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16 to 23 July 2000 Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire Parcticipants Peter Amati, Holliston High School, Holliston, Massachusetts Steve Arcone, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire Kristen Bjork, Education Development Center, Newton, Massachusetts Arlyn Bruccoli, AMNH/CRREL Hanover New Hampshire Timothy Conner, Chenango Forks Central School, Chenango Forks, New York Pam Force, Bernice A. Ray School, Hanover, New Hampshire Sharon Harris, Mother of Mercy High School, Cincinnati, Ohio David Hoff, Education Week, Bethesda, Maryland Sandra Kolb, Poulsbo, Washington Debra Meese, Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire John Nevins, Rhinelander High School, Rhinelander, Wisconsin Marge Porter, Woodstock Academy, Woodstock, Connecticut Larry Rose, Pleasanton Middle School, Pleasanton, California Stephanie Shipp, Rice University, Houston, Texas Zach Smith, University of Maine / ITASE Education Coordinator, Orono, Maine Betty Trummel, Crystal Lake, Illinois Tim Vermaat, Chenango Forks Central School, Chenango Forks, New York Andre Wille, Basalt High School, Basalt, Colorado Glenn (Skip) Zwanzig, Louisville, Kentucky Don Perovich, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire Workshop Objective To develop activities that bring TEA research experiences into the classroom so that science in the classroom reflects science in the field. The activities are one way in which TEAs and Associates share the experience of research and the science of polar regions with colleagues and students. Agenda Monday Welcome and Introductions Logistics Discussion of Workshop Objectives and Activity Philosophy Tour of CRREL Library and Resources Group Dinner Tuesday Presentations Steve Arcone: Ground Penetrating Radar in the Dry Valleys Betty Trummel, Cape Roberts, Antarctica paleomagnetic study Tim Conner, Deering, Alaska archeological study Wednesday Tour of CRREL Facility Presentations Andre Wille, Penguins in the Ross Sea Skip Zwanzig, Fish Chemistry (antifreeze) in Antarctica Presentation De-brief Thursday Don Perovich- SHEBA Project Sharon Harris, Dry Valley Geochemistry, Antarctica Sandi Kolb, USCGC Healy ice trials John Nevins, CO2 release in Arctic tundra Zach Smith, GISP and ITASE research programs; classroom materials Presentation De-brief Friday Group Dinner Saturday Wrap-up discussion Evaluation Discussion (facilitated by Betty Trummel and Larry Rose) TEA Activities Introduction to Activities Template 1. Hook Component 2. Teaching Sequence Component 3. Background, Resources, and References Component 4. Student Materials Component 5. Data Component What is the Editorial Board and what does it do? Presentations During the week, the TEA parcticipants gave presentations to the CRREL research staff and workshop attendees. This served as a "trial balloon" - it is the first time it has been undertaken. The presentations were requested by CRREL staff and reflect suggestions from TEA attendees at NSTA 2000 for more presentation practice and critique. Thus, the purpose was two-fold: to acquaint the CRREL staff with the research and educational initiatives of the TEA program, and to provide a venue for TEA teachers to present to a different audience and practice presentation skills. Presentations were held over lunch. Speakers were asked to present their individual research and to discuss how they are transferring the experience to classrooms and colleagues. Following two of the lunch sessions, a de-brief discussion occurred. Comments follow. Note that these are general recommendations for all TEA presentations. The presentations by TEAs at CRREL really hit their mark!! Recommendations for the Template General Recommendations Activities Tim Conner Interactive global climate change challenge. Students examine scientific and cultural data for the time of the Little Ice Age (e.g., ice core records, tree ring data, agricultural yield records and prices, glacial terminus data, materials used for coats, length of wigs, etc.). They weigh the different data types and marshal their "best" evidence to develop a hypothesis about what climate is doing. Students then explore the different data types. They read about researchers who use the different tools and the researcher's hypotheses and findings on the same topic. Students can research topics in varying detail. Activity can be arranged for teams or individual students. In Development Pam Force How much ice must you drink to meet daily survival requirements? Elementary School/Science/Math Have you ever carried a bucket of water from a stream to your garden? Have you ever filled a big pot with water and carried it to the stove? Have you ever carried a gallon jug of water home from the store? What did you notice about carrying water? You bet. It's heavy. Think about how much water you should drink in one day, at least 8 full glasses. How much would you need for 100 days. Wow. If you're skiing across Antarctica (2,400 miles), would you want to carry that much water on your sled? Could you? Remember you have to carry everything you will need to survive with you. Where are you going to get your drinking water, that water you must have to survive? Submitted Pam Force A Human-Powered Vehicle for Trans-Glacial Transport Elementary School/Science/Math You're out on a glacier with 2,400 miles to traverse before you reach your destination. How are you going to transport all the necessities for survival? Build a vehicle that you can pull with all your belongings safely packed away. Remember this vehicle will be power by YOU. Submitted Sharon Harris Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Cold Imagine diving into a refreshingly cool swimming pool. Now think instead of plowing into water that is boiling or near freezing." These images, provided by Dr. Michael Madigan and Dr. Barry Marrs in the arcticle "Extremophiles" published in 1997 in Scientific American