Calendar for Earth Science 511 |
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30 November 2009
Almost there...
For the remainder of the course we will refine our VFEs. They're
looking very good!! All of you have wonderful topics, and have
worked very hard to get these in shape to present to your
respective audiences.
Due Friday, 11 December 2009
Midnight
Please remember that I can NOT take late assignments, as
grades are due to SUNY immediately after the course is through.
1. Continue to collect website information, resources, pictures,
Google Earth material, etc. and add to your VFE. Do keep Earth
system science as a core principle of your VFE - it is one of the
main points of this course. You've all done exceedingly well
focusing your problem statements to "...Your Backyard" - fantastic.
2. Make any needed corrections to your outline, based on
comments from faculty and your fellow comrades. Most of you
know what you need to do; I will continue to add comments Monday
and Tuesday of this week. I am always available to help you all get
more info, resources, outside help, or whatever else you need.
Don't Be Shy about asking for help.
3. Post your newly revised VFE to the Discussion Section under
the Category:
"ESSIYB - Cycle C: Individual 2.0"
AND to the ESSEA Site
4. You will be getting a survey for the course shortly. I
encourage you all to take the time to do this, as your comments and
feedback - both positive and regarding those things we need to do
to improve the course - are extremely helpful in making this course
a valuable resource for future participants. There is talk of holding
a panel discussion at ASTC on informal educators PD, and I've
been asked to be one of the facilitators. Your constructive input
could have a great affect on this discussion.
5. Also please remember that before we can release funds to your
institution I will need:
A. a letter from you institution with a description of how you will
spend the $450 mini-grant, and to whom the check should be made
out to. You can email me a copy pdf if you would like.
B. a completed copy of your VFE. This can be a mailed DVD,
CD, or simply your completed VFE upload to the Discussion or
ESSEA site.
Again, I can not release funds until I have these two docs - gotta
justify taxpayer monies to NSF.
Keep in touch if you need ANYTHING - including me getting you
some outside advice on your VFE if you think it would be helpful -
and Good Luck.....'should be fun.....
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Monday 16 November 2009
Earth System Science in Your Backyard
Cycle B - "Team"
DUE TUESDAY 24 NOVEMBER
What a bunch of great VFE's! Some of you are startlingly close to
being finished. Keep in mind, that as soon as you can present a viable
piece of programming, that includes the principles we have been learning
in this course, you're done!
Having said that, I must give a warning that the final for this course is due
11 December 2009.
I CAN NOT ACCEPT ANY LATE FINALS
The reason for this is that grades are due 12 Dec, no exceptions. I will
need a completed copy of whatever form of technology you expect to
present - either a DVD, or PowerPoint, YouTube presentation - or
whatever is a reasonable facsimile of your presentation such that NSF
can see how US tax dollars were spent. I must keep a copy of it on file.
If you anticipate any problem with this, let me know now.
Part of your final will be to 1. fill out an evaluation, and 2. email/mail me
a letter stating what you will use the grant money for, written on your
institution's letterhead.
I'm sure I don't have to explain to this group the importance of
evaluation. All of the content in the course that we have kept, and
revised, has primarily come from the fabulous constructive criticism and
positive comments we've had from past students. It is extremely
valuable, and I very much appreciate your input.
I will need a letter of what you will use the grant money for from each
of you before we can release funds (NSF rules, not mine). This should
be in the form of a budget justification - what you intend to buy (how it will
be used, and how much it costs), or salary, etc. Just a paragraph or two
will suffice. I will also need an address to send the check to, and the
exact name of the institution/financial officer to whom the check is to be
made out.
'Nuff administration, on to business...
Our schedule from here on out will mainly be concerned with finalizing
the details: narrative, problem statements, Earth systems, and resources
etc. for your VFEs. I'm giving you all a bit of extra time for this
assignment - but don't get complacent, there is still a lot of work to do.
For this week's assignment: Due Tuesday 24 November
1. Review your comments and answer any remaining questions you
have regarding your present scenario and PS.
2. Refine your narrative. This needs to be as complete a narrative as
possible of what you will say during the program. How will you introduce
the scenario? The Problem Statement? The Resources? How will you
explain systems science? What examples will you use?
3. Incorporate the resources you will use into your narrative,
including all visuals, signage, pictures, etc., as well as the technology
you will use.
4. LOOK AT OTHERS' VFEs AND COMMENT - HELP EACH OTHER
OUT. This is the "team" aspect of this assignment. Look at your own
group, and go to the other group's site and see what they've done, too.
There are many common threads here, make use of it - It'll be fun!
5. Post to BOTH the ESSEA site and the Discussion section:
a. Your intended audience, and time frame, and where you intend to
give the program/exhibit.
b. Your Narrative
- Start with your Scenario and background information
- Incorporate Resources
- Incorporate Visuals (either place-holders, if you still need to
gather visuals, or actual visuals)
- Incorporate ESS (how will you describe and incorporate
systems science into your program?)
- Present your Problem Statement
c. Through your narrative, describe how you envision your audience
working to solve the problem. Is this a discussion? Is this a hike? An
exhibit? A Game? Research? A "hunt" of sorts? List leading questions
you will use; how you will keep them talking/working/inquiring?
Paint us as complete a picture of what your program will be as
possible. We'll have one more chance to hash over everything before
we're done.
We will be off (Yeah!) Thanksgiving weekend (26 - 29 Nov), and then
we'll have the last two weeks push to the finish line. I'll try to get
comments to you as fast as I can after Tuesday. All comments will be in
by end of day Sunday (29th), as well as the post for the final assignment.
