Blog

Using multiple visual representations to understand the earthquake cycle

The GeoCoder model displays block code (procedural representation, left), the Deformation Simulation (geometric representation, upper right), and the deformation over time graph (graphical representation, bottom right).

Symbols, objects, maps, graphs, and simulations are all powerful tools for conveying information. However, some complex ideas just can’t be captured in a single representation. In these cases, multiple visualizations can be used together to convey and connect several pieces of related information. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, news organizations used a combination of […]

Continue reading

Changing climates, changing forests: What is the future of boreal forests?

Boreal Forest Fire Explorer

Massive amounts of Earth’s stored carbon is located in boreal forests, including those in northern Canada and Alaska. As temperatures rise and wildfires become more frequent, scientists are studying the boreal forest’s transformation from carbon sink to carbon source. We partnered with Dr. Brian Buma at the University of Colorado Denver and the Environmental Defense […]

Continue reading

Understanding floods: A look inside a classroom

Flood Explorer showing area after it has been urbanized

Stephanie Harmon is a Science Consultant with the Partnership Institute for Math and Science Education Reform (PIMSER) in Kentucky. Previously, she taught Earth science and physics at Rockcastle County High School in Mount Vernon, Kentucky, and has consulted on several Concord Consortium projects. For my students in rural Kentucky, floods are personal. In July 2022, […]

Continue reading

Explore extreme weather in your area

Graph of tMax in Palmdale, CA, in CODAP showing mean of 102.98 degrees F.

Leticia Perez is a Senior Professional Learning Specialist at WestEd. Frieda Reichsman is a Senior Research Scientist at the Concord Consortium. Headlines make the news all the time warning of warmer winters, changing seasonal patterns, life-threatening heat, or alternately dangerous freezing conditions. Whether you’re in Massachusetts or California, or somewhere in between, nearly everyone has […]

Continue reading

Support for WATERS curriculum spreads in Oregon

Two teachers with their crumpled paper watershed models

The WATERS (Watershed Awareness using Technology and Environmental Research for Sustainability) project recently ended with a Master Teacher Workshop at our Concord office for selected teachers who participated in the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research with excellence and enthusiasm. The goal of the workshop was to exchange best practices for teaching the now freely available, […]

Continue reading