http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#discussion http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13294
I like this activity and I think you have it ideally-situated within this type of course. I also like how your scaffolded approach will show students the ideas behind modeling without throwing them headlong into something too complex.

Let us know what model you find to be the best fit for this type of activity. I would bet that there are others in your situation who will benefit from seeing how you lay out this activity.

For a gen-ed class like this, I could easily imagine a role-playing component to the modeling project. Student groups could be given different roles (interest groups) and could adjust the model input accordingly.]]> Karin Kirk 1288200600 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13294 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13296 Kristine DeLong 1288200720 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13296 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13297 For a 200 level class, I would use a simple energy balance model - Something they can play with in one class period and see immediate results. Maybe the model that Bob MacKay uses?
or the Shodor model:
http://www.shodor.org/master/environmental/general/energy/application.html
Or the GEEBITT model at NASA:
http://icp.giss.nasa.gov/education/geebitt/

In terms of narrowing down your content goals, what specifically do you want students to know about models and model limitations? Maybe the different types of models (energy balance vs 3-D GCM?) or the idea that the type of model you use really depends of the type of question you're asking...?]]> Cindy Shellito 1288200720 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13297 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13324 I'm thinking about how some kind of warm up exercise (done at home? web exploration? tag team fun quiz?) could get people mentally ready to access an online model. Maybe just a set of questions that everyone can vote on to get at the notion of model uncertainty and how it's different from 'mistakes' or 'error'. Also the concept of how you can check a procedure or any strategy for effectiveness, knowing right from wrong answers and also assessing how much faith to put in an answer.
]]> Dawn Cardace 1288203240 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/activities/49896.html#post13324