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Friday, November 25, 2016



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