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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.

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.

Workshop Planning Guide

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

Interview with Hal Scheintaub

Teachers with GUTS interviewed Hal Scheintaub and demo of StarLogo Nova models created by his students on August 2, 2017.

Ecosystems as Complex Adaptive Systems

Background information on ecosystems for teachers' use in CS in Science, Module 3 (Ecosystems)

Modeling MRSA in Chicago (scientist talk)

This is a talk Dr. Chick Macal gave to GUTS teachers at a Chicago PD workshop in 2015.

Why Model?

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

BCSC 5e Instructional Model

BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study) paper explaining the 5e instructional model. The model describes a teaching sequence that can be used for entire programs, specific units, and individual lessons. The BSCS 5E Instructional Model plays a significant role in the curriculum development process as well as the enactment of curricular materials in science classrooms.

Understanding by Design

Understanding by Design (UbD) curriculum offers a 3-stage “backward design” framework for developing units of study. The same process guides larger-scale curriculum development for courses and
programs (macro level). The UbD curriculum structure for building a coherent curriculum spirals around “big ideas,” essential questions, and core assessments.

Scavenger Hunt for Teachers

This scavenger hunt asks teachers to locate various Project GUTS resources. A fun tool to increase familiarity with Project GUTS and what's available.

Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources in StarLogo TNG

What do we know about climate change? This unit discusses climate change: what it means, what the difference is between climate and weather, and evidence of climate change. It also discusses the global climate system as a complex system with feedback loops, and the current state of the art in the computational modeling of climate change. Our goal is to clarify what is known, what scientists guess is happening, and how climate change impacts our environment and species.

Water as a Shared Resource for StarLogo TNG

As the human population grows, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how humans affect the environment and to consider how we are using and managing our limited resources. This unit examines water as an important resource to be shared and managed to ensure its future availability.

This unit explores water as a shared resource using StarLogo TNG. For the related unit using StarLogo NOVA, see CS in Science Curriculum Module 2.

Epidemiology for StarLogo TNG

How do diseases spread?  In this Project GUTS unit, students research contagious diseases and customize a computer model to explore how disease — or gossip, bullying or fashion— might spread within their school or neighborhood.

The primary goal of this unit is to engage students in simple interactive activities to explore epidemiology concepts, and in the use, modification, and creation of agent-based models to conduct experiments on simple contagion.

Ecosystems for StarLogo TNG

What keeps an ecosystem in balance? Students begin with a simple predator-prey model to consider who eats whom—and what happens when one population grows faster than the others. The primary goal of this unit is to engage students in simple interactive activities to explore ecosystems concepts, and in the use, modification, and creation of agent-based models to conduct experiments on simple virtual ecosystems.

Swords and Shields variations