DESIGNING & TEACHING
INQUIRY LEARNING ACTIVITIES
through Backwards Design
For the past two years I have been participating in the Workshops for Engineering & Science Transfers (WEST) hosted by the Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators (ISEE) at UCSC. WEST main goal is integrating transfer students into the UCSC STEM community. I participated designing and teaching two activities/workshops: Climate WEST and Iso WEST.
CLIMATE - WEST 2019
CLIMATE-WEST TEAM
From left to right, we are: Hope Ianiri, Gemma Carroll,
Robin Trayler, and myself (Design Team Leader)
INQUIRY ACTIVITY: CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE
The main concept of our activity is climate variability and change. Climate varies over space and time due to both natural and man-made processes. In this activity, learners explore the concept of climate variability by analyzing patterns in both global and regional climates, and investigate how they are projected to change in the future. At the end of the activity, learners present their research in a professional-quality poster format. This interdisciplinary activity is valuable for science students undertaking any major who wish to gain a deeper understanding of climate variability and change.
ISO - WEST 2018
ISO-WEST TEAM
From left to right, we are: Michelle K. Drake, myself,
Kimberley Mayfield (Design Team Leader) and Joseph Murray
INQUIRY ACTIVITY: ISOTOPE? MORE LIKE ISODOPE!
Our activity focuses on the concept of isotope geochemistry to investigate environmental science phenomena. Stable isotopes, as opposed to radioactive ones that are often in the news, are used as powerful tools across a wide array of STEM fields here at UCSC. In this activity, participants learn about some of these powerful tools and how to apply them to answer questions, make predictions, and untangle complicated environmental problems. By the end of the workshop, learners will have a greater understanding of isotope geochemistry and how to prepare a professional-quality poster for a research presentation.