Overview

Overview of FLEXE

The FLEXE project explores innovative pedagogical approaches to engage learners in understanding the process and nature of science, and has developed and tested ways to effectively partner students, scientists and educators using web-based tools. FLEXE  components include Learning Activities, Data Comparisons, Links to the Environment (e.g., student-scientist forums), and online tools such as class-to-class partnering and peer review to create communities of learners.

Inquiry-based Learning Activities

• Energy Unit: examines energy transfer between components of the Earth system using various temperature datasets, and explores similarities and differences in energy transfer in local and deep-sea extreme environments.
• Ecology Unit: uses examples from deep-sea environments to introduce ecological concepts, and guides students to formulate their own research questions on their local environment.

Comparison of data from different environments

• Local/Schoolyard data (primary data)
• Data from the GLOBE database (secondary data)
• Deep-Sea data (‘extreme' data)

Links to the Extreme Environment *

• Facilitated interaction with scientists (e.g., FLEXE Forums)
• Live Research Cruises featured via interactive web site**

Community of Learning

• Student-Student (Partner school exchange**, Peer Review**)
• Student-Scientist (FLEXE Forums*, Q&A during Research Cruises**)

* archive mode

** online components not currently available