The attached lesson and supporting essay are a revised draft of a week long activity conducted in the spring of 2022. This lesson was originally created as a follow on to the Smithsonians American Indian Education Boldt Decision lesson for a high school US History class. Here I have rewritten for an 8th grade class as I felt after having completed it that in both rigor and content it was a better fit for an 8th grade class as a means for connecting a process that took place over 150 years ago to a modern issue. It does align with high school geography standards and if its summative activity were modified would fit well under HS.53.

This course consists of 4 modules and is designed  to help government, professionals in multiple disciplines and community organizations understand the fast-emerging field of natural asset management.

There are two parts to this exercise but they are stand-alone if desired. The first part deals with the nature of science: what is science, what does it involve, and what makes science good? It is aimed at one particular paper but any paper could be used. The second part is about a heinous case of scientific fraud and the legal action associated with it. Probing questions make students think about the most important factors, implications, and questions.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The New England Collaborative Data Management Curriculum (NECDMC) project is led by the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in partnership with several libraries in the New England region.

NECDMC is an instructional tool for teaching data management best practices to undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in the health sciences, sciences, and engineering disciplines. Each of the curriculum’s seven online instructional modules aligns with the National Science Foundation’s data management plan recommendations and addresses universal data management challenges. Included in the curriculum is a collection of actual research cases that provides a discipline specific context to the content of the instructional modules. These cases come from a range of research settings such as clinical research, biomedical labs, an engineering project, and a qualitative behavioral health study. Additional research cases will be added to the collection on an ongoing basis. Each of the modules can be taught as a stand-alone class or as part of a series of classes. Instructors are welcome to customize the content of the instructional modules to meet the learning needs of their students and the policies and resources at their institutions

Reduced flows and increased demand for Colorado River water represent a real and present danger in the West. To address the threat, water managers and modelers initiated a study to understand the system, consider options, and take action.

In this high school physical sciences unit, students investigate why some substances absorb heat when they react, while others release it. Students first solve the mystery of where the energy goes in endothermic reactions by examining salt dissolution and using magnets as models for bonds. They then expand their investigations to look into where the energy comes from in exothermic reactions. The model they continue to develop using magnets, helps them account for why breaking bonds absorbs energy from the surroundings and forming bonds releases energy back into the surroundings. The end of the unit naturally motivates a new question to pursue in future units, “Why are some types of particles more attracted to one another than others?"

nextgenerationstoryline.org

Infrastructures for energy, water, transport, information and communications services create the conditions for livability and economic development. They are the backbone of our society. Similar to our arteries and neural systems that sustain our human bodies, most people however take infrastructures for granted. That is, until they break down or service levels go down.

In many countries around the globe infrastructures are ageing. They require substantial investments to meet the challenges of increasing population, urbanization, resource scarcity, congestion, pollution, and so on. Infrastructures are vulnerable to extreme weather events, and therewith to climate change.
Technological innovations, such as new technologies to harvest renewable energy, are one part of the solution. The other part comes from infrastructure restructuring. Market design and regulation, for example, have a high impact on the functioning and performance of infrastructures.

This poem depicts the identity conflict that exist in faculty who have immigrated to the U.S. and their interactions with immigrant students.

Collection of ancillary course materials for non-majors biology sequence.

BI 101 course description: A survey course in biological science which fulfills the laboratory science requirement for non-science majors. Topics include biochemistry, cells, genetics, and evolution.

BI 102 course description: A part of the general biology sequence. Topics covered include: cell physiology, taxonomy of microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, protists) fungi and plants, plant anatomy and physiology and ecology.

BI 103 course description: A part of the general biology sequence. Topics covered include animal taxonomy, physiology, and behavior.

A new partnership between the Washington State Library, the Oregon Heritage Commission, and the State Library of Oregon, Northwest Digital Heritage leverages existing infrastructure and best practices created through the Washington Rural Heritage project to extend access to Oregon-based libraries, museums, and cultural heritage organizations.

