Bomb Cyclone = Climate Change?

Boston Public Schools closed today due to -20 degree wind chills. Sounds like the schools need some geothermal heating that Fellows Kristen Cacciatore and Mandy Dillingham researched in Iceland last summer with their Fund for Teachers grant.

These East Boston High teachers spent a week investigating the impact of climate change on Iceland’s society, educational system and natural environment to develop instructional resources that empower students to address climate change and its impacts on Boston.

“We designed our Fund for Teachers fellowship to go to the world’s leader in renewable energy generation. We gained new insight into how best to combat climate change by using renewable energy sources that do not produce carbon dioxide emissions in the place of fossil fuels. Our goal is to use these experiences and new knowledge to develop curricula that empower students to develop new ideas to change current energy practices in our school and community,” wrote Mandy.

The teachers found that Icelanders take pride in their use geothermal energy to heat water used in everything from homes to public swimming pools. After renting a car, the explored Hellisheidi, the second largest geothermal power station in the world (pictured above), hiked the Hengill Volcano and explored Pingvellir, the national park where two tectonic plates meet. They also toured an innovative greenhouse that grows tomatoes using 100% of its energy from geothermal heat.

Back in Boston (although not today) Kristen and Mandy teach a newly-developed curricula that addresses climate change and the use alternate forms of energy to alleviate carbon dioxide emissions that will be delivered to hundreds of students this year alone. They are also incorporating their fellowship learning into climate change activities with the Science Club they co-lead after school. Students are in the process of developing a series of fun, informative, video clips about climate change in our local area, and ways to conserve energy, which will be delivered on school-wide TVs.

“On our fellowship, we learned how a large community was able to vastly reduce its amount of carbon dioxide production by using geothermal heat and how this heat is converted to electricity to significantly improve the quality of life of Icelanders,” said Kristen. “And our adventures in Iceland have inspired our students to try to prevent global warming by changing how the energy they use every day is produced.”

You can learn more about their experiences on the blog they developed and updated daily for faculty, family, and students to follow.

An additional BPS teacher, Alex Pancic (Brighton High) also used his FFT grant to research energy in Iceland. Specifically, Alex enrolled in Reykjavik University’s School of Energy program to learn how Iceland maximizes alternative energy systems and incorporate these solutions, along with photos and interviews, into an Engineering for the 21st Century curriculum.

Casting a Vote for Relevant Statistics

Ellie on her fellowship registering voters outside a grocery store in Las Vegas

Hispanics account for more than half of the U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census. Yet, Ellie Terry’s Hispanic students at the High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology in Brooklyn showed no interest in the upcoming presidential election. She designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to engage them and fuel a real-world AP Statistics project at the same time.

“Sunset Park, my school’s neighborhood, is predominantly Hispanic. Few residents are politically active and my students felt that the presidential election didn’t involve them,” explained Ellie. “I wanted them to realize that, as Hispanic Americans, they make up the most empowered group of voters. Being a math teacher, I decided to use numbers to prove it.”

On her fellowship, she joined presidential campaign statisticians in the predominantly Hispanic swing states of Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado to learn how they use statistical methods to research voter trends. She studied the design of surveys, conducted focus groups, and polled people by phone and in front of Walmart to gather data on Hispanic voters and their concerns. Political strategists used this information to craft candidates’ speeches; Ellie took the results back to Brooklyn to create math and civics lessons.

“The whole school is adopting Common Core State Standards, so I’m enlisting teachers from every discipline to join a three-day election project: History teachers will introduce students to the electoral college; science teachers will review candidates’ positions on the environment and health care; English teachers will show previous debates and assign students a side to argue,” Ellie explained.

Both her fellowship and the cross-curricular unit lead up to a school-wide mock election in November. Additionally, with permission from the board of elections in Kings County and assistance from 17 student teachers from Brooklyn College, 34 AP Statistics students will canvass polling places on Election Day. Students will collect data using class-designed exit surveys that will fuel their coursework for the rest of the school year.

“I feel as though I’ve earned a Master’s degree in statistical analysis after this fellowship. My mom was a teacher, as was her mom and her mom. I’ll be a teacher for life, but finding this type of enrichment is key to keeping me excited and my students informed.” You can read more about Ellie’s fellowship at hstatistics.blogspot.com.