Using Excel To Teach Polar Data To High School Students

Abstract:

ENgagement through GUided INquiry modules, or PENGUIN modules, give students hands-on experience working with polar data and research, on topics such as polar ice melt and ice cores. The modules include working through Excel spreadsheets or coding in Python through Jupyter notebooks. The original goals of the study included determining whether these modules could teach undergraduate students about polar regions. Student survey results indicate that students felt they knew more about polar data after completing the modules.

In the current project, the aim of the study is to convert the modules to the High School level. Modules modified to the High School level include the following. In a module about sea level rise, students view different scenarios for sea level rise, link them to melting of polar land ice, and see how this affects flood levels. In an ice core module, students examine oxygen isotope data from ice cores and use it to track temperature over time. Finally, we created a new module about how warming waters impacts penguin nest populations. To improve usability at the High School level, modules that use Jupyter notebooks were modified to use Excel spreadsheets. In addition, math standards were incorporated into the modules. The three modules will be used in an Algebra 2 class in Tacoma, Washington. Based on lessons learned, the modules will be revised and improved so they can be used more broadly.