Science

Instructional modules that bring sustainability topics into classrooms in a way that emphasizes the methods and tools of mathematics and computing and illustrates their role in planning for sustainability. Through the modules, students learn foundational and emerging concepts in mathematical and computational sciences set in the context of sustainability issues involving physical, biological, environmental, and social sciences. Students develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the ways that these disciplines interact through inquiries driven by real problems such as combating invasive species, understanding environmental threats, managing water resources, interpreting weather data, and simply living greener.

This NGSS aligned curriculum is designed to support high school physical science students in developing an understanding of the forces and energy involved in atomic and molecular interactions. The year-long Interactions curriculum could be used in a physical science class, or tweaked to embed activities into a chemistry class. Interactions can be offered as a paper-pencil curriculum with the teacher facilitating web based simulation activities on a classroom computer, or it can be offered completely online for classrooms where students have personal (or shared) computers. Students will develop and use models of interactions at the atomic molecular scale to explain observed phenomena and develop a model of the flow of energy and cycles of matter for phenomena at macroscopic and sub-microscopic scales.

EzGCM is a climate modeling toolkit that allows students to examine climate change using the same tools and following the same scientific processes as climate scientists.

EzGCM is a climate modeling toolkit that allows students to examine climate change using the same tools and following the same scientific processes as climate scientists.

The Deep Structure Modeling (DSM) project addresses the pressing need to more effectively organize science teaching and learning around “big ideas” that run through disciplines. Big ideas are important tools for learning because they enable students to organize and link information within a consistent knowledge framework. The project includes a freely available two-week unit on teaching cellular respiration by modeling the big idea of energy.

The Deep Structure Modeling (DSM) project addresses the pressing need to more effectively organize science teaching and learning around “big ideas” that run through disciplines. Big ideas are important tools for learning because they enable students to organize and link information within a consistent knowledge framework. The project includes a freely available two-week unit on teaching cellular respiration by modeling the big idea of energy.

Third-grade students’ use model-based reasoning about geospheric components of the hydrologic cycle (i.e., groundwater) and how elementary teachers scaffold students’ model-based reasoning. Instructional resources developed through this project include supplemental teacher materials, a student packet, and student assessment (with answer key).

Three short (4-5 session) curriculum units and an engineering design challenge include firsthand, guided explorations of energy in everyday phenomena. Beginning with easily observable phenomena, such as ball collisions, students look for signs of energy, create and use a variety of representations including "energy cubes," and discuss questions and findings. They develop the practice of asking, "Where does the energy come from?" and "Where does the energy go?" and learn to track the flow of energy in increasingly complex scenarios.

Three short (4-5 session) curriculum units and an engineering design challenge include firsthand, guided explorations of energy in everyday phenomena. Beginning with easily observable phenomena, such as ball collisions, students look for signs of energy, create and use a variety of representations including "energy cubes," and discuss questions and findings. They develop the practice of asking, "Where does the energy come from?" and "Where does the energy go?" and learn to track the flow of energy in increasingly complex scenarios.

School, home, and neighborhoods make large amounts of garbage every day. In answering the driving question of the unit, “What happens to our garbage?”, students investigate a series of subquestions (e.g., “What is that smell?” and “What causes changes in the properties of garbage materials?”) that address a targeted set of physical science and life science performance expectations. This unit was developed with a specific focus on English learners by using an engaging, local phenomenon and design principles that capitalize on the mutually supportive nature of science and language learning.