ARCHIVED CONTENT: In December 2020, the CZO program was succeeded by the Critical Zone Collaborative Network (CZ Net) ×

K-12 Education

A national-scale CZO education and outreach effort has begun.

The CZOs participate in a variety of organizational forums to develop a focused and effective education and outreach presence.  

Anthony Aufdenkampe, Susan Gill (Stroud Water Research Center, Christina River Basin CZO), Douglas Jerolmack (University of Pennsylvania, Luquillo CZO) and Timothy White (CZO national coordinator) engage U.S. Represenative Chaka Fattah during his visit to the CZO booth at the 2011 STEM conference in Philadelphia.

Educational Resources (examples for K-12)

  • Grades K - 8

    Notice & Wonder: Foundation for scientific Inquiry in the CZ

    All Disciplines +

    Activity & Lesson Plan

    Preview

    National

  • × Five icons (e.g., eye, hand) that help illustrate key observations used for scientific inquiry of the Critical Zone such as 'I notice...' and 'I wonder...'

    Grades K - 8

    Notice & Wonder: Foundation for scientific Inquiry in the CZ

    All Disciplines • Hydrology • SoilScience/Pedology

    Activity • Lesson Plan

    Learn how the words “I notice...” and “I wonder...” can spark an exploration of the Critical Zone. Dive into the question: "Where does water go when it rains?". This set of activities was developed for AGI Earth Science Week 2018.

    Educational Objectives

    After this activity, students will be able to:

    • Observe and record Earth surface and environmental phemomena using their senses. 
    • Question their observations and hypothesize cause-effect relationships, functions of particular structures, and predictions of how a property or process may change over time or across space. 
    Visit this resource (pdf)

    See CZO listing


    NGSS Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect - Mechanism and Explanation • Energy and Matter - Flows, Cycles, and Conservation • Structure and Function • Stability and Change

    NGSS Science & Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems • Planning and Carrying Out Investigations • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

    NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas: ESS2 - Earth’s Systems


    Audience: K-12

    Observatory: National CZO

    Author: Michelle Gilmore (University of California, Merced)


    Funding: National Office of the Critical Zone Observatory Program

  • Grades K - 8

    A tree's water cycle

    Biology/Ecology +

    Activity & Lesson Plan

    Preview

    Sierra

  • × Illustration of tree roots growing downward through layers in the soil.

    Grades K - 8

    A tree's water cycle

    Biology/Ecology • Hydrology • SoilScience/Pedology

    Activity • Lesson Plan

    Take a journey as water molecules moving throughout the tree water cycle.

    Educational Objectives

    By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

    • Describe the main parts of the water cycle in and around a tree.
    • Become familiar with proportions of water in each part of the cycle, depending on seasons and location.
    Visit this resource

    Audience: K-12

    Observatory: Sierra CZO

    Author: Southern Sierra CZO

    Contact:


  • Grades 9 - 12

    LTER/LCZO Schoolyard Data Jam

    Biology/Molecular

    Workshop & Project

    Preview

    Luquillo

  • × Several students listen to a fellow describe his poster for the data jam.

    Grades 9 - 12

    LTER/LCZO Schoolyard Data Jam

    Biology/Molecular

    Workshop • Project

    The Luquillo LTER/CZO Data Jam invites high and middle school students to find interesting, non-traditional ways to present scientific data to non-scientist audiences.

    Educational Objectives

    • Students use ecological data collected at the El Yunque National Forest by the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory, Luquillo LTER and USGS Water to create a project that presents data in a non-traditional ways.
    • Students create data visualizations.

     

    Visit this resource

    See CZO listing


    NGSS Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns

    NGSS Science & Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems • Analyzing and Interpreting Data • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

    NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas: ESS2 - Earth’s Systems


    Audience: K-12

    Observatory: Luquillo CZO

    Author: Steven McGee (The Learning Partnership), Noelia Baez Rodriguez (UPR, Luquillo LTER), Miguel Leon (UPenn, LCZO), Bill McDowell (UNH, LCZO)


    Funding: NSF CZO, NSF LTER

  • Grades 6 - 12

    Ground Penetrating Radar - Monitoring Soil Moisture

    Geophysics

    Activity

    Preview

    Shale Hills

  • × Researchers pull a GPR unit across a hill along a transect to collect data.

    Grades 6 - 12

    Ground Penetrating Radar - Monitoring Soil Moisture

    Geophysics

    Activity

    This activity explores methods for visualizing and understanding the relationship between plant features (biosphere), the development of subsurface water flow pathways (hydrosphere and lithosphere), and variations in soil moisture content through time.

    Educational Objectives

    This activity explores methods for visualizing and understanding the relationship between plant features (biosphere), the development of subsurface water flow pathways (hydrosphere and lithosphere), and variations in soil moisture content through time. You will use data collected from the Shale Hills field site to accomplish the following objectives:

    1. Describe the relationship between GPR transmission-reflection delay times, wave speed of electromagnetic radiation, and soil depth. (HS-PS4-5)
    2. Interpret field data to infer the location of rocks, roots, and other point reflectors located in the subsoil. (HS-PS2-6)
    3. Compare time-lapse GPR field data with soil moisture measurements to describe the impact of surface rainfall on soil moisture changes at various depths. (HS-ESS2-5)
    Visit this resource (other)

    See CZO listing


    NGSS Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect - Mechanism and Explanation

    NGSS Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

    NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas: PS2 - Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions • PS4 - Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer • ESS2 - Earth’s Systems


    Audience: K-12

    Observatory: Shale Hills CZO

    Author: Paul Longwell (2014 CZO RET)

    Contact:


    Funding: Financial support from NSF EAR #1263212: REU/RET Site: Collaborative Research: Introducing Critical Zone Observatory Science to Students and Teachers

See more K-12 resources >


Example activities

Outlined below are key examples of educational activities coordinated by the CZO National Office to engage K-12 teachers or administrators overseeing K-12 funding programs.

