Melting Ice Bergs

What happens if the polar ice caps melt? Well, if our experiment is any indication, nothing! Actually I did have one drop of water drip down the side of my bowl, but it never hit the counter.

After I conducted the experiment I did a bit of research. I found that North Polar ice caps float in water therefore, as in our experiment, if they were to melt it would not cause flooding. Because frozen water expands, and because there is ice under the water taking up space, when the icebergs in the north pole melt the water takes up the same amount of space within the water as it did as when it was frozen.

The South Pole icebergs on the other hand are sitting atop the Antarctica. If they were to melt there would be increased water levels around the world. Most articles I read did not think the increase would be more than a few meters; however, just a few meters would be enough to flood low-lying cities and even entire low-lying countries like Indonesia. This would have many negative consequences on these areas – homes and businesses ruined, diseases causes by stagnant mosquito infested water, etc.

This Science Inquiry Experience seems as though it models a guided inquiry format because it was framed with plenty of questions which guided your direction. I feel more comfortable with this type of format as a student and as a teacher than the open inquiry format.

STEM Skills Lesson Plan

This week I created a lesson plan on natural selection for our assignment on teaching STEM skills. I found the process very helpful, although it took much longer than I anticipated. I spent much of my time researching because I have never taught natural selection, but it is standard I will be teaching within the month, so it was time well spent.
I like the process of using the Five E's. I believe it kept me focused on achieving the desired outcome of learning. It was different than the way I usually plan. Because I've been teaching quite a number of years, I find that sometimes I don't plan as in depth as the Five E's requires one to do. I certainly do not go through everything that was required of us on the lesson plan template. I liked that we were asked to accommodate diverse learners during that part of the process, because unfortunately I don't always think of all of the diversities in my classroom.
When I implement this lesson, I will do so exactly as I have written it. I do not think there will be any issues with the lesson itself, the only problem I could possibly foresee is difficulty in acquiring a good variety finch pictures.

Starting Something New

Starting something new is always exciting, but is often coupled with a bit of apprehension for me. Hopefully the jitters of starting this new blog and this new course will pass quickly and I will be able to take in all that I am meant to learn. :)