Keep the communication lines open - Read each other's work; comment
and help each other out - don't be shy! Please, Please, Please, let me
know if you need help with any resources, wording, ref's, etc. Don and
Richard will be lurking-in to help here and there.
Keep up the good work!!
************************************************************************
Monday 09 November 2009
Earth System Science in Your Backyard
Please Note that all assignments are Individual Assignments
from here on out. We will not be doing "Team" Rubrics.
You WILL have/make input from/to your Team Mates, but you will
primarily be working individually, progressing through the PBL
model to create your final project.
Please remember that if you can not finish an assignment on time,
or are having problems completing an assignment, Email Me.
Having said all that....
This Week's Assignment is in two parts:
Due Tuesday, 10 November 2009 Midnight
1. If you haven't already, read your Team Mates' Scenarios and questions.
Make suggestions and comments based on what you understand the
problem/scenario to be.
- Feel free to take a peak at the other group's assignments - it can give you
more examples to run with.
Due Friday, 13 November 2009, Midnight
2. List all the questions you have regarding your Scenario, based on comments
from the previous assignment and comments thus far from your team mates -
things you need to find out, what you still don't know, what you need to follow up
on regarding your existing knowledge, etc.
3. Decide on your audience - middle schoolers? high schoolers? general
public? etc. - and the time frame you intend for the program. Do this on the
Discussion Section site.
4. Do some research - answer your and your team mates' questions as best as
possible. If you're having trouble finding information, ask your team mates or
email me. List your answers.
5. Refine your Problem Statement: What are you going to have your
audience "do"? What kind of a situation are you going to present to get your
audience to think, solve, debate?
6. Sketch out a rough narrative for your program. Describe what the
sequence of events will be for the program, incorporating the demographic and
timing. Include some leading questions to ask your audience - how will you keep
them engaged? How will you get them to think about systems and relationships?
This will evolve, but get something down on paper... ether... hyperspace...
7. UPLOAD YOUR ASSIGNMENT TO THE ESSEA SITE
8. UPLOAD YOUR ASSIGNMENT TO THE DISCUSSION SECTION
9. DO NOT DO THE TEAM RUBRIC FOR THIS WEEK - unless you really have
a hankerin' for Rubrics....
I always love the diversity of projects that come from this course, and this year is
no exception. Excellent Work!
************************************************************************
Monday 02 November 2009
Earth System Science in Your Backyard
and Virtual Fieldwork Experiences
Cycle A: Individual: Due Friday 06 November 2009
O.K. Here We Go! From now on we will focus on your final project, the design
and implementation of a programming or exhibit for use in your venue.
This week you will learn about Virtual Fieldwork Experiences, pick the
event/scenario for your VFE (your final project), and take your event/scenario
through the first three steps of the PBL model.
As has been the case elsewhere, your Assignment on the ESSEA site will vary
some throughout this module.
****The main points of the assignment will be found in
the Sample Investigations section of the module. *****
Again, the sooner you get your scenario and ideas uploaded to your Discussion
section, the easier it will be to comment on each other's work.
Here's the assignment: Due Friday 06 November 2009
1. Read the Rubric, Scenario and Module Details, Assignment (note that
this is the "pat" assignment list for PBL steps 1-3), Sample Investigations
and Resources.
2. After reading through all the material, Write a paragraph or two
describing your initial thoughts about your scenario. List your
understandings from an Earth system science point of view.
3. List what is known (what You know). Do an ESS analysis (include causal
chains with sphere incorporated into the narrative) of the event
that contains not only your current theories and ideas, but also the
reasons supporting that thinking (how you know what you now). Describe your
reasoning, including logical explanations.
4. Make a list of some questions you have related to the scenario and/or
to your current understanding.
5. Upload your Assignment - Make Sure you include your event/scenario
description.
6. Do the Rubric.
7. Post your assignment on the Discussion Section blog, and as soon as
possible, comment on your team mates' VFE scenarios and questions.
Don Duggan-Haas and Richard Kissel will be looking in to give
comments, answer questions, and help with development.
I'm very much looking forward to your VFE ideas!
************************************************************************
Monday 26 October 2009
Assignment Due: Friday 30 October 2009
The focus of this team assignment is to build an ESS model to support your team
problem statement and finish the PBL model as it applies to the scenario and
your chosen situation.
1. Read the Team Rubric for Cycle B, "ESS Analysis Rubric"
2. Read the assignment on the ESSEA site for "GCC Cycle B" - make
sure you read the assignment thoroughly, and if you have any questions
on the assignment, post them, and discuss them, as soon as possible.
3. Discuss if you need to revise your "to do" list based on comments and
the current assignment.
4. Research, Gather info, Answer your questions, and revise your
Problem Statement if needed.
5. Each of you upload your team's assignment to the ESSEA, which should
include:
a. Your Team's Scenario about the situation (what would be your "intro"; how
would you give background and information to the Senator?)
b. Your team's ESS analysis INCLUDING Causal Chains - be sure to also
incorporate the spheres into the narrative
c. The evidence/references for your team's work.
d. Your team's final problem statement
6. Do the ESS Analysis Rubric.
7. Post a picture of you in your Halloween costume on the Water Cooler
site (optional, but could be very interesting fodder for conversation...)
Keep in touch, and let me know if I can help with anything! - Carlyn..."boo"
************************************************************************
Monday, 19 October 2009
"Global Climate Change: Cycle A"
Individual Assignment Due: Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Team Assignment Due: Friday, 23 October 2009
The start of the "Global Climate Change" module! Cycle A is divided up into two
assignments: an individual, and a team. The first assignment may sound like a
lot, but is based on a relatively small amount of reading and your prior knowledge
regarding the scenario.
