Find Resources

Facilitator Resources (2023)

The following resources are created by Project GUTS facilitators to help prepare for 2023 GUTS workshops

CS in Science Agenda for 5 day workshop

This is an agenda for facilitators to use in planning a five-day CS in Science workshop.

Emergency Egress

Emergency Egress is the study of people exiting a building or other social gathering space in an emergency situation. This unit explores models and other ways to analyze the safety of a building and to evaluate which elements may affect how quickly and safely a space may be evacuated. It also discusses the issues of modeling humans in emergency situations.

Shared Resources - Economics

As the human population grows, it has become increasingly important to understand how humans are impacting the environment and how resources are managed and used. Often, this type of understanding falls under the topic of Sustainability in which the needs of the present population are met without compromising the needs of future generations. In this unit, we look at a variety of resources, through the lens of complex adaptive systems, especially studying feedback and interdependence.

Why Model?

A paper describing the author's reasons why modeling is essential to science.

Guía de estudiantes para la actividad "Dados y datos" (Dice & Data)

Esta es la hoja de actividad para los estudiantes para "Dados y datos", una actividad de probabilidad. La probabilidad juega un rol importante en los modelos de sistemas complejos adaptativos. En esta actividad se programan agentes para imitar el movimiento de criaturas en el mundo real. También eventos aleatorios que ocurren cuando los agentes interactúen como por ejemplo contagiar una persona a otra.

Workshop Planning Guide

A list of factors to consider for facilitators and school districts or partner organizations in planning a workshop.

StarLogo NOVA 2.0: ¿Qué cambió y qué es lo nuevo?

Spanish version of "SLNOVA 2.0: WHAT'S CHANGED OR NEW".

Versión en español del documento "SLNOVA 2.0: WHAT'S CHANGED OR NEW" con la comparación entre ambas versiones y el detalle de las nuevas funcionalidades de SLNOVA 2.0

Tips for Facilitators

Suggestions on best practices for teaching Project GUTS lessons, by acting as a facilitator to student learning, rather than a lecturer on your known content.

Emergence video

A portion of a PBS NOVA video discussing the concept of emergence (or complex adaptive systems) where patterns emerge in nature where agents follow simple rules.

Experimental Design for Virtual Instruction

A Google Sheet to use for conducting the Experimental Design activity in a remote learning classroom.c

Dice and Data (see also CS in Science, Module 1)

Dice and data is a hands-on activity in which students learn about probability and how probability is used in modeling and simulation. Students first investigate single dice rolls and connect the results to randomness, then students investigate two die rolls and learn how the results of two-die rolls are used to mimic animal movement in a wiggle walk.

Papercatchers

Papercatchers is a participatory simulation in which students learn about population growth and limits to growth. Students play the role of members of a growing population, follow simple rules governing survival and reproduction, and collect and graph data.

Coding Challenges

Coding Challenge are a series of short challenges that focus on improving coding skills using StarLogo Nova. Each set of challenges focuses on a specific concept: degrees & heading, x & y coordinates and randomness, conditions including absolute value and percent chance, adding color to the terrain and repeat loops, using the z coordinate, and other computer science concepts (logic blocks, data collection),.

Facilitator Resources (from 2019)

This is a set of resources to help Facilitators prepare for Workshops.

Skill Building Deck

A slide deck of exercises to build CS and decoding skills

Making Sense of Models one page description

This is a document that describes the Making Sense of Models project.

NGSS Standards

Document highlighting the conceptual shifts in the Next Generation Science Standards

Developing and Using Models - NGSS Science and Engineering Practices

A K-12 progression of the NGSS Science and Engineering Practice of Developing and Using Models.

Performance Expectations that make use of this Science and Engineering Practice - https://ngss.nsta.org/Practices.aspx?id=2

Littering Unit

Littering is a type of non-point source pollution caused
 by humans acting independently from each other, however causing a global environmental problem. Controlling this source of pollution is hard to manage despite numerous interventions. Pollution of groundwater, rivers, oceans result from these everyday littering behavior whether intentional or accidental. In this unit we will model a simple form of littering and then ways to reduce it in our community.