week 1
week 2
week 3
week 4
week 5
week 6
week 7
week 8
week 9
week 10
week 11
week 12
week 13
week 14
week 15
week 16


Week 4: Coral Reefs
Weeks 4, 5, and 6 make up the first three-week cycle of the course. Currently, you are in the first week - Week A: Teacher as Problem Solver. 

This week, you are the problem solver - tackling the Coral Reefs Scenario. Experience problem based learning by thinking through what you already believe and know (your private theories) and then building knowledge with your teammates. Learn as much as you can about Coral Reefs this week, so you can build Earth Systems Science models next week, and design lessons in the third week.

Assignments

Individual: (by midnight Wednesday)

  • Read the Private Theory Rubric.
  • Read the Coral Reefs Scenario.
  • Think about what you believe to be true and the reasons for those beliefs about coral reef destruction. Submit these private theories and prior knowledge for a grade to your Portfolio in the Classroom.
  • Post your theories in the Classroom Teacher as Problem Solver space.
  • Review the readings and resources below.
  • Read your teammates' postings and respond to at least one other person's theories in the Teacher as Problem Solver space in the Classroom.

Need more detailed instructions? Click here

 

Team: (by midnight Sunday)

  • Review the Knowledge-Building Rubric.
  • Brainstorm a list of questions you think you need to answer to understand the scenario.
  • Post your questions in the discussion space in the Teacher as Problem Solver space in the Classroom .
  • Review your teammates' questions.
  • List the key questions and plan how to investigate them as a team.
  • List answers to your questions as you build knowledge together.
  • By the end of the week, develop a team problem statement and post it in the Teacher as Problem Solver space in the Classroom. Submit it for a grade to your Portfolio in the Classroom.
Need more detailed instructions? Click here

 


Readings

You will want to locate other resources locally and on the Internet to supplement these. Post the resources you find in the Resource Space in the Classroom.


Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Potential Threats to the World's Coral Reefs published online by World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20006  

"Coral Reefs in Glass Tanks." Losing Biodiversity: Global Systems Science Student Guide. p 69.

Refer to the Sample Week A Volcano Hypothesis and Analyses and the Sample Week A Volcano Questions and Problem Statement for a model.

Problem-Based Learning Model provides an example of how to examine an Earth Systems Science event (a volcano) within the Problem-Based Learning approach.


Web Sites

Reef Zone Tour Explore the seven large scale physical features (zones) within the coral reef ecosystem.

Coral Reef Ecology This site from the Biology Department at the University of Charleston presents various areas of coral reef research. Of particular interest are "Coral Optics and Remote Sensing" and "NASA/CMC Remote Sensing of Coral Reefs".

Reef Life What is special about coral reefs? Where are coral reefs located? How many different types of coral reefs are there? The answers to these and many other frequently asked questions about coral reefs can be found here.

Coral Reefs: Rainforests of the Sea Join the Oceanic Research Group to learn how coral reefs grow, why they are important, what is threatening them and how everyone can help save them. Download a 25 second clip from this award winning film, or view the entire script with selected images.

Corals in Crisis Examines the reasons why since 1980 we have seen a rapid decline in the vitality of coral reefs and their ecosystems worldwide.

Mapping the Decline of the Coral Reefs Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and at several universities around the world are compiling detailed images from high-resolution satellites which will be useful for identifying large-scale threats to the reefs.

Coral Reef Images Landsat 7 images of the world’s coral reefs.

 

[ Back to Outline ]


[ Home ] [ Intro ] [ Guide ] Outline [ Classroom ]


HTML code by Chris Kreger
Maintained by ESSC Team
Last updated May 14, 2002

Privacy Statement and Copyright© 1997-2000 by Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA Classroom of the Future™. All rights reserved.

..
..