Down and Dirty Science: Welcome to the Transfer of Energy through the Ecosystem
This resource-rich website has it all! Funded by eTech Ohio and produced by the WOUB Center for Public Media at Ohio University, this website targets at-risk students in grades 6-9. The site contains six teacher videos with links to instructional resources and various assessment strategies. The videos include: Food Web from an Insect’s Perspective; From Animal Waste to Human Waist; Gas from Bio-Mass: From Poop to Power; and Cooking with Compost. There are also corresponding student videos which are preceded by a pre-assessment and followed up by a post-assessment. This website allows the educator to u201cbrush upu201d on various environmental concepts revolving around the transfer of energy and energy flow within a food web. The teacher videos can be followed-up up with corresponding student videos with the same title. The teacher resources videos provide educators with background information and instructional strategies for each of the six student videos relating to the Down and Dirty Science modules. There are six modules of Down and Dirty Science and each module has both a student and a teacher video segment. The student video is designed to motivate students and engage them in learning fundamental concepts of energy transfer through the ecosystem. The teacher video provides educators with more in-depth information about the science and related math content presented in the student video as well as recommended web sites, lesson plans and assessment strategies. To glean the greatest impact from the teacher videos the teachers are encouraged to first preview the related student video before studying the content of the teacher video. It is also recommended that teachers review both the student video and its related Down and Dirty Science teacher video prior to showing the student video in the classrooms. There are many u2018talking pointsu2019 you can then discuss with your students after theyu2019ve viewed the video. Donu2019t take for granted that the students have captured all the inferences and made all the connections to their prior learning experiences. Some suggested talking points are provided in the teacher videos. On the Teacher Edition video screens there are six categories listed: 1. The Key Concepts of each episode are listed to help guide student learning. 2. In Teacher Resources and Lessons Ideas weu2019ve identified web resources that provide further background information and lesson ideas you could use with your students. 3. Included with each module are some possible Misconceptions your students may have concerning topics discussed in the episode. 4. A listing of Student Prior Knowledge of terms and concepts is provided to serve as a guide for how teachers might introduce the video or provide some review to reinforce student learning. 5. The Assessment Strategies offer ideas on Formative Assessment to monitor student progress as they work through the unit, as well as Summative Assessment strategies. 6. Under Standards you will find the primary science and math benchmarks and grade-level indicators, which come to light through viewing the video and conducting some of the suggested activities.