****The team assignment will depend on everyone posting the results of their
individual assignment by midnight, Tuesday.****
For this assignment we need to think about what the context of the scenario is;
e.g., Who is your audience (a particular senator, prior knowledge level,
particular demographic needs)? Given the scenario, how much time might you
have to complete this project (i.e., time to gather info and present it to the
Senator)?
For Tuesday, 20 October (by Midnight) - Individual Assignment:
* Read the Individual Rubric
* Read the Scenario
* Read the Assignment
* Write what you understand to be true - your Prior Knowledge - and the reasons
for those ideas about the scenario. No research yet - just your current
understandings of the situation.
** Make sure you list where your knowledge comes from; if you don't
know where your information comes from, state that.***
* Incorporate an ESS analysis into your Prior Knowledge understandings
* Upload your prior knowledge/ESS analysis assignment for a grade.
* Do the Rubric
* Post your understandings in your course discussion space.
* Review the sample investigations and resources.
* Read your teammates' postings and respond to at least TWO other person's
ideas in the course discussion space. (by end of Wednesday).
*********************
For Friday, 23 October (by Midnight) - Team Assignment:
In a nutshell, what your team will be doing here is, based on your postings from
Tuesday come up with a list of questions that need to be answered, assign each
team member a subset of those questions to research, generate a list of the
answers, and from that develop your team Problem Statement.
Be as specific as you can here. If you pick a specific senator, &/or specific
distric/area of the U.S., your Problem Statement will reflect an actual situation
much more, and refine your work immensely.
* Read the Team Rubric ("Knowledge Building Rubric").
* Review your teammates' questions.
* Discuss among your team mates what the key questions are and plan how to
investigate them as a team (assign roles for who is to do what, by when). Use
the PBL model steps to help you.
* List answers to your questions as you build knowledge together.
* By the end of the cycle, develop a team problem statement and post it in the
course discussion space. Upload assignment to the ESSEA site for a grade.
* Complete and submit the Team Rubric ("Knowledge Building Rubric") (each
team member needs to do this)
Team work is key - stay on top of things, and keep the conversation flowing!
************************************************************************
Monday 12 October 2009
"Orientation: 2nd"
Due Friday, 16 October 2009
"I Hear, I forget;
I See, I remember:
I Do, I understand." Chinese proverb
First, let’s get some announcements and changes out of the way.
1. There are some problems with faculty administrative access to the ESSEA site;
because of this, at this time although I can see that you've done them, I can not
access your Rubrics to comment. You all have comments on your assignments
on the discussion site - please review your comments. I’ve emailed the tech staff
at ESSEA about this, and a solution is forthcoming.
2. DO NOT do the “Volcano Scenario” for this week’s assignment. You will use
your ESS analysis that you generated last week for this week’s assignment.
3. We will NOT be doing “Orientation: 3rd” - from here, we will march straight
into the “Global Climate Change” module.
4. As an aside, remember that when talking about “earth” the ground we walk
on, the “e” is lower case. However, when one speaks of “Earth”, the planet, the
‘e’ is capitalized, just as in Saturn or the Moon. I’m just sayin’….
A few words on incorporating the PBL model and developing a Problem
Statements: This is, by far, the most difficult task in this course for many to wrap
their heads around. Creating a Problem Statement for any programming or
exhibit gives an entry point for your audience to inquire, to do. Anyone can
lecture (i.e., have people 'see'), but to get folks to understand, you need to have
them "DO" something.
Here is a brief summary of some of the salient points of PBL:
The PBL model is designed to help us understand;
(1) What do I already know about a particular scenario and event,
(2) HOW do I know the things I know (where did I get this information? What is
the integrity of my knowledge based on its source? This is perhaps the most
important step)
(3) What can I infer from my knowledge about this event/scenario? Here is
where ESS analysis comes in as a valuable tool to help elucidate the
ramifications of the event. This is, however, just based on your existing
knowledge – no research yet.
These steps will help you define what additional information you need to gather,
and also define your problem statement. This is an iterative process; you will,
perhaps, need to modify your ESS analysis, your problem statement, and your
scenario as you go along, particularly after you do some research.
Also, we need to talk about references: what is a good reference, our fiduciary
relationship with the public as science educators, etc. I’m working to revise a
current doc, and should have it out by the start of the Global Climate Change
module.
For this week’s assignment:
Due Friday 16 October 2009, Midnight PST
1. Take a look at others’ assignment and comment on at least three; what things
need to be considered? thoughts on other causal chains? etc.
“Gee, that’s a nice event!” is a wonderful comment, but unfortunately not entirely
helpful… Make any revisions to your analysis you need to make, based on
comments you have received.
2. Read through "Orientation: 2nd". Information on what the Problem Based
Learning model is and how to incorporate it into your analysis, as well as how to
develop a Problem Statement.
3. Using your revised analysis, create a new doc incorporating the following PBL
model steps:
a. List the Scenario and then the Event. Be specific here – give good
background information (scenario) that supports your analysis, and have a
specific Event – place, time, circumstances – in mind.
b. List your ideas and hunches about the Event. Your general thoughts and
ideas about the what led up to the Event, and possible ramifications of the Event
(see the Yellowstone example in the readings) are listed here.
Most important, list where you have obtained this information: “I remember this
from a course I took in college”; “I read a report from NOAA on their website a few
weeks ago”, “NPR”, “My mommy told me” (hey – so maybe your mom’s an Earth
scientist and may have fabulous credibility…), whatever it is, including “I’m not
sure where the heck I got this info”, the important thing is for you to question your
sources. Far too many folks in this world don’t do this very important step before
they start making assertions. Argh.
c. List what is known. Here is where you will put down your ESS analysis.
