Applying the 5 E Pedagogy to the Climate Change Lab

We have been doing this for how long?

• Essentially three labs– Temperature and

making thermocouples– Climate change and

preliminary field measurements

– Daily variations in temperature at the most extreme altered sites and one “natural” site

Temperature and Thermocouples• Engagement-Introduced

temperature as a concept– Interesting facts:

• Frigorific• Fahrenheit and his wife

• Exploration– Made thermocouples with

own hands• Explanation

– Not as important here: you needed to know you were going to use them

• Evaluation– You knew they worked and

seemed to understand how they worked

• Extending– We used the

thermocouples in the field

Climate Change Lab• Engagement

– Introduced climate change as a concept

• Is it happening now?

• Has it always happened

– Agents of climate change• Greenhouse gases

• ET impacts

• Modification of land by humans

– We were going to go outside and take the most frequently recorded measurements in reference to climate change

• Temperature

• CO2 concentration

Climate Change Lab• Exploration

– Everyone measured soil surface temperature at five different locations

– CO2 was measured by moi and the Centennial teachers

• Explanation– Organizing Excel file and

analyzing data• This portion was easy and

hard

– Determining reasons for the results

• Effects of evaporation from grasses, removing all vegetation, etc.

More Climate Change Lab• Evaluation

– Recording measurements successful– Data analysis needed more work

• Extending– Modifying exercise and taking measurements in the

second weekCLIMATE CHANGE ANOVAGRASS STREET BARE SOIL COASTAL SAGE OAK GRASS STREET

83.2 28.4444444 98.8 37.11111111 109.6 43.1111111 89.1 31.7222222 75.5 24.1666667 28.44444444 37.111111183.9 28.8333333 98.9 37.16666667 108.6 42.5555556 93 33.8888889 78.5 25.8333333 28.83333333 37.166666778.7 25.9444444 94.9 34.94444444 104 40 94.5 34.7222222 81.3 27.3888889 25.94444444 34.944444484.8 29.3333333 98.7 37.05555556 108.1 42.2777778 85 29.4444444 76.6 24.7777778 29.33333333 37.055555680.6 27 88.1 31.16666667 96 35.5555556 89.2 31.7777778 83.5 28.6111111 27 31.166666783.3 28.5 97 36.11111111 104 40 99 37.2222222 94 34.4444444 28.5 36.111111178.1 25.6111111 96 35.55555556 104 40 90 32.2222222 70 21.1111111 25.61111111 35.555555680.3 26.8333333 93 33.88888889 102 38.8888889 98.6 37 84 28.8888889 26.83333333 33.888888980.6 27 90 32.22222222 104.7 40.3888889 87.3 30.7222222 80.8 27.1111111 27 32.222222284.3 29.0555556 92 33.33333333 93.4 34.1111111 76.3 24.6111111 72.2 22.3333333 29.05555556 33.3333333

T-test comparisons P-value27.6555556 34.85555556 39.6888889 32.3333333 26.4666667 grass v. street 4.22406E-08 significantly different1.33918469 2.137938702 2.91067285 3.72788403 3.79599818 grass v. oak 0.362668931 not significantly different

bare soil v. street 0.000501127 significantly differentstreet v. sage 0.079903687 not significantly differentsage v. oak 0.002631841 significantly different

Taking More Measurements

• Engagement– If you were not engaged at

the beginning of this week, I was in big trouble

– Used data from the first week to pick three sites: lawn (modified, watered, coolest), denuded area by parking lot (modified, completely open), and canopy of coastal sagebrush (Artemisia californica; native shrub, no modification on purpose, an actual canopy

Measurements, anyone?

• Exploration– Over three days you

visited the different sites

• You measured soil surface temperatures AND air temperature

• We also measured CO2 concentrations at the soil surface and in the air

– Analyzing data, old school

WILL THIS EXERCISE EVER END?• Explanation

– How did the sites differ from each other?

– How were they similar?• Cover the possible

explanations for the results

• Extending– You can do this exercise or

something similar in your class

• Most schools at least have a parking lot and athletic fields

• Great exercise for data analysis

• 21st Century Skills

August 2, 2010 Air Carbon Dioxide Concentrations

410

420

430

440

450

460

470

480

490

10:00 13:00 15:00

Time (h)

[CO

2] (

pp

m)

Grass Open Sage