The Great Salt Lake is an interesting ecosystem to study due to the organisms that inhabit this saline environment and due to the impact humans have had on this ecosystem. In 1952, a causeway was built to replace an existing railroad trestle. Unlike, the previous trestle, the new causeway does not allow circulation of water between the two sides of the Great Salt Lake.
Below is a compilation of general resources on ocean acidification and systems level studies. Some of these resources are directly used in this curriculum module, but most are for your reference. While we do not endorse all items listed below, they have been referred to us by educators.
The purpose of the Summit is to achieve a deeper understanding of oceanic CO2 systems from the different research groups’ points of view. In the Summit, participants systematically question and examine issues and data related to the big question and articulate short- and long-term goals for oceanic CO2 concentrations.
The purpose of this lesson is for students to model the scientific process – which includes the experimental bench work they are completing in Lesson 5a and the collaboration and connection to others’ research. This lesson gives students the time and resources to learn from the work being completed by scientists and through their online contributions.
The purpose of this lesson is to allow students to complete research on the topic of ocean acidification and to work toward answering their interest group’s experimental question.
When tackling “big problems” scientists from different disciplines directly communicate and divvy up research into projects that best use available resources and lead to more comprehensive understanding. The goal of this lesson is to guide student groups as they plan their experiment and ultimately develop a class-wide, cohesive set of experiments that work together to answer the big question and their group’s individual sub-question.
“The Systems Education Experiences inquiry-based learning curriculum fits perfectly with my teaching philosophy, and has the potential to empower scientists, students, educators and citizens to approach and resolve complex problems facing their communities.”
– Cadie Buckley, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
“These kits have been very well designed so that teachers can fit the modules into their own curriculum and use the given modification to help meet their own unique student learning needs. . . They also allow me the ability to make sure that my students are experiencing inquiry and making connections while working with real world situations.”
– Amanda Cope, Leaders in Learning High School, Monroe, WA
The purpose of this lesson is to set the stage for students to begin a collaborative, systems study of ocean acidification (OA). Understanding that OA is a global problem that has positive and negative impacts on many groups in many ways makes it a hotly debated, political topic.
The purpose of these preliminary experiments is for students to become familiar with carbon dioxide (CO2). In particular, these experiments aim to provide context for the role of carbon dioxide in global climate change and ocean acidification. Therefore, students should come away with an understanding of the natural and anthropogenic sources of CO2 as well as the interaction between carbon dioxide and water.
