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Educator might want to present a map of Antarctica and locate the regions discussed in the activity.
In an upper-level ecology course, this could be a case study for an ecology or global change unit.
The lesson would also be a good culminating activity allowing students to demonstrate their grasp of how various environmental factors influence each other and impact resident fauna.
Very strong description of science content: population dynamics of three species of Antarctic penguin (Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo) and relevant climatic factors.
The claim "strong evidence suggests that observed changes in Earth's climate are largely due to human activities" can be cited from recent IPCC reports.
Comments from expert scientist:
Scientific strengths:
- sound, quantitative values (as far as I researched, the temperature data in the article are still correct from latest pubs.)
- Like the use of different "specialist" groups
Activity uses the jigsaw approach to help students learn about the complex climatic issues related to shifting penguin populations on the West Antarctic Peninsula.
Activity has flexible structure, such that the units can be easily broken up into pre-classroom, classroom, and post-classroom activities as time requires.
Interesting and engaging student materials.
Students may need some background knowledge about Antarctica and penguins before the activity.
Links to references are provided to help educator prepare for the activity, or to further engage students with regional knowledge of the penguin populations.
A very thorough and informative set of teacher background materials is supplied. All parts of the activity (background, student sheets, etc.) are included in the pdf. Easy to use.
