geologically complex North Cascades accessible from a scenic route through the small, and relatively less-traveled, North Cascades National Park. Steep gradients in elevation annual precipitation and winter temperatures revealed equally dramatic changes in vegetation from cold desert shrub lands to temperate coastal rain forests. Like previous trips, this one allowed students to observe glacial processes up close and trace the history of plant succession as glaciers retreat.
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This trip followed the Columbia River across the basalt flows of the …
This trip followed the Columbia River across the basalt flows of the Columbia Plateau through the Columbia Gorge that bisects the Cascade Range and then turned south along Oregons spectacular coastline. The opportunities to integrate biology and geologic processes were limited only by time as students explored the plant and animal life of rocky and sandy beaches dune fields and coastal forests. The southernmost portion of the trip extended from Crescent City, CA (site of the 1964 tsunami) through the Klamath Mountains on the Oregon/California boundary one of the most geologically dynamic landscapes in North America. The tectonic history of the region with its resulting shifts in climate patterns and merging of previously isolated land forms along with an unusual abundance of ultramafic rocks have driven the evolution of one of the most diverse floras in North American populations of carnivorous Darlingtonia (Pitcher plants) provided a dramatic example of the unusually large number of plant species endemic to the serpentine soils of this region.
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Communicate the Quake is an interactive role-play used to teach upper-level undergraduate …
Communicate the Quake is an interactive role-play used to teach upper-level undergraduate students about earthquake hazards, emergency management, and risk communication through the management of an authentic earthquake event.
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This project is designed to give students the opportunity to create a …
This project is designed to give students the opportunity to create a GIS project to apply skills they acquired throughout the semester to solve a real world problem. Each year, a local municipality or organization requests GIS help to enhance their operation and management. This project gives the local organizations access to data and workers, and gives the students access to real world problem solving.
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Prior to this lab exercise, students discuss general physical differences between the …
Prior to this lab exercise, students discuss general physical differences between the planets Earth, Moon and Mars, and why these physical differences exist. They use globes and global data sets in lecture to investigate large-scale patters, similarities and differences between these bodies. They discuss methods by which planetary geologists study the surfaces of other planets. While working on this laboratory exercise, they use maps of the Earth, Moon and Mars (both geologic and topographic) as well as data from missions such as Clementine, MOLA, and HRSC, which they obtain online. The investigate impact crater morphology between the Earth and Moon; comparative planetary geology in the form of fluvial, tectonic, and volcanologic comparisons of Earth and Mars; and complete a geologic map and history of a region of Mars using only orbital images and data sets.
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Carbon calculators, no matter how well intended as tools to help measure …
Carbon calculators, no matter how well intended as tools to help measure energy footprints, tend to be black boxes and can produce wildly different results, depending on the calculations used to weigh various energy factors. By comparing different calculators, learners can analyze which ones are the most accurate and relevant, and which are the most transparent.
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This activity applies to Teaching Principle 2: Climate is regulated by complex …
This activity applies to Teaching Principle 2: Climate is regulated by complex interactions among components of the Earth System. It specifically addresses Concept 2A: Earth's climate is influenced by interactions involving the sun, ocean, atmosphere, clouds, ice, land, and life. Climate varies by region as a result of local differences in these interactions. It is anticipated that the activity will take two 50 - 75 minute class periods with additional time for follow-up assessment. Students use web resources to identify climate patterns and distributions and synthesize the information to develop an understanding of the global variation.
Students develop tables of temperature and precipitation averages and also identify and describe an extreme weather event. This exercise is an inquiry-style lesson and can easily be adapted for use in or out of the classroom.
Note: Prior to this assignment, students should receive some information on how to sample climate data from the GLOBE or NASA sets, or how to find quality online resources about climate and climate variability. This could be done as a walk-through, in-class tutorial of government/ university research centers and SERC sites, comparing the information in each to less reliable sources such as Wikipedia.
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This activity uses demographic information from the United Nations publication "World Population …
This activity uses demographic information from the United Nations publication "World Population Prospects" to explore the differences in population trends for the United States to Uganda including overall population growth, distribution of population versus age, life expectancy, and fertility rate. Demographic information for numerous other countries is available in the United Nations' publication to allow students to explore the variations in trends for other countries. Students also evaluate factors that could lead to observed changes in population growth and the assumptions made for predicting population variation.
Keywords: human population change, human demographic information
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In this field investigation, students compare various soil samples taken from specific …
In this field investigation, students compare various soil samples taken from specific locations. Students compare samples, record data, create a chart or graph, and journal.
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students study how …
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students study how discharge per unit area varies with elevation in the high country of Glacier National Park from USGS hydrograph data from Swiftcurrent Creek and its tributary Grinnell Creek..
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The lesson is designed for fourth grade students using scientific investigation to …
The lesson is designed for fourth grade students using scientific investigation to identify and compare the basic parts of a plant and animal cells. This activity consists of several steps over a period of several days. It includes student use of microscopes for observations and journals to collect data to identify and classify the basic parts of plant and animal cells. The assessment has an individual component and uses student work.
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