Here, again, if you make statements about this event causing “x”, you need to list
how you know what you know.
d. Come up with a problem statement. Remember: A problem statement will
require your audience to “DO” something – to inquire to solve a problem. You
will have needed to set up a sufficient scenario and event to make this work.
So, your assignment should look like this:
- Describe the Scenario
- Describe the Event
- Present your ESS analysis
- Introduce your Problem Statement
4. Upload your assignment to the ESSEA "Orientation: 2nd" site.
5. Post your assignment to your group's discussion section.
Do your honest best, cut yourself some slack, and don't feel it has to be
perfect. Again, we're getting our feet wet here and learning how the
process works. Keep in touch with each other, help others out when you
can, and I'll keep an eye on the site and comment when you need it.
Cheers!
************************************************************************
Monday 05 October 2009
"Orientation: 1st" - Assignment and Rubric
Due Friday, 09 October 2009
Our First Full Week! Note that our weeks will be from Monday to Friday (when
your assignment will be due). A few group assignments will be due on Tuesday.
This "Calendar" page will be updated Sundays, and will list your assignments for
the following week, as well as any information/changes regarding the ESSEA site
content.
Make sure you read the Calendar page every Monday to get that week's
assignment, and refer to this page if you have any questions about the
material. If you're still in the dark about something, by all means, drop me an
email or post on your group's discussion site.
Here is the full assignment for this week:
On the ESSEA Site "Orientation: 1st" and "Rubric"-
The main focus for this week will be reading background material (there is a good
deal of it), understanding the Problem Based Learning (PBL) model, and
getting proficient at navigating the sites.
1. Go to the ESSEA site: go to the "Orientation: 1st" section, where you will
find "Assignment" and "Rubrics". Most assignments will have Rubrics.
Read Through The Rubrics Before You Do the Assignment.
Why's that? Reading the Rubrics ahead of time will allow you to see what will be
expected of you in the assignment. If you haven't had a lot of exposure to them in
the past, it may seem a bit awkward at first, but do give it a chance. READ the
Rubric first. AFTER you have done the assignment, then DO the Rubric. I can
not grade your assignment without your completed Rubrics.
2. "Assignment": Read through the background material, and do the "practice
ESS analysis". Note: This is only a practice - although you will be assessed on
having done the assignment, we're just trying to get the concepts of ESS
analysis, and gel everything you've read up to this point. As long as you upload
your assignment on time, and give it a good college-try, you win!
You may read, throughout the ESSEA course, about a "journal", etc., you are to
keep. The actual "journal" is your cumulative work; both on the blog and
your uploaded assignments.
Do the assignment (the practice ESS analysis) on your computer, in the program
you like (e.g., Gantt chart, PowerPoint, Word doc, whatever) and save the file on
your computer.
3. Uploading your Assignment: Go to the ESSEA site, and click on our
course.
At the bottom (and top) of the "Orientation: 1st/Assignment" you will see, in red,
"Upload Assignments" - click there, and go through the instructions. Some
students find it easiest to keep a folder with their assignments on their desktop,
so they are more conveniently retrieved, and you don't have to go "digging" to
find them when it is time to upload.
4. "Rubric": Now you can do the Rubric. Your comments on the "rationale" are
particularly important. If you can convince me that what you did is rational and
based on concrete evidence, I might be more swayed in an otherwise unclear
assignment.
Communication is key for this course!! Please stay in touch with your group,
and me; let your group/me know the good, the bad, or if you are having any
troubles. Note that all
other ESSEA courses are written for inservice K-12 Teachers, not informal
educators. I am always interested in your opinions on how we can better
format this course for our community.
Cheers! - Carlyn
************************************************************************
30 September 2009
'Introductions' - Your First Assignment
due by Saturday, 03 October
Login to your Discussion Section: You should have received your login
information (user name, password) via email. Please look at the "Groups" list up
top on this website, find out which group you are in, and click into that section.
When you login, make sure to change your password right away, please. Then,
click into the Water Cooler area and do the same. Poke around, and see how
things work. The Discussion Sections are run through WordPress - which is great
because it is open source code that lots of folks use, but also can have issues
because it is open source code that lots of folks use. Do post any problems you
may be having in your Group Discussion section. If disaster strikes, you can
email me directly at csb36@cornell.edu.
For your first assignment:
Get familiar with the two sites, and each other:
1. Go to your Group Discussion Site and see the new post by Leo - He'll give
you an assignment for you and your group (you will introduce yourself, then
comment on at least three other posts). Please be timely in getting you intro up
on the site, as you all will need to read your intro, and comment.
2. For ESSEA: You should have gotten your user name and password for the
ESSEA website via the email address you used to register at SUNY. To login,
Click Here
change your password, and then read the "Introduction" sections and all
associated material. The "login" tab is in the upper right hand corner of the
ESSEA page.
Notes:
* When you see an assignment on the ESSEA site with a date of
"January 01, 2012",
that's your indication that we will NOT be doing that part of the ESSEA
assignment. There will be a couple of these, and I will certainly remind you of
this before the regular assignments are due.
* Speaking of which, we will not be doing the "Orientation 3rd" as it mainly
applies to K-12 teachers. I'll remind you again next week.
* You all are over the age of 18 - you do not have to complete the "Informed
Consent" on the ESSEA site.
Keep in touch, Have Fun -
Cheers! - Carlyn
*****************************************************************
Almost there...
