 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Estuaries 101 Curriculum
NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), together with NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Office and TERC, has developed "Estuaries 101", a curriculum that will include student activities, professional development and training using SWMP data. The first modules developed are for grade levels 9-12 and are designed to help teachers and students use real scientific data to explore estuaries and understand the connection between humans and estuaries.
The Estuaries 101 Curriculum consists of four curriculum modules – three described here as the core Estuaries 101 modules (in Life Science, Earth Science and Physical Science), and a fourth web-based module focused on the Chesapeake Bay.
The modules all have a common vision, structure and pedagogy. They use estuaries as the vehicle to develop the big ideas in science (as called for in the above-cited standards study). They feature inquiry-based learning, in which students are actively engaged in exploring estuaries (through classroom, lab and field experiences), sparking questions and pursuing answers (as called for by the results of the above-cited needs assessment study).
Designed for use by classrooms that may not be near estuaries, the experiments, web-explorations and data analysis activities provide multiple pathways for students to engage in these explorations. Most activities relate to specific estuaries as examples of a concept (such as investigating tides and salinity using data from several sensors along the York River estuary). Each module has a sequence of activities, developing the core themes from introductory to more advanced understandings. The modules use a "guided discovery" approach, with a relatively structured sequence for the activities, and a clearly defined set of questions for students to investigate.
Learn More...
|
Last Updated on: 12-02-2008
|
|
|
|