NRC Standards
and Benchmarks: Remote Sensing Activities
The ETE Remote Sensing and Image Processing Activities
support the following science standards and benchmarks:
NRC
Science Education Standards (Science
Education Standards Online)
As a result of activities, students should develop understanding and abilities
aligned with the following concepts and processes.
Content
Standard:
Unifying Concepts & Processes (pp. 115-119)
Fundamental
concepts that underlie Evidence, Models, and Explanation include:
- Evidence consists
of observations and data on which to base scientific explanations.
- Models are tentative
schemes or structures that correspond to real objects, events, or classes
of events, and that have explanatory power.
- Models help scientists
and engineers understand how things work.
- Models take many
forms, including physical objects, plans, mental constructs, mathematical
equations, and computer simulations.
Fundamental concepts that underlie Constancy, Change, & Measurement
include:
- Evidence for interactions
and subsequent change and the formulation of scientific explanations
are often clarified through quantitative distinctions-measurement.
- Mathematics is
essential for accurately measuring change.
- Different systems
of measurement are used for different purposes.
- An important part
of measurement is knowing when to use which system.
- Scale includes
understanding that different characteristics, properties, or relationships
within a system might change as its dimensions are increased or decreased.
Content Standard
A: Science as Inquiry (pp. 173-176)
Fundamental
concepts that underlie the Abilities Necessary to Do Scientific Inquiry
include:
- Use technology
and mathematics to improve investigations and communications.
- Formulate and
revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence.
- Communicate and
defend a scientific argument.
Fundamental concepts
that underlie the Understandings about Scientific Inquiry
include:
- Scientists rely
on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data.
- New techniques
and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather
data, thereby contributing to the advance of science.
- The accuracy and
precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration,
depends on the technology used.
- Mathematics is
essential in scientific inquiry. Mathematical tools and models guide
and improve the posing of questions, gathering data, constructing explanations
and communicating results.
Content Standard
E: Science and Technology (pp. 190-193)
Fundamental
concepts that underlie the Abilities of Technological Design Include:
- Identify a problem
or design an opportunity.
- Propose designs
& choose between alternative solutions.
- Implement a proposed
solution.
- Evaluate the solution
and its consequences.
- Communicate the
problem, process, and solution.
Fundamental concepts
that underlie Understandings About Science & Technology include:
- Scientists in
different disciplines ask different questions, use different methods
of investigation, and accept different types of evidence to support
their explanations.
- Many scientific
investigations require the contributions of individuals from different
disciplines, including engineering.
- Science often
advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological
problems often results in new scientific knowledge.
- New technologies
often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce
new areas of research.
Content Standard
G: History and Nature of Science (pp. 200 & 201)
Fundamental
concepts that underlie Science as a Human Endeavor include:
- Individuals and
teams have contributed and will continue to contribute to the scientific
enterprise
- Doing science
or engineering can be as simple as an individual conducting field studies
or as complex as hundreds of people working on a major scientific question
or technological problem
- Pursuing science
as a career or as a hobby can be both fascinating and intellectually
rewarding
- Scientists have
ethical traditions. Scientists value peer review, truthful reporting
about the methods and outcomes of investigations, and making public
the results of work. Violations of such norms do occur, but scientists
responsible for such violations are censured by their peers.
Fundamental concepts
that underlie Nature of Scientific Knowledge include:
- Science distinguishes
itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge
through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism,
as scientists strive for the best possible explanations about the natural
world
- Scientific explanations
must meet certain criteria. First and foremost, they must be consistent
with experimental and observational evidence about nature, and must
make accurate predictions, when appropriate, about systems being studied
- Scientific explanations
should also be logical, respect the rules of evidence, be open to criticism,
report methods and procedures, and make knowledge public.
Project
2061 Benchmarks
(Benchmarks
On-Line)
By the end of the 12th grade, students should know that:
Content
Standard:
Chapter 11, Common Themes
11B
Models:
- The basic idea
of mathematical modeling is to find a mathematical relationship that
behaves in the same ways as the objects or processes under investigation.
- Computers have
greatly improved the power and use of mathematical models by performing
computations that are very long, very complicated, or repetitive.
- The graphic capabilities
of computers make them useful in the design and testing of devices and
structures and in the simulation of complicated processes.
- The usefulness
of a model can be tested by comparing its predictions to actual observations
in the real world.
11D Scale:
- Because different
properties are not affected to the same degree by changes in scale,
large changes in scale typically change the way that things work in
physical, biological, or social systems.
Content Standard:
Chapter 1, The Nature of Science
1B
Scientific Inquiry:
- Investigations
are conducted for different reasons, including to explore new phenomena,
to check on previous results, to test how well a theory predicts, and
to compare different theories.
- Hypotheses are
widely used in science for choosing what data to pay attention to and
what additional data to seek, and for guiding the interpretation of
the data (both new and previously available).
1C The Scientific
Enterprise:
- Many problems
are studied by scientists using information and skills from many disciplines.
- Disciplines do
not have fixed boundaries, and it happens that new scientific disciplines
are being formed where existing ones meet and that some subdisciplines
spin off to become new disciplines in their own right.
Content Standard:
Chapter 8, The Designed World
8E
Information Processing:
- Computer modeling
explores the logical consequences of a set of instructions and a set
of data. The instructions and data input of a computer model try to
represent the real world so the computer can show what would actually
happen. In this way, computers assist people in making decisions by
simulating the consequences of different possible decisions.
- Miniaturization
of information-processing hardware can increase processing speed and
portability, reduce energy use, and lower cost.
Content Standard:
Chapter 12, Habits of Mind
12B
Computation and Estimation:
- Use ratios and
proportions, including constant rates, in appropriate problems.
- Find answers to
problems by substituting numerical values in simple algebraic formulas
and judge whether the answer is reasonable by reviewing the process
and checking against typical values.
- Make up and write
out simple algorithms for solving problems that take several steps.
- Use computer spreadsheet,
graphing, and database programs to assist in quantitative analysis.
- Compare data for
two groups by representing their averages and spreads graphically.
- Express and compare
very small and very large numbers using powers-of-ten notation.
- Trace the source
of any large disparity between an estimate and the calculated answer.
- Consider the possible
effects of measurement errors on calculations.
12C Manipulation
and Observation:
- Learn quickly
the proper use of new instruments by following instructions in manuals
or by taking instructions from an experienced user.
- Use computers
for producing tables and graphs and for making spreadsheet calculations.
12D Communication
Skills:
- Make and interpret
scale drawings.
- Write clear, step-by-step
instructions for conducting investigations, operating something, or
following a procedure.
- Choose appropriate
summary statistics to describe group differences, always indicating
the spread of the data as well as the data's central tendencies.
- Describe spatial
relationships in geometric terms such as perpendicular, parallel, tangent,
similar, congruent, and symmetrical.
- Use and correctly
interpret relational terms such as if . . . then . . . , and, or, sufficient,
necessary, some, every, not, correlates with, and causes.
- Participate in
group discussions on scientific topics by restating or summarizing accurately
what others have said, asking for clarification or elaboration, and
expressing alternative positions.
- Use tables, charts,
and graphs in making arguments and claims in oral and written presentations.
12E Critical-Response
Skills:
- Notice and criticize
arguments based on the faulty, incomplete, or misleading use of numbers,
such as in instances when:
- Average results
are reported, but not the amount of variation around the average
- Check graphs to see that they do not misrepresent results by using
inappropriate scales or by failing to specify the axes clearly.
- Wonder how likely it is that some event of interest might have occurred
just by chance.
- Insist that the critical assumptions behind any line of reasoning
be made explicit so that the validity of the position being taken-whether
one's own or that of others-can be judged.
- Be aware, when considering claims, that when people try to prove
a point, they may select only the data that support it and ignore any
that would contradict it.
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