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Environmental Science
AP Annual Conference Submission
Scott Sowell
teacher
Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School School of the Medical Arts
AP Environmental Science students should be familiar with how energy and biomass move within ecosystems. Constructing food chains, food webs, and ecological pyramids are common activities used to teach this content. However, at times these models can be seen by students as static and universal representations of the natural world, rather than dynamic and particular. We will explore two free, inquiry-based, on-line resources that require students to analyze authentic data and to generate meaning. During each activity, participants will have opportunities to learn/reflect from both a teacher/facilitator lens as well as a student/learner lens. Both resources contextualize the APES content within the real work of scientists in Panama. Therefore, teachers can use these resources to guide students through challenging content, while simultaneously placing explicit emphasis on the nature of science and the importance of supporting scientific explanations with data.