http://www.sciam.com/0497issue/0497marrs.html , has me asking why would any organism plunge into freezing or boiling waters? And how could they survive? Are there organisms that live in these kinds of environments? I worked for six weeks in the Dry Valleys in Antarctica, studying a bacterium that survived in a permanently ice-covered lake, as well as, assisted in the isolation of an organism living in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park! What are the known temperature limitations for living things on our planet? Submitted Sharon Harris Living Without Oxygen Many important chemical processes, such as nitrogen fixation and denitrification, are carried out by bacteria and often, the efficacy of the process is determined by the amount of oxygen present in the environment in which the bacteria live. Much of the time, these processes are carried out by facultatively anaerobic bacteria in the suboxic region of the lakes, oceans, sediments, and leaf litter. Do facultatively anaerobic photoautotrophs share the same tolerance for oxygen? How can differences in oxygen tolerance be tested? Of what significance is the tolerance for oxygen in the nitrogen cycle? Submitted Sharon Harris A Breath of Fresh Air! High School Biology and Environmental Science What do a bulging can of pork and beans, gangrene, and denitrification have in common? All are the result of anaerobic bacterial action. Many important chemical processes (including food spoilage, tissue deterioration, and refueling our air with nitrogen) are carried out by bacteria and often the efficacy of these processes is determined by the amount of oxygen present in the environment in which the bacteria live. Anaerobic bacteria live in regions of lakes, oceans, sediments, and leaf litter where there is little or no oxygen available. Do all bacteria share the same tolerance for oxygen? How can differences in oxygen tolerance be tested? Submitted Sandi Kolb and Rick Griffith Ice Core Secrets 8th and 9th Grade Earth Science While on board the USCGC Healy, an icebreaker in the Arctic, I was assigned to the research team from Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Hanover, NH to study the properties of ice as it pertains to the ship's capabilities for breaking it. The team of scientists made detailed ice thickness measurements. They used an electromagnetic instrument and also drilled holes in the ice for measuring its thickness. The team collected ice cores, too. Why would the scientists want to collect ice cores? What information do scientists learn from ice cores? Sandra Kolb Submitted Sandi Kolb and Rick Griffith Polar Chains and Webs 7th Grade Life Science and Geography Every time I present to adult and student audiences alike about my experiences living and working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica; I'm amazed at the number of people who ask me if I saw any polar bears there in addition to the penguins. Students will put into practice the evaluation component of the scientific method while comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of the food chains and webs of polar animal life. In this activity, students will learn about classification and ecology through the real life experiences and connections of professionals who have been in the field. Through developing skills in teamwork and planning, this activity will allow students to understand the similarities and differences of the Arctic and Antarctic, their animal life and the food chains and webs supporting them. Submitted John Nevins Introduction to Field Data Collection - 3 Related Activities High School Chemistry, Physics, Biology In the summer of 1997 I had the good fortune to work with a group of physical geographers on a study of tundra permafrost active layer depth. The active layer is the layer of thawed tundra; its depth and volume increases as temperatures go up. We were trying to map the changes in the area and depth of the active layer in the Kuparuk River Basin to provide accurate data to constrain the global change computer models being formulated today. To do this we have to know...... How do the extent and depth of thaw change during the year? Is the thaw different on steep slopes and flat regions? Is the depth and extent of thaw changing over several years?...... Some of the questions that need to be answered by the research teams studying the tundra environment include: I have used the following activities to illustrate the methods of field data collection in several of my classes. Larry Rose Trippin' to the Poles and the Blue Nose Ritual Exercises in Latitude and Longitude and Polar Travel Middle School Earth Science How do you get there? How do you get to places like the North Pole today, or the South Pole, or Greenland? Students find out, and on the way, learn latitude and longitude, time zones, polar geography and get to experience the first hand experiences of the TEAs and how they got there! The students will plan imagined trips to the polar regions by studying the journals of TEA teachers. The students will use Latitude and Longitude, map scales and time zone studies to lay out their trip to the poles. Submitted Larry Rose It Came from Outer Space! The AA Meteorite Connection Middle School Earth Science In the summer of 1998 the news was released that LIFE HAD BEEN FOUND ON MARS! Or really, that Martians had been found in Antarctica!!! Or better and more really, that possible bacteria-like fossils had been found in a meteorite that had been found in Antarctica and that that meteorite had been shown to have come from Mars. While the biological origin of the artifacts found in that meteorite have come under question, Antarctica is recognized to be the best place on earth to look for meteorites. This activity will show your students why. Students will discover why Antarctica is the most fruitful place on earth for locating meteorites. They will learn that the white background of the ice makes it easier to find meteorites than