01/18/05

Sixth grade students in DoDEA will soon become experts in the importance of wetlands through the JASON Expedition: Disappearing Wetlands. This year, Disappearing Wetlands focuses on Louisiana's Mississippi Delta, the science and critical issues that surround it. JASON Expeditions provide students with hands-on inquiry-based learning of current science topics and events that illustrate the work of real scientists. This supplementary science curriculum is developed using the expertise of the world's leading scientists and educators under the direction of Dr. Robert Ballard, its founder.

The mission of the current JASON Expedition: Disappearing Wetlands is to help students better understand what wetlands are, why they are disappearing, and how to best manage these ecosystems around the world. DoDEA 6th grade students will learn about wetlands as important life-supporting ecosystems that provide habitat for an incredible diversity of plants and animals. Through interaction with prominent researchers, students will see how these ecosystems are threatened to disappear, especially in the Louisiana delta area.

The JASON Expedition includes a standards-based curriculum, an interactive web site, a gated web community with moderated chats and digital labs, and expedition broadcasts. The program integrates well with the DoDEA science, social studies, and language arts curriculum standards and applies an interdisciplinary approach to learning and teaching. An added feature for our students is the inclusion of Ti-73 graphing calculators and LabPro data collection sensors for hands-on labs and field-based experiments.

Sixth grade teacher representatives from each DoDDS-Pacific/DDESS-Guam elementary and/or middle school received four days of training in early December on the JASON components and related technology. These teachers are tasked to return to their schools to train their fellow sixth grade teachers. All grade 6 teachers will receive a curriculum guide, video supplements, access to live broadcasts, Vernier probes, graphing calculators, posters, maps, and membership for each class to Team JASON Online.

The mission of JASON is "to inspire in students a life-long passion for learning in science, math, and technology through hands-on, real-world scientific discovery." I am pleased that we are able to extend this opportunity for learning to our students and teachers.

Nancy C. Bresell
Director, DoDDS-Pacific/DDESS-Guam