Cougars, Curriculum,
and CommunityCougars, Curriculum,
and Community
April/May 2005
From an instructional perspective, the study of cougars provides an ideal way to engage both introductory and advanced biology students in interdisciplinary science inquiry and problem solving. Cougars are fascinating creatures and most students are naturally interested in learning about them. When faced with a complex problem that threatens cougars, students try to find solutions that ensure the animals’ continued health and conservation. In this article, we describe the design and implementation of the Cougar Conservation Project (CCP), a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum that provided students and community members with valuable interdisciplinary learning experiences.
Click here to read more:
http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-04/tst0504_28.pdf
NSTA Members Only
Linking the Classroom to the Community
April/May 2005
Through the Youth Network for Healthy Communities (YNHC), a teacher-driven project in Washington State, students research environmental-health issues in their communities and present their findings to other students throughout the state via videoconferencing. YNHC focuses on environmental-health science in the context of technology and communication.
Click here to read more:
http://www.nsta.org/gateway&j=tst&n=50410
Inquiry in
the Community
April/May 2005
Community-based projects enable students to engage in investigation as scientists and to apply their work to make a difference at home. Community-based projects allow for easy implementation of high-end inquiry in the science classroom.
Click here to read more:
http://www.nsta.org/gateway&j=tst&n=50409
The Sidewalk
Project
April/May 2005
If you have the opportunity to visit New Hampshire in winter, be sure to stop
by Littleton High School and drop a snowball on the sidewalk. Despite the freezing
temperatures outside, the snowball will melt once it hits the sidewalk. This
phenomenon is the result of what is now called “the sidewalk project,” a collaboration
of more than 40 high-school physics students, 10 local mentors, and a few regional
and national organizations who worked together to invent a way to heat a sidewalk
using an alternative energy source.
Click here to read more: