Beth Richards

Biology

Ecology Unit- Wetlands

Grade 9

This is a collaborative structure assignment using simulation software for a virtual fieldtrip into the wetlands by Digital Frog International, The virtual field trip provides students an opportunity to expand their knowledge and experience beyond their local community.

Students will also participate in an online collaborative data collection effort sponsored by GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment), in partnership with NASA and the NSF, This will give students an opportunity to engage in authentic scientific investigation, contributing and analyzing real data in a collaborative effort designed to benefit the environment.

Students will take a digital field trip to the wetlands to enhance their knowledge of wetland ecology. Students will use the Digital Frog International software to explore wetland topics including:

  1. Wetland types and formation
  2. Nutrient cycles
  3. Photosynthesis
  4. Food chains and webs
  5. Plant and animal adaptations
  6. Migratory birds and endangered wetlands.

This is a large software package with many subtopics related to wetlands. To enhance student learning and improve social skills a jigsaw cooperative learning technique will be utilized. Students will work in groups of 5 or 6. Using the software and textbook each student will become an expert on one of the six categories. Students will join an “expert group” for research and then report back to their primary group to teach group members about their topic. All students will be held accountable for learning information about all 6 areas of study.

In addition to the virtual experience with wetland ecology students will be involved in an authentic scientific investigation of a local watershed using the GLOBE Watershed Dynamics project ( ). GLOBE schools all over the US and in many other countries contribute environmental data to GLOBE databases. The GLOBE program assists students, teachers, and scientists as they collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment. Students will be contributing authentic scientific data that the professional community can use to analyze global environmental issues.

In this investigation students will collect water quality data of a local watershed, using GLOBE water quality testing protocols, and contribute their data to the GLOBE database. Students can then analyze the real-time and historical data to answer student posed questions about the dynamics of watersheds and the human impact on watersheds. The GLOBE program allows students to access geologic and hydrologic data and generate graphs. (Note: The watershed project is still being developed and is expected to be ready for public distribution in 2010. GLOBE offers teacher workshops and tutorials for participation in their projects.)

Learner Outcomes- Students learning will be enhanced through authentic scientific investigation, contributing real data that real scientists use to analyze local and global environmental issues. Student will feel empowered knowing they have contributed to a collaborative effort designed to benefit the environment. Students will also benefit by investigating wetland areas in their own communities, making ecological issues more relevant to their personal lives. Students will expand their experiences to wetland areas outside of their communities through the virtual field trip. This will give students a broader understanding of ecological issues. Students will be able to identify the human impact on the global environment and recognize that they can be influential in protecting it.