Education Goals

To provide access to current groundwater research and related teaching resources for the Alberta Program of Studies for Science 8: Freshwater & Saltwater Systems. 

Access and connections to the research and resources are provided through an educational approach called adapted primary literature (APL). This approach emphasizes 'fundamental literacy' (reading and writing) as key component of scientific inquiry (Cervetti et al. 2006, Norris et al. 2009).

Curriculum & Teaching Resources

Curriculum Connections
Alberta Program of Studies for Science 8
Freshwater & Saltwater Systems
Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 4

Teaching Resources
This section provides access to an adapted primary literature article written for students, while retaining characteristics of the original primary research articles (Falk and Yarden 2011, Yarden 2009). The article has been co-developed by the research team and science teachers from Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic Schools as a literature review of groundwater research. The related teaching resources highlight the use of APL articles (i.e., how to develop inquiry skills through reading and writing), along with lab and field experiences to enhance students' understanding of groundwater research and monitoring.

Adapted Primary Literature Article

Lesson 1: Reading Research as Inquiry (to be posted soon)

Lesson 2: Porosity & Flow Rate Labs

Lesson 3: Groundwater Flow Model Demonstration

Lesson 4: Groundwater Field Trip (Waterfall Valley)

Lesson 5: Web Portal Activity

We would like to thank the four Calgary teachers who assisted in the development of the APL Article and Lesson Plans.  These collaborating teachers were: Roxane Brocklebank, Terry Fox School (Calgary Board of Education), Jessica Bates, Terry Fox School (Calgary Board of Education), Brittany Boechler, Holy Cross School (Calgary Catholic Schools) and Ben MacIntosh, St. James School (Calgary Catholic Schools). 

Education Research Connections

The educational approach and related teaching resources for this project were based on the following key education research publications for adapted primary literature and students' understanding of groundwater:

Adapted Primary Literature
  • Falk, H. and Yarden, A. (2011). Stepping into the unknown: Three    models for the teaching learning of the opening sections of scientific articles. Journal of Biological Education, 45, 77-82.
  • Miller, R.G. (2006). Unlocking reading comprehension with key science inquiry skills. Science Scope, September 2006, 30-33.
  • Norris, S.P. and Phillips, L.M. (2003). How literacy in its fundamental sense is central to scientific literacy. Science Education, 87, 224-240.
  • Yarden, A. (2009). Reading scientific texts: Adapting primary literature for promoting scientific literacy. Research in Science Education, 39(3), 307-11.
Groundwater Education Literature
  • Dickerson, D. and Dawkins, K.W. (2004). Eighth grade students' understandings of groundwater. Journal of Geoscience Education, 52(2), 178-181.
  • Dickerson, D. et al. (2005). Students' conceptions of scale regarding groundwater. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53(4), 374-380.
  • Reinfried, S. (2006). Conceptual change in physical geography and environmental sciences through mental model building: The example of groundwater. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 15(1), 41-61.
  • Reinfried, S. et al. (2012). Addressing secondary school students' everyday ideas about freshwater springs in order to develop an instructional tool to promote conceptual reconstruction. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 16, 1365-1377.

Fun Stuff

Crosswords
Simple Crossword
Ready for something a little more difficult - try one of the bigger Crosswords puzzles (answer key included)
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3

Word Searches
Can you find the hydrology terms in these word searches?  Download the PDF and see.
Simple word search - (Answer Key)
Intermediate word search (Answer Key)

Workshops

Upcoming Workshops
February 1, 2013: Calgary Catholic Schools PD

Pictures from Educational Events


Thank you to our Project Partners