The goal of this project was to develop scientific thinking in a 2nd year undergraduate environmental science course. Six videos cover topics of pollination, sustainable fisheries, invasive species, wildfire management, water resources and alternative energy production. A series of in-class activities use these videos to practice asking scientific questions and aligning questions with data. The in-class activities can be prompted by any of the these videos. The same video may be used for more than activity or each activity can be prompted be a new video.
These activities were developed for ENVR 200 Introduction to Environmental Science, the first course in a series of three core courses that culminate in a two-term collaborative community capstone project. To prepare students for a successful capstone project, both scientific questioning and community generated science must be introduced early and often. These video prompted in-class activities provide an opportunity to bring to community voices and perspectives into the classroom while developing scientific thinking.
Goal
The first activity has two goals: to get students to summarize one challenge presented in a video and articulate a scientific question relating to that challenge. There are many challenges presented in each video. Giving students the ability to choose which challenge resonates with them allows the class diversity to be supported.
Learning objectives:
- Synthesize environmental information from a variety of sources and viewpoints
- Articulate a testable scientific question and consider relevant sources of data
- Iteratively monitor and improve your own process of learning
Resources
- Lesson Plan [Link]
- Power Point [Link]
- Videos
Goal
The second activity "Aligning Data with Questions" reinforces the skills gained in activity one and proceeds to make the science more concrete by asking: What data would you need to answer that question?
Learning objectives:
- Synthesize environmental information from a variety of sources and viewpoints
- Articulate a testable scientific question and consider relevant sources of data
- Iteratively monitor and improve your own process of learning
Resources
- Lesson Plan [Link]
- Power Point [Link]
- Videos
Goal
The third activity "Science and Society" allows students to evaluate which questions were asked and which were not. The creativity of science can be highlighted as the needs of society are met.
Learning objectives:
- Consider the role of science in society
- Iteratively monitor and improve your own process of learning
Resources
- Lesson Plan [Link]
- Power Point [Link]
- Videos
About the Videos:
These videos were created as pedagogical devices for a second-year Environment Sciences course within the Department of Earth, Oceans, and Atmospheric Sciences at The University of British Columbia (UBC). The videos develop around a series of central themes related to environmental science from a social and community standpoint. They will be used to help students form multifaceted opinions of environmental science projects at the community level to provide an understanding of the dynamic nature of scientific inquiry from a social standpoint.
Except where otherwise noted, these resources are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. If you have any questions about reuse, please contact me.