Ideas For Use
Science Objects are two hour learning experiences teachers can use to enhance their understanding of a particular scientific concept. Teachers can access any topic “on demand” from the Internet. Topics are based on the science literacy goals in the national standards (NSES, Science for All Americans, Benchmarks, and the Atlas of Scientific Literacy) and tied to state standards.
Each Science Object provides an understanding of the science content by providing a structured set of learning experiences through simulations and practice assessments. Science Objects challenge teachers to explore and explain real world phenomena and are founded on the principle that learners must be challenged with a problem, observation, data, etc., in order to develop scientific understanding. Science Objects utilize the five phases of inquiry-based learning: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate
Learning Outcomes:
- Given the specific nature of an interspecies relationship, categorize the relationship between two interrelated populations as either positive, negative or neutral for each population.
- Given a description of a change to one population depicted in a food web, predict changes that might occur in the size and rate of growth for other populations depicted in the food web.
- Given a line graph displaying changes in population sizes and rates of growth for a number of populations in a community, along with a description of the trophic relationships among populations, generate plausible hypotheses about causes of the changes depicted in the graph.