In this online activity, learners discover how random variation influences biological evolution. Biological evolution is often thought of as a process by which adaptation is generated through selection.Œć While it is recognized that random variation underlies the process, emphasis is usually placed on selection and resulting adaptation, leaving a sense that it is selection that drives evolution.Œć This simulation highlights the creative role of random variation, offering a somewhat different perspective: that of evolution as open-ended exploration driven by randomness and constrained by selection, with adaptation as a dynamic, transient consequence rather than an objective.

Students develop their understanding of natural selection by analyzing specific examples and carrying out a simulation. The questions in the first section introduce students to the basic process of natural selection, including key concepts and vocabulary. The second section includes a simulation activity, data analysis, and questions to deepen students' understanding of natural selection, including the conditions that are required for natural selection to occur. In the third section, students interpret evidence concerning natural selection in the peppered moth and answer questions to consolidate a scientifically accurate understanding of the process of natural selection, including the role of changes in allele frequency. This activity is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.

In this activity, students make and manipulate physical shoreline models to discover the features of resilient shorelines and to critically evaluate the impacts of rising seas. Students will use NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer to observe a coastal area of interest and predict the consequences of sea level rise on people, the environment, and the economy. Though the curriculum references North Carolina, this lesson will work for all coastal areas.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) immunotherapy is a promising new technique for precisely targeting tumor cells. The technique works by using the patient's own cells to express a molecule that combines tumor antigen specificity with immune cell activation. Doctors have already had some success treating many types of refractory blood cancers. Unfortunately, conventional tools are limited when it comes to evaluating the efficacy and safety of CAR treatment, and the potential for high toxicity makes it critical to identify patients who will benefit from the treatment. To address this, researchers have developed a new method of predicting the efficacy and toxicity of CAR immunotherapy. The Synapse Predicts Efficacy (SPE) system begins by measuring the contact site between immune cells and tumor cells – the immunological synapse. The system relies on microscopic measurements of immunological synapse quality – particularly effective polarization of the immune cell to the antigen..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this nine-part exercise, students download NOAA high resolution bathy/topo DEMs and TIGER census data to predict the location of shorelines, the extent of inundation, and the number of people affected by sea level rise as a result of global warming and tsunami in various parts of the coastal US; extensions include developing a Map Book report with data driven pages and locating Pleistocene land bridges. You might also be interested in our Full GIS course with links to all assignments.

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An exit routine at the end of a lesson provides a safe, predictable and organised end to learning. It’s important to plan dedicated time at the end of a lesson to ensure a consistent exit routine can take place every time students leave the classroom.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Pancreatic cancer continues to have a high mortality rate due to a lack of effective early diagnostic and treatment approaches. However, secreted vesicles called exosomes could hold the key to unlock better strategies. These vesicles contain numerous cargoes, such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids and play roles in various processes, including cell–cell communication. Exosomes secreted from pancreatic cancer cells contain signaling molecules that promote cancer progression. These exosome cargoes suppress immunity, facilitate tumor blood vessel formation, and encourage fibrosis, thus creating a more pro-cancer microenvironment. Exosomes can also promote metastasis to distant regions and reprogram normal cells into cancer cells. Despite their negative effects, the molecules in cancer cell–derived exosomes can be used as valuable biomarkers for pancreatic cancer diagnosis and prognosis prediction..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The Externalities Game is a non-cooperative game that teaches students about the concept of environmental externalities and allows them to directly experience the moral dimensions of collective action problems. It has been particularly effective for teaching students about the moral aspects of the climate change. Grades are used to create the tension between earning individual grade points at the expense of group benefit. This is part of a research project funded by the National Science Foundation.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The Experimental Project Lab in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is a two-semester course sequence: 16.621 Experimental Projects I and 16.622 Experimental Projects II (this course). Students in 16.622 gain practical insight and improved understanding of engineering experimentation through design and execution of “project” experiments. Building upon work in course 16.621, students construct and test equipment, make systematic experimental measurements of phenomena, analyze data, and compare theoretical predictions with results. Deliverables comprise a written final project report and formal oral presentations. Instructions on oral presentations and multi-section reporting are given. Experimental Projects I and II provide a valuable link between theory (16.621) and practice (16.622).

Exploring Climate Science With Virtual Reality, a Teacher/Scientist Partnership experience. High school teachers engage with working scientists and engineers to for content learning for climate science and virtual reality and engage in follow-up sessions with professional development facilitators to develop pedagogical expertise for use in creating formative classroom tasks that are formative and productive. It is a three day initial workshop with four follow-up days to
1) deepen teacher understanding by learning with climate scientists to understand climate science standards content knowledge
2) increase awareness and knowledge of the use of virtual reality devices in climate science learning
30 to co-develop a climate science simulation game for use on Oculus Go devices with teachers, their students and a virtual reality scientist/engineer team
4) to develop and implement embedded formative classroom tasks that
complement climate science learning by using a relevant, place based phenomena, and provide insights into student thinking and productive next steps in learning.

