Writing about the climate (Calibrated Peer Review):
1) develop knowledge of the earth's climate history and global warming
2) learn to use data to make a scientific argument
Context for Use
This is a writing assignment that the student can do in a computer lab or her/his own computer. It is targeted at an introductory geology or oceanography course.
Equipment required for EarthEd Online:
*Macintosh OSX and Classic or PC with Win/98/2000/XP.
Information about other data browsers, EarthEd Online, and UCSB Oceanography can be found at: EarthEdNet home page
Assignment Description-student handout (Microsoft Word 30kB May24 05)
Anatomy of a science paper-student handout (Microsoft Word 178kB May12 05)
How to avoid the appearance of cheating-student handout (Microsoft Word 27kB May12 05)
The following link will download a zip file containing the 3 calibration papers used in this writing assignment. The instructor will have to create the scores for each paper, unless the EarthEd Online writing system is used. Three calibration papers in web page format - zip file ( 1.2MB May24 05)
I use EarthEdOnline to deliver this assignment. The following document describes EarthEd Online and results with the CPR assignment delivered to a general education oceanography class during the winter quarter of 2005.
Using EarthEd Online to deliver a CPR assignment (Acrobat (PDF) 4.9MB Apr28 05)
Teaching Notes and Tips
- lecture on climate and greenhouse effect
- reading about the climate from the class text
- reading "Anatomy of a Science Paper" (see Teaching Materials)
- an online homework assignment covering climate and global warming
- a 2 hr lab session where students investigate data relevant to climate and discuss the components of the writing assignments
- in-class discussions of science writing and use of evidenced in argumentation
References and Resources
The links to the Climate writing assignment data can be found at: UCSB Oceanography Climate data links page