A High School Computational Modeling Approach to Studying the Effects of Climate Change on Coral Reefs

• In Event: 25.077 - Science Teaching and Learning SIG Paper Session: Discipline-Specific

Abstract

The devastating impact of climate change on coral reefs has reinforced our need to better understand their causes, especially the ones related to humans. Simultaneously, we need to raise awareness about the significance of reefs, both as an ecological host to twenty-five percent of marine life and as a key economic resource for millions of people. Opportunities afforded through coral reef research coupled with advances in computational modeling platforms may provide a unique opportunity to introduce the study of corals into K-12 STEM curricula by combining computational thinking (CT) constructs to build computational models that allow students to explore and systematically study the effects of climate change on the reefs. We outline such a computational modeling curriculum in this paper.

Authors

• Nicole Hutchins, Vanderbilt University

• Gautam Biswas, Vanderbilt University

• Cecily Shi