elsewhere on earth and that the biologically and mineralogically poor ice surface of Antarctica reduces the possibility of contamination of these precious astronomical specimens. The lesson has a hands on component modeling meteorite falls and collection, and an internet component in which students use the net to find out more about the meteorite- Antarctic connection. Submitted Larry Rose Peoples of the North An introduction to Inuit technology- the Snow House Upper Elementary and Middle School Science and Social Studies Eleven thousand years of survival in some of the earth's most hostile environments have shown the Inuit snow house to be one of humankind's highest technological achievements both simple and extremely elegant. Students will explore the conditions under which the Inuit live and the technology of the snow house which they have developed in "pre-contact" times. Students will be introduced to the culture of the Inuit through web research and the writings of TEAs who have worked in the north. Submitted Betty Trummel Polar Trunk Tim Vermaat Morphology of Snow crystals Students capture and preserve snow crystals for observation using an inexpensive, straight forward laboratory technique. They begin to relate the morphology of the crystal to weather patterns (e.g., temperature, humidity, source of snow, etc.). Students can compare snow crystals in their region with those from other places. In Development Tim Vermaat Bear Hunt In search of Tardigrades: Life in Extreme Environments Students collect tardigrades from the local environment. They observe the organisms. Students can experiment with creating extreme conditions under which tardigrades can survive. Students can compare these conditions with those of the polar setting and investigate the ecosystems and environments in which polar tardigrades live. In Development Andre Wille Where Have the Penguins Gone? Tracking Adelie Penguins with Radio Telemetry High School Biology and Ecology 70,000 Adelie Penguins arrive at Cape Bird on Ross Island Antarctica in November of each year. In 3 short months, they must attract a mate, build a nest, incubate their eggs, feed their chicks and raise them. All this must be completed by early February before the return of the cruel Antarctic winter. After incubating the eggs for about 22 days, the parents struggle to keep the growing chicks fed. To obtain food, parent penguins take turns going to sea on feeding trips for 1 to 5 days at a time. Your job is to determine where it is they go and why they go there. Students use radio telemetry data gathered over a five year period to track nesting Adelie penguins to their feeding grounds. Data from three field locations is plotted on a map of the area and used to triangulate the position of individual birds. Once the location of feeding areas are located, positions will be compared with satellite images showing the extent of sea ice coverage during each year. Feeding habitat preferences will be calculated by determining the percentage of foraging penguins in each habitat type. Students will then hypothesize on the foraging habitat requirements of the adelies. Why is one habitat preferred over another ? Submitted Glenn Zwanzig Bacteria Living in Extreme Environments Grades 6-12, Biology, Life Science, Ecology Bacteria can survive in almost any environment. They are found on the tops of mountains, the bottom of the deepest seas, in the hot waters of volcanic hot springs and most recently in the frozen ice, deep in the continental ice sheets covering Antarctica. Discoveries of bacteria in unusual places, such as deep in Antarctic lakes, have led some scientists, like John Priscu of Montana State University, to conclude that there is the possibility for bacteria to survive on some of the ice covered planetary moons in our solar system. These scientists conclude that if microbes can thrive in hostile places on the earth why couldn't they survive in similarly hostile places in the solar system. The Jovian moon, Europa, is considered one possible location. This frozen moon has shown evidence of liquid water existing under an icy crust making it a possible source of living bacteria. In this activity students will develop an experiment that will test the ability of bacteria to survive various temperature extremes. The students will grow the bacteria in nutrient broth. The broth will be placed in different temperatures for at least 24 hours and then spread on nutrient agar plates and incubated at 37 degrees Celsius for an additional 24 hours. Submitted Glenn Zwanzig The Case of the Missing Penguins A Protein Analysis Activity 9th and 10th grade Biology After reading a scenario simulating illegal poaching of penguins in Antarctica, students will analyze various meat samples to determine whether or not a "confiscated" tissue sample belongs to that of the missing Antarctic penguins. Students will conduct a protein analysis of the tissue comparing the "confiscated" tissue to a "known" tissue sample. Students will analyze the tissue samples using gel electrophoresis. In a first year biology course students typically study the classes of biological molecules, proteins being one of the classes. Seldom, however, does the lesson get followed by any practical lab work involving proteins. This lab demonstrates one method where proteins can be studied in more detail using visual data that demonstrates one way that proteins differ. This lab also gives the student some practical experience using get electrophoresis (derived from an unpublished activity developed by teachers and researchers, through the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), for a collection of shoestring budget biotechnology activities). Submitted Survey 1. Did this workshop help you develop your TEA activities? Why or why not? Yes. Support/Advice/Editorial support. Block of time - one focus. Resources. Yes. Having fellow TEA's and Kristen read my activities helped very much. I just hope they work! Yes. Yes