For the remainder of the course we will refine our VFEs. They're
looking very good!! All of you have wonderful topics, and have
worked very hard to get these in shape to present to your
respective audiences.
Due Friday, 11 December 2009
Midnight
Please remember that I can NOT take late assignments, as
grades are due to SUNY immediately after the course is through.
1. Continue to collect website information, resources, pictures,
Google Earth material, etc. and add to your VFE. Do keep Earth
system science as a core principle of your VFE - it is one of the
main points of this course. You've all done exceedingly well
focusing your problem statements to "...Your Backyard" - fantastic.
2. Make any needed corrections to your outline, based on
comments from faculty and your fellow comrades. Most of you
know what you need to do; I will continue to add comments Monday
and Tuesday of this week. I am always available to help you all get
more info, resources, outside help, or whatever else you need.
Don't Be Shy about asking for help.
3. Post your newly revised VFE to the Discussion Section under
the Category:
"ESSIYB - Cycle C: Individual 2.0"
AND to the ESSEA Site
4. You will be getting a survey for the course shortly. I
encourage you all to take the time to do this, as your comments and
feedback - both positive and regarding those things we need to do
to improve the course - are extremely helpful in making this course
a valuable resource for future participants. There is talk of holding
a panel discussion at ASTC on informal educators PD, and I've
been asked to be one of the facilitators. Your constructive input
could have a great affect on this discussion.
5. Also please remember that before we can release funds to your
institution I will need:
A. a letter from you institution with a description of how you will
spend the $450 mini-grant, and to whom the check should be made
out to. You can email me a copy pdf if you would like.
B. a completed copy of your VFE. This can be a mailed DVD,
CD, or simply your completed VFE upload to the Discussion or
ESSEA site.
Again, I can not release funds until I have these two docs - gotta
justify taxpayer monies to NSF.
Keep in touch if you need ANYTHING - including me getting you
some outside advice on your VFE if you think it would be helpful -
and Good Luck.....'should be fun.....
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Monday 16 November 2009
Earth System Science in Your Backyard
Cycle B - "Team"
DUE TUESDAY 24 NOVEMBER
What a bunch of great VFE's! Some of you are startlingly close to
being finished. Keep in mind, that as soon as you can present a viable
piece of programming, that includes the principles we have been learning
in this course, you're done!
Having said that, I must give a warning that the final for this course is due
11 December 2009.
I CAN NOT ACCEPT ANY LATE FINALS
The reason for this is that grades are due 12 Dec, no exceptions. I will
need a completed copy of whatever form of technology you expect to
present - either a DVD, or PowerPoint, YouTube presentation - or
whatever is a reasonable facsimile of your presentation such that NSF
can see how US tax dollars were spent. I must keep a copy of it on file.
If you anticipate any problem with this, let me know now.
Part of your final will be to 1. fill out an evaluation, and 2. email/mail me
a letter stating what you will use the grant money for, written on your
institution's letterhead.
I'm sure I don't have to explain to this group the importance of
evaluation. All of the content in the course that we have kept, and
revised, has primarily come from the fabulous constructive criticism and
positive comments we've had from past students. It is extremely
valuable, and I very much appreciate your input.
I will need a letter of what you will use the grant money for from each
of you before we can release funds (NSF rules, not mine). This should
be in the form of a budget justification - what you intend to buy (how it will
be used, and how much it costs), or salary, etc. Just a paragraph or two
will suffice. I will also need an address to send the check to, and the
exact name of the institution/financial officer to whom the check is to be
made out.
'Nuff administration, on to business...
Our schedule from here on out will mainly be concerned with finalizing
the details: narrative, problem statements, Earth systems, and resources
etc. for your VFEs. I'm giving you all a bit of extra time for this
assignment - but don't get complacent, there is still a lot of work to do.
For this week's assignment: Due Tuesday 24 November
1. Review your comments and answer any remaining questions you
have regarding your present scenario and PS.
2. Refine your narrative. This needs to be as complete a narrative as
possible of what you will say during the program. How will you introduce
the scenario? The Problem Statement? The Resources? How will you
explain systems science? What examples will you use?
3. Incorporate the resources you will use into your narrative,
including all visuals, signage, pictures, etc., as well as the technology
you will use.
4. LOOK AT OTHERS' VFEs AND COMMENT - HELP EACH OTHER
OUT. This is the "team" aspect of this assignment. Look at your own
group, and go to the other group's site and see what they've done, too.
There are many common threads here, make use of it - It'll be fun!
5. Post to BOTH the ESSEA site and the Discussion section:
a. Your intended audience, and time frame, and where you intend to
give the program/exhibit.
b. Your Narrative
- Start with your Scenario and background information
- Incorporate Resources
- Incorporate Visuals (either place-holders, if you still need to
gather visuals, or actual visuals)
- Incorporate ESS (how will you describe and incorporate
systems science into your program?)
- Present your Problem Statement
c. Through your narrative, describe how you envision your audience
working to solve the problem. Is this a discussion? Is this a hike? An
exhibit? A Game? Research? A "hunt" of sorts? List leading questions
you will use; how you will keep them talking/working/inquiring?
Paint us as complete a picture of what your program will be as
possible. We'll have one more chance to hash over everything before
we're done.
We will be off (Yeah!) Thanksgiving weekend (26 - 29 Nov), and then
we'll have the last two weeks push to the finish line. I'll try to get
comments to you as fast as I can after Tuesday. All comments will be in
by end of day Sunday (29th), as well as the post for the final assignment.