Students are introduced to acids and bases, and the environmental problem of acid rain. They explore ways to use indicators to distinguish between acids and bases. Students also conduct a simple experiment to model and discuss the harmful effects of acid rain on our living and non-living environment, as well as how engineers address acid rain. In an associated literacy activity, students learn how persuasive techniques are used to develop an argument, and create an environmental case study.

A record number of 142 women are serving in Congress in 2021 following a landmark election that saw more women, including women of color, running for office than ever before. Still, women make up just a quarter of Congress, while comprising more than half the U.S. population.

Throughout U.S. history, women have played an important and evolving role in the political landscape — from Abigail Adams urging the Founding Fathers to “remember the ladies” in 1776 to this year, when Kamala Harris became the first woman and woman of color to take office as vice president.

Despite barriers to entry, women in American politics continue to break into new government roles, using their knowledge and experience to shape the nation’s laws, policies, and organizations. As American politics continue to evolve and new resources emerge to support diverse contributors, great potential exists to expand women’s involvement in government.

We intend this book to act as a guide writ large for would-be champions of OER, that anyone—called to action by the example set by our chapter authors—might serve as guides themselves. The following chapters tap into the deep experience of practitioners who represent a meaningful cross section of higher education institutions in North America. It is our hope that the examples and discussions presented by our authors will facilitate connections among practitioners, foster the development of best practices for OER adoption and creation, and more importantly, lay a foundation for novel, educational excellence.

This content is an adaptation of slides from the OpenEd 2021 presentation by ISKME, VIVA, and LOUIS titled: "OER Discovery Research: Librarian and Faculty Curation Personas". The slides are based on research conducted by ISKME with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), grant number LG-246327-OLS-20.

OER Fellows are invited to remix this OER Storytelling Template to share their stories of impact with Open Educational Resources (OER).

Student advocacy for open educational resources (OER) and affordable course content is essential, meaningful work that can make huge impacts on OER programs. This quick, actionable messaging for students can fit into their packed schedules. Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) Library Services developed this Student Advocate Packet, outlining three steps students can take that day to move their campus communities toward using open and affordable course content. This packet also contains further steps students can take if they have the time.

400 million tons of plastic is produced every year, 36% of which is designed for single use or packaging. Of that number, only 9% is recycled. It’s fair to say that plastics are everywhere, including the ocean. In fact, approximately 13 million tons of plastic enters oceanic currents annually. Plastic has become a pillar of modern life. It’s going to take a deep, transformational change in humanity’s consciousness and activities regarding the ocean to break the plastic pattern.

We believe this is possible! But we need your help. By relating socio-economic and scientific concepts such as watershed and ocean currents, food chain interactions, and the greenhouse gas effect, youth will learn the history of plastic, how it transformed our consumer habits, how it harms ocean health, exacerbates the current climate crisis, and how they can protect our ocean from further plastic pollution and restore the ecosystems already affected.

Through this education kit’s activities, students will be given the knowledge, tools, and skills to break their plastic pattern and become leaders of change – and this all starts in your classroom.

Oil spills have been a persistent problem since the start of the oil industry. Millions of wells and trillions of barrels of oil extracted have resulted in significant environmental impact. Accidents in the complex supply chain release toxic crude and refined oil, posing health risks and requiring costly cleanup. Safety measures have improved, but unreported spills remain a concern.

Abstract: The purpose of this literature review is to analyze the positive implementations and impacts of a one-to-one device policy in K-12 schools. As time progresses, technology is being further integrated into 21st century classrooms. One-to-one device policies state that for each student, one digital device will be issued to them. These devices provide students and educators alike with a variety of new educational technologies, enhancing learning and instruction. One-to-one devices empower learning, offer personalized learning opportunities, and positively correlate to improved skills and scores. In short, this study will look into how incorporating one-to-one technology holistically affects learning.