Envionmental Literacy and Inquiry Curricula
Tectonics is a series of geospatial investigations designed to augment existing middle school Earth science curriculum. Students use Web GIS to investigate important tectonics concepts. The investigations include scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas from the National Research Council (2012) Framework for K-12 Science Education.
Climate Change is a technology-supported middle school science inqiry curriculum. This curriculum focuses on essential climate literacy principles witha n emphasis on weather and climate, Earth system energy balance, greenhouse gases, paleoclimatology, and how human activities influence climate change. Students use geospatial information technology tools (Google Earth), Web-based tools (including an interactive carbon calculator and geologic timeline), and inquiry-based lab activities to investigate important climate change topics. Climate Change is aligned to the Essential Principles of Climate Literacy in addition to national science and environmental education standards.
Energy is an interdisciplinary technology-supported middle school science inquiry unit. This curricular unit focuses on the world's energy resources. Students use geospatial information technology (GIT) tools including My World GIS and Google Earth, and inquiry-based lab activities to investigate energy sources, production, and consumption. Energy is aligned to national science and environmental education standards.
Land Use Change is an interdisciplinary technology-embedded middle school science unit. This curricular unit focuses on how human activities influence environmental changes related to land use. Students use geospatial information technology (GIT) tools including Google Earth and remotely sensed images to investigate modern day land use issues and land use change over time.
Web-Based Inquiry (WBI) for Learning Science
The World Wide Web offers activities that provide opportunities to learn science through inquiry-based activities. Just like classroom-based science inquiry activities, Web-based inquiry activities (WBIs) for learning science fall along a continuum from learner-directed to materials-directed. This Website contains the WBI manual and instrument designed to identify and classify science WBIs on the World Wide Web. In addition, you will find links to study papers, recommended WBI sites, and preservice teacher-created WBIs from Lehigh University's TBTE program.
Science Teacher Inquiry Rubric (STIR)
The Science Teacher Inquiry Rubric (STIR) is an instrument designed to assist teachers in understanding and implementing inquiry-based science instruction into their classrooms in a comprehensive, yet manageable way. This Website contains the STIR instrument and links to study papers.
I was the Primary Investigator for a National Science Foundation funded Web-integrated high school biology program published by the Prentice-Hall School Group, a division of Pearson Education, called Exploring Life. The curriculum is based on the National Science Education Standards and emphasizes an active, constructivist learning program that integrates interactive, Web-based instructional media. Our NSF funding supported the formative and summative evaluation of the curriculum, and measure dhow well it helps students meet the Standards, and impacted student attitudes toward science. This curriculum utilizes the interactivity of the World Wide Web, the storytelling abilities of a short textbook, and an inquiry-based program of "wet" labs and fieldwork. This Web site contains information about the NSF evaluation project.