Subject: Getting started in SD

Posted by Greg Louie on 6/6/2010

Message:

Hi Folks,

I’m new to the list. I’ve never taught SD before, so I’m interested about your thoughts on teaching it to 7th graders.

You may answer none, one or all of the question below:

Does it work? How do you know it works? Do the students enjoy it? What topics fit best to instruction in SD? Is STELLA the only way to go? What sequence of tasks would you suggest to help a newbie teacher get up to speed? What is the best PD workshop that you would recommend?

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FYI: The topics I would be personally interested in teaching with an SD component include:

Living machine dynamics (Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus Cycles)
Global warming dynamics (Plant Phenology and its relationship to Butterfly and Hummingbird Migration)
Environmental impacts with field studies (transects – student selected factors might include soil types, shading gradients, proximity to student induced disturbances (walking or playing in the fields).

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts.

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Gregory Louie