iEARN
The iEARN Environmental Bridge Project is a collaborative scientific
investigation into physical aspects of soil that help contribute to the quality of the soil in local school
environments.
This collaborative effort, called the Earth Stewardship Project, lends will to the development of students’ analytical
problem solving abilities and to their ability to effectively communicate with
peers working on similar research throughout the world.
This project is an educational initiative that focuses upon the
development of students’ cognitive abilities and skills as global citizens in
the 21st century.
World citizens from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon and the USA are sharing scientific data, experience and discussions on investigations
into the quality of local soils.
Students participating in the Earth Stewardship Project forum share outcomes, pictures and comments about their experiences.
The project stems from experimentation of four main factors that influence the quality
of soil. The first factor is analysis of the percent composition of soil with
respect to sand, silt and clay. These percent are determined through measurements
of the thickness of striations of different substances in a soil mixture. Another factor tested is the rate of water
percolation through a mass of soil collected outside the school building. A
third test is a determination of the ability of soil to hold water between
particles (sand, silt and clay). Finally the density of soil mixtures are
determined from analysis of percent composition and corresponding density of
each substance layered within the ground.
Soil quality is a key indicator of the ability of an
ecosystem to support habitats, crop production and maintain the structural integrity
of a supportive environment. During the
project, students collaborate on their findings and discuss the rational for
these outcomes including how soil quality might impact the process of growing
food crops.
The international aspect of this project provide students
with a unique challenge to test hypothesis, diagnosis and render judgement on experimental
outcomes and take advantage of multiple perspectives of peers in the Middle
East and across Northern Africa. Involvement in this project provide students
with a tremendous opportunity to develop three types of cogitative processing
abilities: conceptual, analytical and social.
Project-based science, and its proven capability to engage
and intrinsically motivate student to perform, provide emphasis for
life-long learning. It strives for the
highest realization of human potential. It engages deeper virtues and values
such as compassion, courage, long-term commitment, resilience and perseverance.
Students become inspired to perform and are more innovative and creative in
their thinking. This learning experience
puts students into the “game” of solving real-world problems and they contribute to the success of meaningful outcomes.
The website for the iEARN Network is as follows:
https://iearn.org
The website for the iEARN Network is as follows:
https://iearn.org
