The Wetlands MEL

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Wetlands

Provenance: Eric Vance, EPA
Reuse: This item is in the public domain and maybe reused freely without restriction.

Overview

This article provides an introduction to the Wetlands MEL plus suggestions from classroom use including implementation advice, insights into the lines of evidence that challenge students' thinking, and the rationale for using MEL diagrams to address socio-scientific issues that focus on value to society.

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Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectations

HS-ESS3-5: Earth and Human Activity

• Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationship among the management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.

HS-ESS3-4: Earth and Human Activity

• Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

The Models

Model A: Wetlands provide ecosystem services that contribute to human welfare and help sustain the biosphere.
Model B: Wetlands are a nuisance to humans and provide little overall environmental benefit.

Student Handouts

• Wetlands Model Plausibility Ratings (Acrobat (PDF) 140kB Jun4 18)
• Wetlands MEL – Diagram (Acrobat (PDF) 26kB Feb8 21)
• Explanation Task (Acrobat (PDF) 125kB Feb8 21)

Lines of Evidence

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Evidence #1.(1) Water enters the wetland, allowing for litter, sediment and other pollutants to settle to the bottom. (2) Water is filtered by micro-organisms and algae that grow on the plants. This removes nutrients from the water, especially nitrogen, to help reduce algal blooms in the nearby bay. (3) After water has spent about three days in the wetland, cleaner water is released back into the creek and water levels return to normal. Credit: Wright Seneres.

Provenance: Science Learning Research Group, Temple University & NESTA
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Evidence #1: Wetlands play a role in the global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Wetlands change these nutrients into different forms necessary to continue their global cycles.
Evidence #2: Flooding is a natural occurrence in low-lying areas and wetlands are places where floodwaters can collect.
Evidence #3: Wetlands contribute 70 percent of global atmospheric methane from natural sources.
Evidence #4: Many wetlands are located in rapidly developing areas of the country.

Student Handouts

• Wetlands MEL – Evidence Texts BW (Acrobat (PDF) 514kB Jun4 18)
• Wetlands MEL – Evidence Texts Color (Acrobat (PDF) 410kB Jun4 18)

Other Resources

This Plausibility Ranking Task (PRT), which may be completed prior to using any MELs, helps students to understand the role of evidence in supporting or refuting models.

• Plausibility Ranking Task (Acrobat (PDF) 20kB Feb8 21)

Digital Resources

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