Why Use Ecology Disrupted?

Ecology Disrupted engages students in cutting edge science by

1. Presenting videos that show scientists doing current research on environmental issues 
2. Enabling students to work with real data from that research

The videos were produced by the American Museum of Natural History, and include documentaries of scientists at work and visualizations of scientific data.  The data is derived directly from the published research represented in the videos.

Ecology Disrupted has two overarching goals:

1. To connect students to the scientific process in the real world
2. To connect students with the role of ecology in daily life 

Currently, textbooks and curriculum guidelines treat environmental issues and ecology as distinct topics. Ecology Disrupted units instead link these two topics.  

Videos about scientific research introduce students to environmental impacts that arise from familiar everyday human behaviors.  As students work with the researchers' data and analyses, they see how these impacts disrupt normal ecological functions even as they make everyday life more convenient.  Students are asked to consider how changing everyday activity might mitigate the human impact on the ecology of the natural world.

The case studies are authentic, current scientific research selected for their relevance to middle and high school science classrooms.

In the next section, How to Use Ecology Disrupted, learn how to use Ecology Disrupted units as ready-made six or seven-day curriculum units, and how to access or download individual materials to create lesson plans that best suit your classroom and the learning level of your students. 

A brief introduction to Ecology Disrupted

Watch this video of an orientation webinar to learn more about Ecology Disrupted and how to use it.

Here are the slides presented in the webinar: