Carlsbad+Caverns+National+Park+Service+New+Mexico



Ben Morse

Module Review 2: []


 * What organization developed the curriculum module you are evaluating?**

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Service New Mexico, which is part of the U.S. Department of the interior.


 * What is the mission of the organization?**

The mission of the organization is to promote the National parks and in this case specifically Carlsbad Cavern. It also has the goal of providing educational material for middle schools and high schools in related material relevant to national parks such as geology, biology, and ecology.


 * What is the educational mission and philosophy of the organization?**

To disseminate the natural beauty of the national parks and inform how the environment is maintained and dependent of multiple factors such as geology, ecology, and weather as a resource aid for teachers. The information is also applicable anywhere in the country. They intend the material to be “user friendly and resource rich” with a unit overview and follow up activities and supplemental lessons on specific topics inclusive of standards and benchmarks.


 * What does the curriculum module aim to teach? What are the learning outcomes?**

Education wise they have the following curricula They also have a nature and science section which is specific to the local environment and presents what can be found in the park such as animal, plants, and the environmental factors including air quality weather, and geology. Overall the curriculum is very detailed and expansive in their topics.
 * [|Chihuahuan Desert Lab (CDL)]
 * [|High School Geology Curriculum]
 * [|Caves, Canyons, Cactus & Critters]
 * [|Middle School Ecology Curriculum]
 * [|Middle School Biology Curriculum]
 * [|About Bats, Caves, & Deserts]


 * Do you think the curriculum is appropriately designed to produce the intended learning outcomes?**

I believe this is great at producing the learning outcomes as is couples written information with activities that get students involved in non lecture formats that make them use their critical thinking and creative thinking skills. The material is expansive and eclectic as well as detailed.


 * Does this curriculum teach the kinds of literacy that the EcoEd Research Group advocates?**

It is great at showing the natural complexities of ecosystems in a non-overwhelming manner, but rarely incorporates human impact on the environment with the exception of soil, air, and water quality. Instead it focuses mostly on the science. Overall it lacks the majority of the ecoliteracy points that we advocate, but does touch on several aspects such as people having creative info-seeking practices and people being able to conceptualize complex causation, without being paralyzed.


 * What could be layered into this curriculum so that it addresses more of the learning outcomes that the EcoEd Group advocates?**

They could include how human civilization impacts the all of the aspects they cover, but also include of the health of an ecosystem effects them as well such as providing clean water, air, resources, and insight to medical and scientific knowledge and inspiration. In addition, it would be great if they incorporated an emotional aspect as was mentioned in the movie we watched that had the segment about emotional learning, in which in this module they could bring emotional connections to the environment.