Use of Automated Weather Stations in Local Schools to Teach Science, Technology and Mathematics Literacy - continuation

To date we have developed two different Learning Resource Packages. The first teaching kit was written by Steven Toleikis (Monterey Elementary School) and Andrew Weaver (UVic). It provides a complete unit for teaching the foundations of the science of weather to students in the late Primary and early Intermediate grades. Framed around the grade four learning outcomes from the 2005 BC science curriculum but broadened beyond them, this comprehensive package of teaching lessons and resource materials assists educators who want their students to:

• Learn the basic science of weather and the basic properties of air,
• Practice weather watching techniques,
• Describe how weather is measured and reported,
• Learn how observing the weather can help in predicting it,
• Examine real time measurements of weather conditions, and
• Discover how weather impacts upon our world.

The second was written by Joyce Ramsden (Eagle View Elementary School) focuses on grade 4 science and math learning outcomes related to weather. It is being made available to teachers in the Greater Victoria School District (and elsewhere) to assist them in using the weather stations that have recently been installed in their schools; and to provide a weather unit that incorporates the newly reorganized B. C. science curricula.

By partnering with the Crystal Project through Node 2 it is hoped that further resources will be developed in collaboration with researchers in the faculty of education. For example, a database of relevant supplemental electronic and print resources is being created by Michelle Twigg. In addition, documents outlining the foundations and reforms in science and technological literacy are in development to anchor this unit (and others utilizing authentic inquiries and ICT experiences) into science literacy and technology literacy reforms.
In collaboration with Tim Pelton, Michelle Twigg is also developing a weather concept inventory (WCI) of weather-related (climate physics) misconceptions and interpretive items. The WCI seeks to help teachers identify student misconceptions about weather, physics and related STSE issues to inform lesson designing and planning. After calibration and validation it will also serve as a standardized assessment tool that can be used to support the evaluation of student understanding of the target concepts and the nature of science and technology following their participation in the weather unit. A library of appropriate performance tasks, rubrics and exemplars will also be developed to support broader evaluation needs.
The fundamental teaching and learning approach of this project is an attempt to engage and challenge students’ prior knowledge, allow them to establish questions of interest and to explore these question using concrete activities, consolidate, elaborate and enrich the knowledge claims constructed from their experiences, and to assess and document these ideas. This modified learning cycle has been identified as an effective guided inquiry approach suitable to elementary students and teachers, but few specific models or examples of the approach has incorporated authentic experience and ICT as done in this unit.
The relevance of this information to students’ everyday life and the fact that they already have an extensive personal history of observation of weather make it a particularly suitable topic for inquiry-based teaching strategies and to illustrate the collaborative nature of science.