Page 175 - Carrollton 2015

IB Group 4 Project

By Suchetha Srikanthan
High School Science Teacher

The IB Group 4 Project is a required
collaborative activity across the scientific
disciplines of the IB science curriculum.
The goal o f this project is for students to
work as a team on a common problem
and understand the connection between
the different scientific disciplines and their
impact on other areas o f knowledge.
The project helps students understand their
role as global citizens encouraging them to
be stewards of earth's resources. Also, they
learn about the ethical use of science and
technology and how to apply 21 st Century
communication skills to their work.

This year the Junior Class spent a day doing field work in the Everglades - the only ecosystem of its kind on the planet The field work took place in the Florida
Everglades in Conservation Area III in Broward County, at Everglades Holiday Park. This area was completely burned during the 1999 drought and has now
recovered. The day was led by a group of dedicated wildlife biologists who engaged the students in many different activities. While slogging through the slough,
students; studied the unique plant life and its adaptations to the environment, performed scientific surveys, explored the geology of the system, the significance
of the aquifer and water management and learned some of the history of the Native Americans in the Everglades. During an airboat ride through the Everglades
different Bird and animal populations were identified and water from different locations was collected to be analyzed later. The next day the students presented
their findings to the Ninth and Tenth graders reflecting on what they had learned and answering such questions as:

What do you feel is your responsibility to preserving the Everglades?
Why do you believe it is important?
What would you do towards this end?
Through this experience, students learned that ultimately the health of the world is dependent on each individual's actions.

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