Keep the communication lines open - Read each other's work; comment
and help each other out - don't be shy! Please, Please, Please, let me
know if you need help with any resources, wording, ref's, etc. Don and
Richard will be lurking-in to help here and there.
Keep up the good work!!
************************************************************************
Monday 09 November 2009
Earth System Science in Your Backyard
Please Note that all assignments are Individual Assignments
from here on out. We will not be doing "Team" Rubrics.
You WILL have/make input from/to your Team Mates, but you will
primarily be working individually, progressing through the PBL
model to create your final project.
Please remember that if you can not finish an assignment on time,
or are having problems completing an assignment, Email Me.
Having said all that....
This Week's Assignment is in two parts:
Due Tuesday, 10 November 2009 Midnight
1. If you haven't already, read your Team Mates' Scenarios and questions.
Make suggestions and comments based on what you understand the
problem/scenario to be.
- Feel free to take a peak at the other group's assignments - it can give you
more examples to run with.
Due Friday, 13 November 2009, Midnight
2. List all the questions you have regarding your Scenario, based on comments
from the previous assignment and comments thus far from your team mates -
things you need to find out, what you still don't know, what you need to follow up
on regarding your existing knowledge, etc.
3. Decide on your audience - middle schoolers? high schoolers? general
public? etc. - and the time frame you intend for the program. Do this on the
Discussion Section site.
4. Do some research - answer your and your team mates' questions as best as
possible. If you're having trouble finding information, ask your team mates or
email me. List your answers.
5. Refine your Problem Statement: What are you going to have your
audience "do"? What kind of a situation are you going to present to get your
audience to think, solve, debate?
6. Sketch out a rough narrative for your program. Describe what the
sequence of events will be for the program, incorporating the demographic and
timing. Include some leading questions to ask your audience - how will you keep
them engaged? How will you get them to think about systems and relationships?
This will evolve, but get something down on paper... ether... hyperspace...
7. UPLOAD YOUR ASSIGNMENT TO THE ESSEA SITE
8. UPLOAD YOUR ASSIGNMENT TO THE DISCUSSION SECTION
9. DO NOT DO THE TEAM RUBRIC FOR THIS WEEK - unless you really have
a hankerin' for Rubrics....
I always love the diversity of projects that come from this course, and this year is
no exception. Excellent Work!
************************************************************************
Monday 02 November 2009
Earth System Science in Your Backyard
and Virtual Fieldwork Experiences
Cycle A: Individual: Due Friday 06 November 2009
O.K. Here We Go! From now on we will focus on your final project, the design
and implementation of a programming or exhibit for use in your venue.
This week you will learn about Virtual Fieldwork Experiences, pick the
event/scenario for your VFE (your final project), and take your event/scenario
through the first three steps of the PBL model.
As has been the case elsewhere, your Assignment on the ESSEA site will vary
some throughout this module.
****The main points of the assignment will be found in
the Sample Investigations section of the module. *****
Again, the sooner you get your scenario and ideas uploaded to your Discussion
section, the easier it will be to comment on each other's work.
Here's the assignment: Due Friday 06 November 2009
1. Read the Rubric, Scenario and Module Details, Assignment (note that
this is the "pat" assignment list for PBL steps 1-3), Sample Investigations
and Resources.
2. After reading through all the material, Write a paragraph or two
describing your initial thoughts about your scenario. List your
understandings from an Earth system science point of view.
3. List what is known (what You know). Do an ESS analysis (include causal
chains with sphere incorporated into the narrative) of the event
that contains not only your current theories and ideas, but also the
reasons supporting that thinking (how you know what you now). Describe your
reasoning, including logical explanations.
4. Make a list of some questions you have related to the scenario and/or
to your current understanding.
5. Upload your Assignment - Make Sure you include your event/scenario
description.
6. Do the Rubric.
7. Post your assignment on the Discussion Section blog, and as soon as
possible, comment on your team mates' VFE scenarios and questions.
Don Duggan-Haas and Richard Kissel will be looking in to give
comments, answer questions, and help with development.
I'm very much looking forward to your VFE ideas!
************************************************************************
Monday 26 October 2009
Assignment Due: Friday 30 October 2009
The focus of this team assignment is to build an ESS model to support your team
problem statement and finish the PBL model as it applies to the scenario and
your chosen situation.
1. Read the Team Rubric for Cycle B, "ESS Analysis Rubric"
2. Read the assignment on the ESSEA site for "GCC Cycle B" - make
sure you read the assignment thoroughly, and if you have any questions
on the assignment, post them, and discuss them, as soon as possible.
3. Discuss if you need to revise your "to do" list based on comments and
the current assignment.
4. Research, Gather info, Answer your questions, and revise your
Problem Statement if needed.
5. Each of you upload your team's assignment to the ESSEA, which should
include:
a. Your Team's Scenario about the situation (what would be your "intro"; how
would you give background and information to the Senator?)
b. Your team's ESS analysis INCLUDING Causal Chains - be sure to also
incorporate the spheres into the narrative
c. The evidence/references for your team's work.
d. Your team's final problem statement
6. Do the ESS Analysis Rubric.
7. Post a picture of you in your Halloween costume on the Water Cooler
site (optional, but could be very interesting fodder for conversation...)
Keep in touch, and let me know if I can help with anything! - Carlyn..."boo"
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Monday, 19 October 2009
"Global Climate Change: Cycle A"
Individual Assignment Due: Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Team Assignment Due: Friday, 23 October 2009
The start of the "Global Climate Change" module! Cycle A is divided up into two
assignments: an individual, and a team. The first assignment may sound like a
lot, but is based on a relatively small amount of reading and your prior knowledge
regarding the scenario.