Many additional K-12 E/O activities are run by the CZO program, mostly led by individual Observatories.  To see examples of those per-CZO efforts,  select an observatory from the “Move laterally” menu above.”

AGI Earth Science Week

CZO researchers cooperated with the American Geosciences Institute's Earth Science Week since 2013, providing "hands on" learning exercises that are sent to more than 16,000 teachers nationwide.The CZO National Office intends for this cooperation to continue on an annual basis. More information is available in a 2014 News story and a 2015 News story (African Dust feeds the Puerto Rico ecosystem).  

AGI hands-on learning exercises:

CZO REU/RET program

Tim White, as national coordinator, and Susan Gill, Stroud Water Research Center education director, developed a successful Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program that places 2 secondary education teachers each at the Christina River Basin and Shale Hills CZOs during the summers of 2014 through 2016.

2016

RET, Lauren Smith, lead a secondary teachers workshop at Penn State University on the use of Virtual Field Experiences in a classroom. Smith led 10 participants in a lecture and series of discussions followed by a guided afternoon tour of the Shale Hills CZO by Tim White and Dave Eissenstat (PSU). The workshop concluded with an aquatic invertebrate exercise using Stroud Water Research Center's Leaf Pack Experiment Kit

2015

A CZO Science Teaching Workshop, organized by two RETs and National Office collaborator Don Duggan-Haas, was held in State College, PA to provide K-12 teachers an introduction to CZ science through the creation and use of Virtual Fieldwork Experiences (VFEs).

RET Sharon Dykhoff developed a hydrology learning unit available through the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) entitled "The Case of the Muddy Water: Using Authentic Data to Investigate Impacts of Hydrofracturing." The objective of this lesson is to introduce the potential impacts of natural gas extraction through data analysis.

2014

Two teachers developed learning exercises and presented the results of their summer experience at the Pennsylvania State Teachers Association meeting in State College, PA on December 8, 2014.

REU/RET hands-on learning exercises:
Ground Penetrating Radar - Monitoring Soil Moisture (1 MB docx) 
Carbon Storage Measurements in Forests (1 MB docx)

Paul Longwell (Hollidaysburg Area School District, PA) and Mark Yeckley (Glendale School District, PA), 2014 summer RETs at the Shale Hills CZO, present the results of their summer experience at the PA State Teachers Association meeting in State College, December 2014.

On-line Critical Zone Course

Tim White developed an on-line open-source course entitled 'Earth Surface Processes in the Critical Zone'. The course is formally offered through The Pennsylvania State University's Masters of Education in Earth Sciences program and aims to educate middle and high school teachers interested in incorporating Critical Zone science into their classroom curriculum.  Course Home Page

GSA Short Course

As national coordinator, Tim White taught a short course entitled "Introduction to Critical Zone Science and Observatories" at the 125th anniversary meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver in October 2013, a course that will be offered again at the GSA meeting in Vancouver, B.C., Canada in October 2014. CZO News Article

Earthscope Talk

The CZO national coordinator traveled to Arizona State University during February 2012 to the Education and Outreach summit organized by Earthscope, presenting a short talk on CZO efforts and engaging colleagues from a variety of NSF-sponsored science initiatives to learn and share.  Earthscope blog

STEM Conference

CZOs were included in the NSF-sponsored national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) best practices conference at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA on September 16, 2011, displaying large format posters, a stream table, and various on-line educational opportunities associated with the CZOs.  CZO News Article

Paul Longwell (Hollidaysburg Area School District, PA) and Mark Yeckley (Glendale School District, PA), 2014 summer RETs at the Shale Hills CZO, present the results of their summer experience at the PA State Teachers Association meeting in State College, December 2014.

Siobhan Donnelly (Centre Learning Community Charter School, PA) explains the Critical Zone concept. 

Participants sorted and collected data on invertebrates from nearby Shaver's Creek and Garner Run sites. 


Associated Files

AGI 2020
(1 MB pdf)
Humans and Soil Change

AGI 2019
(1 MB pdf)
Make Your Own Landslide!

AGI 2018
(639 KB pdf)
Notice & Wonder: Foundation for Scientific Inquiry in the Critical Zone

AGI 2017
(264 KB pdf)
Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia (Dead) Zone

AGI 2016
(441 KB pdf)
The Past, Present & Future of the Valles Caldera

AGI 2015
(1 MB pdf)
The Influence of Dry Deserts on Tropical Rain Forests

AGI 2015 - supplement
(2 MB pdf)
Supplement - The Influence of Dry Deserts on Tropical Rain Forests. African_Dust_Supplementary

AGI 2015 - excel dataset
(534 KB xlsx)
Excel dataset - The Influence of Dry Deserts on Tropical Rain Forests. Rain_chemistry_data_AGI

AGI 2014
(1 MB pdf)
Water resources management simulation

ESW calendar 2014
(651 KB pdf)
Paleoclimate influence on landscape evolution

AGI 2013
(4 MB pdf)
LiDAR exercise for high school classrooms

RET 2014-1
(1 MB docx)
Ground penetrating radar - monitoring soil moisture

RET 2014-2
(1 MB docx)
Carbon storage measurements in forests



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