Creative Commons License CC BY
Exploring Climate Science With Virtual Reality Professional Learning Module by Georgia Boatman, ESD 123 and Peggy Willcuts PNNL is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is a lesson about using analogues to look for life on other planets. Learners will use the results of previous lessons to write a scientific proposal to explore another planet or moon in our solar system for signs of life. This proposal should predict the types of energy and nutrients available to sustain life and describe equipment and instruments necessary for exploration and characterization of the target environment. This is activity 4, the capstone activity, in Exploring Deep-Subsurface Life. Earth Analogues for Possible Life on Mars: Lessons and Activities.

Students make predictions about "Bridge to Terabithia" and its characters, complete character studies, and relate the characters' experiences to their own as they identify ways to make and keep friends.

Average inquiry level: Structured
This groundwater lab is designed for online, asynchronous instruction and uses Google slides (or Powerpoint) so student can use the draw features. Within this lab, students will:

Evaluate and conclude the seasonal and annual trends of the water table from data monitored groundwater wells;
Predict and assess the permeability and porosity of different substrates and rocks;Â
Create a contour map and cross-section of the water table given data from multiple wells and draw the flow direction of water;
Predict and communicate the changes of the water table that could occur in response to different water-related scenarios;
Determine solutions for an area experiencing groundwater problems.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This simulation allows you to use a slider to see how positive and negative integers add on a number line.

Short Description:
Exploring Interpersonal Dynamics Through Role Play provides educators with the foundational materials required to facilitate simulations for students and professionals. Simulations offer an intensive form of experiential learning and professional development, allowing participants to apply concepts to practical scenarios in real time. This ebook contains simulations in business, healthcare, crisis communication and de-escalation. Learning materials include information for preparation, the simulation scenarios and prompts, video examples of how a simulation might run, as well as information on debriefing, additional resources, and possible assignments.

Long Description:
Exploring Interpersonal Dynamics Through Role Play provides educators with the foundational materials required to facilitate simulations for students and professionals. Simulations offer an intensive form of experiential learning and professional development, allowing participants to apply concepts to practical scenarios in real time. Much like real life, participants initially have limited information and time to prepare, but can experience how a situation might play out, experiment with their own responses, and reflect on their performance individually or in groups in a safer, low-stakes environment, before encountering a similar situation in their careers. Simulations provide rich opportunities for learner-driven dialogue, critical analysis, and engagement. Although many instructors like the idea of simulations, they may not know where to start, and live-actor or fully digital simulations can be costly to develop and to run. The simulations offered here create an inexpensive and effective experience to engage participants in real-time simulations and can be customized by the instructor with course-specific content. Each template consists of notes to the facilitator including set-up, the foundational scenario and initial prompts for participants, notes for debriefing both interpersonal elements and issues revealed during role play, resources, readings, and assignment suggestions. These textual materials are supported by videos portraying how a scenario might be established, how it might evolve, and how a post-simulation debrief might run. Between them, the contributors have decades of simulation experience they are excited to share with a broader audience via this open learning resource.

Word Count: 10437

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Watershed Awareness using Technology and Environmental Research for Sustainability (WATERS)

The WATERS project is developing and researching a student-centered, place-based, and accessible curriculum for teaching watershed concepts and water career awareness for students in the middle grades. This 10-lesson unit includes online, classroom, and field activities. Students use a professional-grade online GIS modeling resource, simulations, sensors, and other interactive resources to collect environmental data and analyze their local watershed issues. The WATERS project is paving a path to increased access to research-based, open access curricula that hold the potential to significantly increase awareness of and engagement with watershed concepts and career pathways in learners nationwide.

This material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. The software is licensed under Simplified BSD, MIT or Apache 2.0 licenses. Please provide attribution to the Concord Consortium and the URL https://concord.org.

This teaching activity addresses regional variability as predicted in climate change models for the next century. Using real climatological data from climate models, students will obtain annual predictions for minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation for Minnesota and California to explore this regional variability. Students import the data into a spreadsheet application and analyze it to interpret regional differences. Finally, students download data for their state and compare them with other states to answer a series of questions about regional differences in climate change.

In this lesson, students will use segments from Nature: Wild Balkans to explore the roles and interrelationships of organisms in the varied environments of the Balkan Peninsula. In the Introductory Activity, students will identify the Balkan Peninsula on a map and hypothesize what natural environments and wildlife might be present there. Students will use an interactive map to identify different regions of the Balkan Peninsula and the wildlife that resides in each region. In the Learning Activity, students will explore the regions of the Balkan Peninsula in more depth by viewing and discussing segments from the episode. Students will explore the habitats and wildlife of each region and the ways in which species collaborate and compete, as well as the role of humans in these environments. In the Culminating Activity, students will explore one species in depth and create a 3-D diorama or computer-generated simulation of the species in its environment. Students will discuss their projects with the class.

Students create a spreadsheet (or use the one provided) to gather planet data and put in categories. They massage spreadsheet to tease out relationship between distance from sun and revolution speed. They use data to predict speed and/or distance for Ceres, the new dwarf planet between Mars and Jupiter.

The Extreme Events Game is an in-person role-playing game that allows participants the experience of building community resilience in the face of disaster. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during a fast-paced disaster simulation.