Thursday, July 8, 2010
Online Data part 1
At first I wasn’t too sure how to go about incorporating this “Generate an Argument” approach to inquiry. I figure that I do it quite often in my head and personally, but rarely in the class (too much content to cover right?) After reading through Ch. 6 and looking of the example provided though, I’m thinking it’s worth a shot. I have had several questions I’d like to see my students research for the past couple of years, but have not yet found a place in the content to really make it work. This is my key stumbling block, being tied to set standards somewhat limits what I can “justify” teaching. I know sometime you just have to throw standards to the wind and do what is “right,” but I’m lucky if I cover 2/3 of what I should to begin with. I would really like to have my Earth Science students look at the natural gas industry in western Colorado, where we live. I have yet to find reliable data about how much gas is being pumped, but ultimately I’d like to connect volume of gas extracted, or area covered by the industry, to water quality of surrounding areas. Many students have family and friends who can no longer drink the tap water because it is contaminated (but not from the oil and gas industry of course). This seems to be one that could engage my kids. Another that I’d like to see my ag students research is land use changes. It would be interesting to find data on how farm lands are being converted to urban/suburban areas with concrete and asphalt and then connect that to weather patterns, or maybe even water quality. There are so many places to go in thought, but seems to be limits to the data I want. I know there is a lot out there, but not always applicable to my small mountain town in western Colorado. I’ll keep searching.
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I too find that "coverage" interferes with what I really want to teach my students. I like your ideas for connecting science to community issues. It is good to remember that we are educating citizens and not just future scientists. Water is a terrific topic for the west! Have you thought of using water quality data from the EPA to identify and research contaminants in your water. Students can find out the common sources of contaminants for your area. Usually it's a variety of sources which can lead to lively discourse on human activity versus natural occurences.
ReplyDeleteI have seen two newscasts about the water lighting on fire in the last 6 months regarding the gas contamination you're referring to. I think the gas company said it was "naturally occurring". Interesting, right? I think it's great that you're trying to integrate issues that apply to your students in Carbondale with the science skills they need to learn. Definitely an attention grabber in my mind! Good luck finding the data you're looking for. If you find any on the gas contamination of water, let me know, it's happening east of Denver, too and would therefore be interesting to my students.
ReplyDeleteYour post really reflects what I feel most of the time. Too much to cover, not enough time. There are many activities that I would like to do that would be important and useful for the students, but without the equipment or data sets I just cannot do it. Not to mention, how do I justify taking time out to cover something, when I can't get through all the material required.
ReplyDeleteI echo the comments about covering the material- that seems to be almost universal for teachers. We are on a block system, and it seems to have gotten worse since we changed. Quite frequently I feel that my teaching is "a mile wide and an inch deep." Love the comment about educating citizens- to me that is the bottom line. Your ideas about the natural gas data sound great. I really like the idea about land use also.That would be a great project for my environmental science classes.
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