Pixel International Conferences

The goal of this project is to build a successful four year Funds for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE-CAPES) collaboration between Colorado College (USA) and the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (Brazil). The FIPSE-CAPES project established new faculty-to-faculty collaborations for the enhancement of teaching science and field work distinctive to the natural settings of the host institutions and established innovative, inquiry-based environmental field experiences, data-driven learning modules, and course materials to be used by pre-teaching professionals as part of their teacher training.  As a result of the FIPSE-CAPES project, we established a framework for developing curricular materials for pre-professional teachers. The first set of materials focuses on issues related to Water Resources and utilizes the curricular design framework:

ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S)

What essential question(s) are we trying to answer? This section includes information about what scientists currently understand and the issue relates to climate change and the hydrologic cycle. We also include standards for learning in Brazil (PCN) and in the US (NGSS). The aim of this section is to describe why the information is important for teachers to know and understand.

CASE STUDY

Provide an example that illustrates the social issue and scientific understanding. Discuss the context of the problem. Is this problem unique? 

PROS AND CONS or BENEFITS AND COSTS

Policy makers are sometimes faced with conflicting ideas about how to address the environmental problem. What are the pros and cons of these ideas? What might be the best solution?

CHALLENGES TO SCIENCE EDUCATION

What can teachers do? What are some other similar cases they could discuss with their students?  What are some other ideas for further reading and or curriculum materials that might help teachers?

RESOURCES

List scientific resources, useful websites, and/or books that will help the teacher learn more.

We present here our preliminary materials and invite comment on four major topics: water use for agriculture; water use for energy; water use for human consumption; and, water for maintaining ecosystem biodiversity.