****The team assignment will depend on everyone posting the results of their
individual assignment by midnight, Tuesday.****
For this assignment we need to think about what the context of the scenario is;
e.g., Who is your audience (a particular senator, prior knowledge level,
particular demographic needs)? Given the scenario, how much time might you
have to complete this project (i.e., time to gather info and present it to the
Senator)?
For Tuesday, 20 October (by Midnight) - Individual Assignment:
* Read the Individual Rubric
* Read the Scenario
* Read the Assignment
* Write what you understand to be true - your Prior Knowledge - and the reasons
for those ideas about the scenario. No research yet - just your current
understandings of the situation.
** Make sure you list where your knowledge comes from; if you don't
know where your information comes from, state that.***
* Incorporate an ESS analysis into your Prior Knowledge understandings
* Upload your prior knowledge/ESS analysis assignment for a grade.
* Do the Rubric
* Post your understandings in your course discussion space.
* Review the sample investigations and resources.
* Read your teammates' postings and respond to at least TWO other person's
ideas in the course discussion space. (by end of Wednesday).
*********************
For Friday, 23 October (by Midnight) - Team Assignment:
In a nutshell, what your team will be doing here is, based on your postings from
Tuesday come up with a list of questions that need to be answered, assign each
team member a subset of those questions to research, generate a list of the
answers, and from that develop your team Problem Statement.
Be as specific as you can here. If you pick a specific senator, &/or specific
distric/area of the U.S., your Problem Statement will reflect an actual situation
much more, and refine your work immensely.
* Read the Team Rubric ("Knowledge Building Rubric").
* Review your teammates' questions.
* Discuss among your team mates what the key questions are and plan how to
investigate them as a team (assign roles for who is to do what, by when). Use
the PBL model steps to help you.
* List answers to your questions as you build knowledge together.
* By the end of the cycle, develop a team problem statement and post it in the
course discussion space. Upload assignment to the ESSEA site for a grade.
* Complete and submit the Team Rubric ("Knowledge Building Rubric") (each
team member needs to do this)
Team work is key - stay on top of things, and keep the conversation flowing!
************************************************************************
Monday 12 October 2009
"Orientation: 2nd"
Due Friday, 16 October 2009
"I Hear, I forget;
I See, I remember:
I Do, I understand." Chinese proverb
First, let’s get some announcements and changes out of the way.
1. There are some problems with faculty administrative access to the ESSEA site;
because of this, at this time although I can see that you've done them, I can not
access your Rubrics to comment. You all have comments on your assignments
on the discussion site - please review your comments. I’ve emailed the tech staff
at ESSEA about this, and a solution is forthcoming.
2. DO NOT do the “Volcano Scenario” for this week’s assignment. You will use
your ESS analysis that you generated last week for this week’s assignment.
3. We will NOT be doing “Orientation: 3rd” - from here, we will march straight
into the “Global Climate Change” module.
4. As an aside, remember that when talking about “earth” the ground we walk
on, the “e” is lower case. However, when one speaks of “Earth”, the planet, the
‘e’ is capitalized, just as in Saturn or the Moon. I’m just sayin’….
A few words on incorporating the PBL model and developing a Problem
Statements: This is, by far, the most difficult task in this course for many to wrap
their heads around. Creating a Problem Statement for any programming or
exhibit gives an entry point for your audience to inquire, to do. Anyone can
lecture (i.e., have people 'see'), but to get folks to understand, you need to have
them "DO" something.
Here is a brief summary of some of the salient points of PBL:
The PBL model is designed to help us understand;
(1) What do I already know about a particular scenario and event,
(2) HOW do I know the things I know (where did I get this information? What is
the integrity of my knowledge based on its source? This is perhaps the most
important step)
(3) What can I infer from my knowledge about this event/scenario? Here is
where ESS analysis comes in as a valuable tool to help elucidate the
ramifications of the event. This is, however, just based on your existing
knowledge – no research yet.
These steps will help you define what additional information you need to gather,
and also define your problem statement. This is an iterative process; you will,
perhaps, need to modify your ESS analysis, your problem statement, and your
scenario as you go along, particularly after you do some research.
Also, we need to talk about references: what is a good reference, our fiduciary
relationship with the public as science educators, etc. I’m working to revise a
current doc, and should have it out by the start of the Global Climate Change
module.
For this week’s assignment:
Due Friday 16 October 2009, Midnight PST
1. Take a look at others’ assignment and comment on at least three; what things
need to be considered? thoughts on other causal chains? etc.
“Gee, that’s a nice event!” is a wonderful comment, but unfortunately not entirely
helpful… Make any revisions to your analysis you need to make, based on
comments you have received.
2. Read through "Orientation: 2nd". Information on what the Problem Based
Learning model is and how to incorporate it into your analysis, as well as how to
develop a Problem Statement.
3. Using your revised analysis, create a new doc incorporating the following PBL
model steps:
a. List the Scenario and then the Event. Be specific here – give good
background information (scenario) that supports your analysis, and have a
specific Event – place, time, circumstances – in mind.
b. List your ideas and hunches about the Event. Your general thoughts and
ideas about the what led up to the Event, and possible ramifications of the Event
(see the Yellowstone example in the readings) are listed here.
Most important, list where you have obtained this information: “I remember this
from a course I took in college”; “I read a report from NOAA on their website a few
weeks ago”, “NPR”, “My mommy told me” (hey – so maybe your mom’s an Earth
scientist and may have fabulous credibility…), whatever it is, including “I’m not
sure where the heck I got this info”, the important thing is for you to question your
sources. Far too many folks in this world don’t do this very important step before
they start making assertions. Argh.
c. List what is known. Here is where you will put down your ESS analysis.
