Aligning Computational Thinking with Tangible Landscape for Forest Fire Spread Modeling
Grade level/course: Grade 9
Curriculum Developers: Michael A. Evans & Garrett Millar
Description
This lesson plan introduces students to computational science and applications of its concepts for real-world spatial phenomenon. Specifically, the lesson outlines the topic of Forest Fire Spread as a geohazard, aligned with geospatial modeling, geospatial technologies, and computer programming activities. Geospatial and computational thinking skills will be taught and developed, to then be put to the test on the last day of the lesson plan with Tangible Landscape.
Earth & Environmental Science Standards Covered
- EEn.2.1.4 - Explain the probability of and precautions that can be made to protect life from various geohazards such as: landslides, avalanches, earthquakes, and volcanoes in a particular area based on available data (including meteorological hazards).
Objectives
- Understand forest fires and their effects with various simulations
- Understand Computational Thinking concepts as they apply to modeling geohazards
- Understand Geospatial Thinking concepts and Tangible Landscapes
- Develop Computational and Geospatial Thinking skills
Instructor
William Burgess
Email: wburgess@wcpss.net
NC State Researchers
Email: michael.a.evans@ncsu.edu
Email: gcmillar@ncsu.edu
Summer Thompson
Email: sathomp9@ncsu.edu
Prerequisites
Prior to this lesson, students must be able to:
- Perform basic mouse manipulations such as point, click, and drag
- Use a browser for experimenting with the activities
Schedule
| Day 1. | April 16 | Introduction to computational science and subject area |
| Day 2. | April 17 | Extending simulations |
| Day 3. | April 18 | Introduction to GIS |
| Day 4. | April 19 | Geospatial modeling and analyses of wildfire spread |
| Day 5. | April 20 | Tangible application of geospatial and computational thinking |
Software
Several geospatial (GIS) tools such as GRASS GIS and ArcGIS will be discussed in connection with geography-related topics covered in the lesson plan as related to computational science.
All the software used in the course is open source, so students can install it on their computers without obtaining licenses from the vendors or through the university. Some free of charge services based on open source software or focused on open science or open source development will be used too.
Licensing
Shodor models & simulations
Interactivate models and simulations are copyrighted material from the Shodor Education Foundation, Inc. Shodor, non-profit educational organization, was established in 1994 in Durham, NC and is dedicated to transforming learning by providing materials and instruction relating to computational science (scientific, interactive computing). Shodor’s curricular resources are licensed through the Creative Commons and freely available for non-commercial use with proper attribution.
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