Professional Development When and Where You Want It

Intro Slide

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NSTA Web Seminar II:

Watershed Dynamics

Flavio Mendez

Flavio MendezProgram Manager

Symposia and Web SeminarsNational Science Teachers Association

http://institute.nsta.org

Agenda:

1. Introductions

2. Tec-help info

3. Web Seminar Tool Training with Examples

4. Web Seminar Presentation

5. Evaluation

6. Chat with the presenters

Let’s do a poll question!

Is this your first Web Seminar?

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Al Byers Assistant Executive Director

Government Partnerships and e-Learning National Science Teachers Association

http://institute.nsta.org

Jeff LaymanTec Support NSTA Institute

703-312-9384jlayman@nsta.org

National Science Teachers Association

Jeff Layman

Screen Shot

Let’s do a poll question!

Who is in the audience?

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Top line, from right-to-left:

1. Top, right-corner, small square: minimize/maximize tool palette

2. Highlighter

3. Stamps

4. Clear and shaded geometrical figures

Where is everybody?Use a stamp to pinpoint your location in the world

Where is everybody?Use a stamp to pinpoint your location in the USA

Top line, from right-to-left, (cont.):

5. Arrow head and tail (on/off)

6. Diagonal line (continuous or dotted): (arrowhead and tail work together with line)

7. Levels of shading from max to min.

8. Paintbrush

9. Clear button

10. Undo

Watershed Dynamics:Modeling

Bill CarlsenPenn State University

Nancy TrautmannCornell University

Authentic Inquiry

Learning science “as science is practiced”

– Real questions with unknown answers

– Important problems (often local)

– Socially constructed through collaboration, argumentation, and critical evaluation by peers

Example of a Dynamic System

Image source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/img/bilynxandhare.gif

Modeling

• Physical models- fish tank population growth

• Conceptual models- parthenogenetic guppy birth

• Mathematical models- coin-flipping simulation

Poll 1

Have you used any of the following types of modeling software with your students?

National Science Ed Standards

Unifying Concepts and ProcessesSTANDARD: As a result of activities in grades K-12, all

students should develop understanding and abilities aligned with the following concepts and processes:

– Systems, order, and organization

– Evidence, models, and explanation

– Constancy, change, and measurement

– Evolution and equilibrium

Problem 1

Model how land use practices affect stream flow in watersheds.

What variables should be included in a mathematical model of such a system?

http://www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/change_analysis.html

http://www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/change_analysis.html

Homegrown Analysis

Your students can do land use analysis…

Project GLOBE protocols:http://www.globe.gov/fsl/html/templ.cgi?measpage

Or get data from elsewhere…

Environmental Literacy Council land use links:http://www.enviroliteracy.org/subcategory.php/26.html

Local agencies (e.g., planning, conservation, Cooperative Extension)

STELLA Streamflow

Model

Trial 1:0,100,0,0

(100% Forest)

Rainfall graphical input

Student’s streamflow prediction

Results: 0,100,0,0

Trial 2: 50% Forest

Your prediction?

Trial 2 Output

Poll 2

Do you think that a simulation like the streamflow model would be useful in any of your classes?

Problem 2

Urban students may not live in their watershed, much see it.

How to introduce the watershed concept?

Approach

Idea:

Begin with a physical model (in this case, a physical model of a conceptual model!)

Building the Model

Problem 3

How do you keep a lake from filling up with green muck?

You’re the Watershed Manager

Your job: Control eutrophication

How?– Agricultural practices

– Amount of land that is farmed

– Human population growth

– Wastewater treatment

Poll 3

You're a Watershed Manager. Your job is to control eutrophication in a lake, and a local fisherman is willing to help monitor your progress from his boat, which he takes fishing every Saturday. Which of the following would be the simplest RELEVANT variable to monitor?

Possible Outcomes to Monitor

• Algal density (cells / ml)

• Secchi depth (turbidity)

• Dissolved oxygen (D.O.) at the bottom of the lake

Management Interface

Results

Links

“Guide to Mostly Free Geospatial Data” http://libinfo.uark.edu/GIS/US.asp

isee Player or STELLA softwarehttp://www.iseesystems.com

Environmental Inquiry Projecthttp://ei.cornell.eduhttp://ei.ed.psu.edu

National Conference on Science Education, Anaheim, CA

NSTA Symposia: • NASA: Stars, Planets, Life and the Universe

• NASA: Preparing for the Journey to Space: Energy

• NOAA: Coral Ecosystems

• NSTA Press: Energy: Stop Faking It!

• NSTA Press: Uncovering Student Ideas in Science

NSTA Web Seminar

Evaluation

http://institute.nsta.org/survey/wdSurvey2.asp

Upcoming NSTA Web Seminars: • Investigating Safely II

February 22, 2006

6:30 PM Eastern Time