Here, again, if you make statements about this event causing “x”, you need to list
how you know what you know.
d. Come up with a problem statement. Remember: A problem statement will
require your audience to “DO” something – to inquire to solve a problem. You
will have needed to set up a sufficient scenario and event to make this work.
So, your assignment should look like this:
- Describe the Scenario
- Describe the Event
- Present your ESS analysis
- Introduce your Problem Statement
4. Upload your assignment to the ESSEA "Orientation: 2nd" site.
5. Post your assignment to your group's discussion section.
Do your honest best, cut yourself some slack, and don't feel it has to be
perfect. Again, we're getting our feet wet here and learning how the
process works. Keep in touch with each other, help others out when you
can, and I'll keep an eye on the site and comment when you need it.
Cheers!
************************************************************************
Monday 05 October 2009
"Orientation: 1st" - Assignment and Rubric
Due Friday, 09 October 2009
Our First Full Week! Note that our weeks will be from Monday to Friday (when
your assignment will be due). A few group assignments will be due on Tuesday.
This "Calendar" page will be updated Sundays, and will list your assignments for
the following week, as well as any information/changes regarding the ESSEA site
content.
Make sure you read the Calendar page every Monday to get that week's
assignment, and refer to this page if you have any questions about the
material. If you're still in the dark about something, by all means, drop me an
email or post on your group's discussion site.
Here is the full assignment for this week:
On the ESSEA Site "Orientation: 1st" and "Rubric"-
The main focus for this week will be reading background material (there is a good
deal of it), understanding the Problem Based Learning (PBL) model, and
getting proficient at navigating the sites.
1. Go to the ESSEA site: go to the "Orientation: 1st" section, where you will
find "Assignment" and "Rubrics". Most assignments will have Rubrics.
Read Through The Rubrics Before You Do the Assignment.
Why's that? Reading the Rubrics ahead of time will allow you to see what will be
expected of you in the assignment. If you haven't had a lot of exposure to them in
the past, it may seem a bit awkward at first, but do give it a chance. READ the
Rubric first. AFTER you have done the assignment, then DO the Rubric. I can
not grade your assignment without your completed Rubrics.
2. "Assignment": Read through the background material, and do the "practice
ESS analysis". Note: This is only a practice - although you will be assessed on
having done the assignment, we're just trying to get the concepts of ESS
analysis, and gel everything you've read up to this point. As long as you upload
your assignment on time, and give it a good college-try, you win!
You may read, throughout the ESSEA course, about a "journal", etc., you are to
keep. The actual "journal" is your cumulative work; both on the blog and
your uploaded assignments.
Do the assignment (the practice ESS analysis) on your computer, in the program
you like (e.g., Gantt chart, PowerPoint, Word doc, whatever) and save the file on
your computer.
3. Uploading your Assignment: Go to the ESSEA site, and click on our
course.
At the bottom (and top) of the "Orientation: 1st/Assignment" you will see, in red,
"Upload Assignments" - click there, and go through the instructions. Some
students find it easiest to keep a folder with their assignments on their desktop,
so they are more conveniently retrieved, and you don't have to go "digging" to
find them when it is time to upload.
4. "Rubric": Now you can do the Rubric. Your comments on the "rationale" are
particularly important. If you can convince me that what you did is rational and
based on concrete evidence, I might be more swayed in an otherwise unclear
assignment.
Communication is key for this course!! Please stay in touch with your group,
and me; let your group/me know the good, the bad, or if you are having any
troubles. Note that all
other ESSEA courses are written for inservice K-12 Teachers, not informal
educators. I am always interested in your opinions on how we can better
format this course for our community.
Cheers! - Carlyn
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30 September 2009
'Introductions' - Your First Assignment
due by Saturday, 03 October
Login to your Discussion Section: You should have received your login
information (user name, password) via email. Please look at the "Groups" list up
top on this website, find out which group you are in, and click into that section.
When you login, make sure to change your password right away, please. Then,
click into the Water Cooler area and do the same. Poke around, and see how
things work. The Discussion Sections are run through WordPress - which is great
because it is open source code that lots of folks use, but also can have issues
because it is open source code that lots of folks use. Do post any problems you
may be having in your Group Discussion section. If disaster strikes, you can
email me directly at csb36@cornell.edu.
For your first assignment:
Get familiar with the two sites, and each other:
1. Go to your Group Discussion Site and see the new post by Leo - He'll give
you an assignment for you and your group (you will introduce yourself, then
comment on at least three other posts). Please be timely in getting you intro up
on the site, as you all will need to read your intro, and comment.
2. For ESSEA: You should have gotten your user name and password for the
ESSEA website via the email address you used to register at SUNY. To login,
Click Here
change your password, and then read the "Introduction" sections and all
associated material. The "login" tab is in the upper right hand corner of the
ESSEA page.
Notes:
* When you see an assignment on the ESSEA site with a date of
"January 01, 2012",
that's your indication that we will NOT be doing that part of the ESSEA
assignment. There will be a couple of these, and I will certainly remind you of
this before the regular assignments are due.
* Speaking of which, we will not be doing the "Orientation 3rd" as it mainly
applies to K-12 teachers. I'll remind you again next week.
* You all are over the age of 18 - you do not have to complete the "Informed
Consent" on the ESSEA site.
Keep in touch, Have Fun -
Cheers! - Carlyn
*****************************************************************
| Calendar |
| Calendar |