Transcript USING INTERNET TOOLS FOR TEACHING CLIMATE ISSUES Imbi Henno

USING INTERNET TOOLS
FOR TEACHING CLIMATE ISSUES
Imbi Henno
National Examination and Qualification Centre
Today’s problems
A declining interest in the study of science.
 Old-fashioned methods of learning and
teaching.
 A single-subject approach of teaching.
 Scientific knowledge as the most important
part of environmental education.

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Seeing education anew
The traditional science education needs to be
re-thought in light of changes.
 It is important to formulate a vision of why
and how we have to change methods.
 Teachers have to be able to promote the
students` problem solving skills, autonomy
and ability to reflect, conceptual thinking.
 It is important to to create new teaching and
learning styles supported by new media and
technology.

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The GLOBE program
One challenge and remarkable initiatives
is the GLOBE program.
 The GLOBE program provides teachers
with the opportunity of using Web-based
materials in their teaching.
 GLOBE
provides
an
inquiry-based
approach to studying and understanding
the environment as a science.

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The e-LSEE project represents
innovative approach to science

ELSEE project:

builds a real integration between the ICT and
regular school education,
 stimulates teachers to use ICT as a
pedagogical and didactical tool in their subject
teaching.

The developed educational materials
support multi-disciplinary inquiry-based
learning, project work and teamwork by
students.
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The Estonian National Curriculum
for Basic and Secondary Schools
The last version of Estonian National
Curriculum for Basic and Secondary
Schools was approved by Government in
January 2002.
 The general part of our national curriculum
establishes such universally recognised
issues as:

 development of all students,
 student’s activity and responsibility,
 balance and integration,
 problem orientation
 curriculum"ELSEE"
openness
and etc.
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Our national curriculum supports the use
of ICT in schools at all levels and in all
subjects.
 One of so-called “integrated themes” in
our curriculum is topic environment and
sustainable development
 Each school is free to draw up its own
curriculum and subject syllabi on the
bases of the national curriculum. Teachers
are free to use the teaching methods and
textbooks of their choice.
 In Estonia the geography teaching begins
at grade 7.

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The objectives for geography
teaching in Estonia
The objectives are to ensure that the students
are able:

to understand the natural phenomena and
processes on the Earth and the relations between
them;
 to value the possibilities of human actions as well
as the consequences of human activity in
different natural conditions;
 to understand the need for sustainable use of
resources;
 to read and use maps and to use geographic
knowledge acquired in school in everyday life etc.
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Climates issues
We start with topic climate in grade seven
 Much time is devoted to:

 the
factors affecting climate;
 solar energy and its seasonal changes;
 energy balance;
 the impact of the ocean on the climate;
 continental and maritime climate;
 the impact of the relief on the climate and
other themes.

The GLOBE program provides excellent
recourses for studying these geographic
themes.
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A web-based material
“Continental and marine climates”
The educational task was to compose on
the basis of GLOBE recourses and the
themes of curricula of Estonia and other
developed countries the e-learning and
teaching materials.
 The web-based material was developed to
support teachers to use internet tools for
teaching climate issues.

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
The material is divided into several pages
for teachers and learners:
 background
information;
 students` worksheets;
 self-evaluation tests;
 recommendations for teachers.

The materials include simple guidelines for
using data and images from the GLOBE
database.
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Time requirement and
recommendations on age of learners

A majority of activities can be done with
three class periods.

This web-based material provides a range
of activities, from activities to be used by
teachers of intermediate level students to
advanced activities for the advanced level.
"ELSEE" conference 2003 in Tartu, Imbi Henno
Educational goals and keywords

The educational goals of this web-page
are:

to develop students` understanding that
climatic condition at different distances from
oceans and at same latitude are very
different;
 that
the temperature and precipitation
patterns are influenced by a combination of
latitude, elevation and geography.

The keywords of this web-page are
climate, air temperature, precipitation and
latitude, marine and continental climate.
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Development of different skills
The material promotes the development of
different skills:
 Mapping data with the GLOBE Student
Data Server to explore continental and
marine climate patterns.
 Graphing GLOBE data.
 Generating questions and developing
hypotheses.
 Designing and conducting an investigation.
 Drawing conclusions.
 Communicating conclusions to others.
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Student worksheet:
Coastal and inland climate comparison
The first page topic "Climatic conditions at
same latitude" of web-page “Continental
and marine climates” provides background
information for students.
 This page provides instructions: "How to
display different maps?" how to use GLOBE
data and graphing tools to display regional
and global temperature and precipitation
patterns data on maps.
 For comparing coastal and inland differences
students can use worksheet "Coastal and
inland climate comparison".

"ELSEE" conference 2003 in Tartu, Imbi Henno
Student worksheet:
School investigations comparison
Students have to compare same latitude
climate patterns of sites at different
distances from oceans in North America
and Europe (student’s worksheets:
“School Investigations Comparison I and
School Investigations Comparison II”).
 The student's worksheets (doc files)
“Comparing Mean Temperature and
Monthly Precipitation Data” No 1 and No 2
(these worksheets could be filled
electronically or could be printed before
hand) and “Self-evaluation test No 5” is for
filling in the classroom.

"ELSEE" conference 2003 in Tartu, Imbi Henno
Learning process
Various worksheets and electronic tests
provide teachers with necessary feedback.
 Worksheets can be used without any
changes or might serve as examples for
teachers to work out their own ones.
 Students can work individually or in small
groups and develop a class-wide
understanding of each site they studying.
 The analysis can also be assigned as
homework.

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By the end of this activity, students should
be able to prove and to use graphs and
data to support the claim that continental
and marine climate patterns are different
and influenced by a combination of
latitude, elevation and geography.
 A comparison of using GLOBE recourses
in classroom with non-using have been
shown that the using GLOBE recourses
produces positive impact on student
learning
and
performance
(less
memorizing),
improves student higher
order thinking skills (interpreting data).

"ELSEE" conference 2003 in Tartu, Imbi Henno


The other GLOBE examples of good
practice
The ideas and concepts, tested in
GLOBE, are represented also in a
regular textbook. Mr. Mart Kuurme,
a GLOBE teacher of Tallinn
Science High School recently
issued a science textbook for grade
7 that was approved by Ministry of
Education. The textbook and the
accompanying worksheets include
several
hands-on
activities
originated
from
the
GLOBE
Program.
GLOBE data have also been used
in the yearly national progress tests
in science and mathematics,
organised by Ministry of Education
for school stages I and II (stage I "ELSEE" II
conference
2003 in Tartu,
grades 1 - 3; stage
- grades
4 Imbi
- Henno
Thank for your attention
"ELSEE" conference 2003 in Tartu, Imbi Henno