Ramsey High School Science Department staff Jacklyn Parrella and Samantha Laschak recently attended the Climate on My Campus: Using Field-Based Data in the Classroom workshop, hosted by the New Jersey School of Conservation.
At this event, Ramsey staff worked with regional scientists who are actively involved in ongoing research. The program focused on methodologies of data collection so teachers can integrate near or real-time data into curriculum. The agenda also included:
Identifying local indicators of climate change.
Participating in a tree coring exercise and collecting dendrochronology data for an active research project.
Collecting data from the NJSOC campus to design a new schoolyard to reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect.
Combining art and science to interpret and illustrate graphs to convey the “Bigger Picture” of climate change.
Go deeper: This workshop is supported by the MBARI EARTH (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Education and Research: Testing Hypotheses) program that brings together educators and researchers with the goal of bringing real data into classrooms.
Why it matters: Staff engaging in best-practice professional learning and who make professional connections outside of the district bring back practices and knowledge that we can apply with our students.
🐏 In addition, Ms. Leschak also adopted a float which will be launched in a few months off the coast of California. It is appropriately named, Rowdy the Ram.