STEM Curriculum Rooted in Bear Research and Ecology
Bear Trust International is developing a new, expanded science-based education program rooted in bear research and ecology. This education program will include a compilation of narratives about field work with wild bears written by top bear scientists (The Bear Book, Volume II), a teacher’s guide that includes 12 STEM lessons linking directly to each narrative (The Curriculum Guide to The Bear Book, Volume II), web-based tutorials for more complex lessons that use wildife science technology (GPS, GIS, population modeling tools, etc.), a web application with four components for the “Carbon Footprint” lesson, a Social Networking Tool for students, and an online Education Portal that will house all program components. Lessons will target high school learners, help youth develop conservation awareness and environmental literacy through scientific inquiry, address STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math; a US campaign to help our students become more competitive in science and math) goals, meet National Science Standards, and address goals outlined by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). We will also use content from the Curriculum Guide to The Bear Book, Volume II to create professional development opportunities for high school teachers.
Our science-based program will be web-based, project-based, and free to educators everywhere!
Dynamic Learning: Maximizing Impact
From lesson development to implementation, our education program is designed to maximize impact. For example, bear scientists will share stories and data, Bear Trust will collaborate with graduate students for lesson development. High school teacherswill be given professional development opportunities and “teach the teacher”workshops, and then pass this information on as they teach lessons in-class to high school students. High school studentswill learn actively, and then teach a lesson to middle school students. High school students will also have access to a Social Networking Tool to connect with other high school students and discover differences and similarities in bear conservation of different bear species around the world.
BEARS Facility at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Bear Trust is collaborating with Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC), which will host an expanded version of Volume II in their upcoming, state-of-the-art Bears Education Awareness Research Sanctuary facility (BEARS).
Bear Trust and AWCC are collaborating to build a signature interface system in the BEARS facility that will connect visitors with bear studies around the world in real-time. Visitors touch a screen and get transported to Hudson Bay, where they see live footage of polar bears and learn about polar bear research and conservation being done by the Hudson Bay Project. Visitors touch another screen and get transported to Peru and learn about spectacled bear research and conservation. We will have eight interface portals, one for each bear species. We anticipate that some parents, students, and teachers who visit BEARS will want to bring Volume II home to their school districts.
Polar Bear Research: Hudson Bay Project
Bear Trust is collaborating with the Hudson Bay Project to develop at least one science-based lesson for the Curriculum Guide to The Bear Book, Volume II.
The Hudson Bay Project is a collaborative research program designed to examine biotic and abiotic interactions in the Hudson Bay area. As part of this program, field scientists are evaluating the predator-prey interactions between polar bears and nesting snow geese.
Do polar bears eat snow goose eggs? Yes, it’s been documented. Now, it’s time to quantify it.
Results and data that stem from this study will be translated into exciting, timely science-based lessons that help teach conservation and environmental literacy. As students learn cool things about polar bear ecology, they will simultaneously hone skills in science, math, technology, ecological modeling, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communications.
Polar Bear Research: Polar Bears International
For our Carbon Footprint Lesson in the Curriculum Guide to The Bear Book, Volume II, Bear Trust is collaborating with Polar Bears International, who is also writing a narrative to link to the Carbon Footprint Lesson.
The Carbon Footprint Lesson will include the following 4 web applications:
A. Current Country Emissions: This section will feature a spinning world where the student can click on one of ten highlighted countries. When selected, a content box will display a graphic that demonstrates the levels of emissions produced by that country and what the primary emission sources are.
B. Calculate Your Family Footprint: This will be a survey form with about 30 questions regarding the student’s personal carbon footprint.
C. Take the One Ton Challenge: Students select areas of savings from a predefined list. As items are selected the program displays the level of carbon savings based on the consumption base line from Section B. Drag and drop feature will be used for adding items to a “savings bucket” to make a difference.
D. Scale It Up: Based on the savings from Section C, the program will show those savings extrapolated for the student’s community, state, country, and the world based on population estimates. It will also show the information from Section A as the baseline compared to the new reduced numbers.
Examples of Lesson Topics:
1) Population Demography:
Using real capture-recapture data to estimate population survival and growth rates for bears
-How do annual survival and growth rates change over 30 years?
-What are the relative effects of natural bear foods, human trash, and harvest on bear demography?
-How do roads affect survival?
2) Bear Movements:
Using real GPS locations to estimate habitat selection and home ranges of wild research bears
-Where do bears spend their time and why?
-How does availability of natural bear foods and human trash affect bear movements?
-How do roads affect bear movements?
3) Bear DNA and Dispersal:
- Using genetic markers to understand gene flow
4) Using Hair Snare Data to Estimate Population Density
5) Polar Bears and Climate Change
For this lesson, Bear Trust is collaborating with the Hudson Bay Project.
6) Carbon Footprint Lesson:
For this lesson, Bear Trust is collaborating with Polar Bears International. This lesson will link to a story about polar bears written by Polar Bears International and will include 4 web applications (please see above).
Please help us!
We are well on our way to making The Bear Book Volume II and Curriculum Guide a huge success. We have a successful project template, we have 11 of the 12 authors we need for chapter development, and we have a “teach the teacher” workshop format to maximize education outreach.
To make this innovative education program a reality, we need a little financial help.
Bear Trust is a 501 (c) (3), so donations are tax-deductible. Every penny donated goes directly into the science-based education program that will be FREE to all educators and youth everwhere. Want to help? CLICK HERE
To learn more, please contact Bear Trust’s executive director: Melissa Reynolds-Hogland 406.523.7779; melissa@beartrust.org