Food Chain Learning Laboratory

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Nancy Maville
Junior Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2002 3:39 am

Food Chain Learning Laboratory

Post by Nancy Maville »

High Performance Systems, Inc. is pleased and very proud to announce a
new STELLA-based Learning Laboratory called Food Chain! The STELLA
software is used to create the underlying simulation engines that drive
Food Chains virtual ecosystem laboratory. In Part 1 of the Lab,
students are confronted with three challenges involving a freshwater
lake and a group of plant and animal species that span the four trophic
levels. Students are asked to develop hypotheses, design
(simulation-based) experiments to test their hypotheses, and then to
write explanations of their results. Food Chain offers students the
opportunity for gaining lots of experience in applying the scientific
method while building a solid understanding of the interdependent
relationships that govern the dynamics of food chains.

To ensure that students have the opportunity to generalize the concepts
they will encounter in Part 1, Part 2 of Food Chain re-visits several of
the key concepts in contexts taken from students day-to-day life
experience. Maintaining grade point averages, the spread of the AIDS
virus, and the creation of pop music CDs are but a few of the contexts
within which key concepts such as counteracting and reinforcing feedback
loops, nonlinear relationships, and unintended consequences, are
couched.

Throughout Food Chain, students direct a discovery-oriented learning
process! The product contains built-in just-in-time, just-whats-needed
coaching to ensure that "learnable moments" are fully harvested-whenever
they occur for the various student teams across a busy classroom.
Students can export all of their answers to an external file for
electronic submission or printing. Food Chain comes with a detailed
Teachers Guide that provides sample solutions and contains diagrams
suitable for photocopy distribution to students, or for use in making
overhead transparencies to support classroom discussions.

For more information about Food Chain, or to learn about demo options,
visit our website at:

http://www.hps-inc.com

From: Nancy Maville <nmaville@hps-inc.com>

--
High Performance Systems, Inc.
45 Lyme Road, Suite 300, Hanover, NH 03755-1221
Tel. 603-643-9636 - Fax. 603-643-9502 - http://www.hps-inc.com
<http://www.hps-inc.com/>



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Performance Systems, Inc. is </SPAN>pleased and very proud to announce =
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STELLA-based Learning Laboratory called <I>Food Chain</I>!<SPAN=20
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the Lab, students are confronted with three challenges involving a =
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lake and a group of plant and animal species that span the four trophic =

levels.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN>Students are =
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develop hypotheses, design (simulation-based) experiments to test their =

hypotheses, and then to write explanations of their results.<SPAN=20
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students the=20
opportunity for gaining lots of experience in applying the scientific =
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face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>To ensure that students have the =
opportunity to=20
generalize the concepts they will encounter in Part 1, Part 2 of =
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day-to-day life experience. Maintaining grade point averages, the =
spread of the=20
AIDS virus, and the creation of pop music CDs are but a few of the =
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within which key concepts such as counteracting and reinforcing =
feedback loops,=20
nonlinear relationships, and unintended consequences, are =
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style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 8pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; tab-stops: =
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face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Throughout <I>Food Chain</I>, =
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<I>discovery-oriented</I> learning process!<SPAN=20
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moments=94 are fully harvested=97whenever they occur for the various =
student teams=20
across a busy classroom.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  =
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can export all of their answers to an external file for electronic =
submission or=20
printing.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN><I>Food =
Chain</I> comes=20
with a detailed Teacher=92s Guide that provides sample solutions and =
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diagrams suitable for photocopy distribution to students, or for use in =
making=20
overhead transparencies to support classroom discussions.</FONT></P>
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style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 8pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; tab-stops: =
.5in"><FONT=20
size=3D3><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">For more information about =
<I>Food=20
Chain</I>, or to learn about demo options, visit our website at:<SPAN=20
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size=3D3><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"><SPAN=20
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href=3D"http://www.hps-inc.com/"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"=20
size=3D3>www.hps-inc.com</FONT></A></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT size=3D2>--<BR>High Performance Systems, Inc.<BR>45 Lyme Road, =
Suite 300,=20
Hanover, NH 03755-1221<BR>Tel. 603-643-9636 - Fax. 603-643-9502 - <A=20
href=3D"http://www.hps-inc.com/" target=3D_blank>http://www.hps-inc.com<=
/A>=20
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