Megan R. Garrison
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I am learning how to make web pages as part of my summer program sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation here at Princeton University. This first page is a biography of sorts, and I am expected to give the reader an overview of myself. It's a bit scattered, which is fitting, but as I get more experience, I will update it. So hang in there and feel free to e-mail me with concerns or queries. |
I am an Earth Science Teacher at east Side Middle School in New York City.
east Side Middle School is middle school #114 in New York City's District 2. It is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (77th and York), and students from all five boroughs of New York City make up the student body. The school was established in 1991 and has approximately 400 students in 12 classes. Our students take three years of science. In 6th grade, students take a course presently titled, Physical Science; 7th graders take Life Science, better known as Biology; and in the 8th grade, they take Earth Science. I teach the latter.
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During the summer of 2000,
I participated in the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Program for Teachers at Princeton University. Check out their web site for more information at the Woodrow Wilson Home Page.
The foundation supports teachers who incorporate Environmental Science into their curriculums by sponsoring summer institutes fostering an inquiry based learning technique to teaching science.
The idea is that the summer fellows will learn about present day issues in environmental science, specifically how humans impact it, and then share what they have learned with other teachers in their districts by holding workshops, field trips, etc.
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Week 1
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We spent the first week of the institute testing the water quality of a local creek in the town of Princeton. The idea was that we conducted biological (macro-intertabrates), chemical (phosphates, nitrates, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, stream velocity) and geological tests (canopy cover, temp., soil composition, etc) and then analyzed the data to see the effects humans (ie. The local sewage treatment plant, golf courses, industry, etc.) have on the local environment. It is quite evident that the local sewage treatment plant has contributed to the high levels of both phosphates and nitrates which greatly impacts the local biological community. |
Week 2
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We spent the next two weeks concentrating on the use of model climate sensitivity data to explore the theoretical effects of climate change on different aspects of our society. Our mentor for this project was scientist Dick Wetherald from the Geothermal Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University. After two weeks of intensive research and training, we compiled our own Global Warming web page. You should check it out, it's worth seeing. |