because I was able to site down at a computer with no distractions, At home/school, there is always something else that comes up, pulling me away from the activities. Yes, when I had time with Kristen. Before that I really did not have anyone with whom to bounce ideas. Everyone else was gearing activities to middle and high-school audiences. Kristen really helped me to focus the activities. It definitely helped. There were a number of "distractions" but they were equally valuable in terms of the big picture of getting a solid, interdisciplinary knowledge base on polar research. He tours and presentations also kept each day interesting and provided stimulation for new ideas. Yes. It gave me time to write and discuss the activity as I wrote. Yes, For above reasons (hanging with the TEAs, picking their brains for their experiences and knowledge both for personal growth and for writing activities); TEA brain picking, interactions with these talented, giving folks. Yes. Additional resources and input from TEAs was helpful. Just the accessibility and proximity of others in the program was important and helpful for activity sharing, discussions, and critique. 2. Do you feel that TEA teacher presentations should continue to be included in the TEA Activities Workshop? Why or why not? Yes. Good practice, great information - uplifting. Yes. Oftentimes I have been negligent in reading the journals. Hearing about everyone's science and the adventures was most informative and entertaining. Yes, but it depends on who. Yes, I do. It was good to see what others have done and it was good that non-TEA people see what we have done. Absolutely. The learning curve for everyone goes WAY up. Also, by getting a real understanding of what each member did, collegial brainstorming can be more informed. Yes. These are valuable both to the presenter and the audience. The format of 2 per day was good. Yes. At each presentation you get more comfortable and if there is a low pressure way of discussing top part and low point of each presentation, it would help improve each presentation. Yes - but the presentations had a mixed audience of CRREL staff, TEAs, and me. I was most interested in the travelogue / experiential / back to the classroom aspects. Science aspects were not as good; the TEAs were trying to be like presenters at GSA or AGU and failed in that. Get the audiences and intent of the presentations straight (note from organizers: as discussed, this was a mixed audience - and therefore challenging. However, the TEA experience is about immersion in science and the process of science; we cannot shy away from sharing that with all audiences - or else we, too, are trying to "dumb down the experience." Difficult, but the presentations need to encompass the science, the travelogue, the experiential, and the transfer aspects - as a community, we need to brainstorm on this more!). Yes, definitely. But please also build in a lunch time additionally (separate from the presentations. 3. Do you feel that researcher presentations should continue to be included in the TEA Activities Workshop? Why or why not? Yes. More important than teacher talks. Cutting edge science, new information, what science teachers need. Yes, but no more than 2 or 3. It was a large chunk of our work time. It helped me to see a clearer picture of CRREL's activities. Yes. This is the good stuff. Yes. It gave a break to the routine so that I could come back to the activities with a "fresh look." Absolutely - The learning curve, again - better able to translate teacher experiences to student audiences. Really demonstrates the "NOW" of scientific research. Meeting field researchers creates new links for education. Yes. I got a lot from these. Good background information and some good resources (Zach). Yes but to a degree they used some additional time I would have used to write. Could they be set up to disrupt less time (note from organizers: yes!). Yes, it is good practice, but don't expect the TEAs to give presentations like those at learned scientific meetings. Yes. Excellent. But please limit the time and number so that the amount of quality blocks of time for working on activities is still available. 4. Do you feel that this workshop was a useful professional development experience? Why or why not? 95% yes. Mostly for all of the above. 5% no. Sometimes a little distracting - schedule had us jump form thing to thing. Yes; see other answers! Yes. Absolutely. I am able to take back new ideas from others. Yes - I had to really focus on all aspects of how to develop activities that could be used by a wide range of people so more kids can be connected to an exciting world of scientific research and adventure. Very useful. Curriculum development ideas. Presentation strategies. Increasing my polar knowledge base. Yes. I need time to work with and talk with other professionals to work out new ideas. Always have been and this was the best so far. Being at CRREL really helped because of the facility, the support, and the science going on here. Yes - Excellent. 1) Scientists and colleague presentations. 2) Peer sharing and development of activities. 5. Please add any additional comments or suggestions about the TEA Activities Workshop. Truly, everything was wonderful! Thanks! This was a great workshop. The one day off was a great idea. I actually was able to get things accomplished. The people are special. Perhaps a list of places to visit for a break or offer a group tour of other places. The university, for example. Five, maybe four days are sufficient if parcticipants understand that their activities should be 90% + written before they come. With the new "high-tech" template, that should be easy (note from organizers, see above). Solicit more members for the Editorial Board. It was great having lunch brought in everyday and also having it available to eat whenever it fit for us (and also for snacks). Thank you. Suggestions: Back to: TEA Information Front Page |