Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

CIRES Education Outreach Program logo :: home link
     EO Home  |   Projects  |   Opportunities  |   News  |   Contact Us

tibetUpward and Outward:
Scientific Inquiry on the Tibetan Plateau

This 20-minute documentary film follows an international team of geoscientists
as they conduct research on the Tibetan Plateau.

View a short preview of the film.

Upward and Outward: Scientific Inquiry on the Tibetan Plateau is a twenty-minute educational documentary film targeting high school and college science students. The film shows the process of science as seen through the work of an international team of scientists as they conduct interdisciplinary research on the Tibetan Plateau. As they see the scientists in action, in the field, lab, and computer room, students learn how science is a human process for building knowledge, not just a body of fact. The film aligns with national and state standards on scientific inquiry and the nature of science. More about the film.

Teaching Resources Science Resources

Classroom notes for teachers
links to the science standards, suggestions for using the film, questions for discussion

Conceptions of science and scientists
a summary of research on how people think about science and scientists, useful to understand the prior knowledge of your audience

Student work packet
questions for student thinking and writing before and after the film

Scientific background
a summary of the science behind the project

Scientists' web sites
links to web pages for the scientists featured in the film

More science links
links to additional information about the places, methods, and scientific questions discussed in the film

 

What people are saying about the film

We need to educate our students to think critically about the information they come across, whether in class, online, in the movie theatre, etc. They need the tools to understand - Is this science? Is this a debate? What do I think vs. what do I believe? I also think the DVD will inspire our students to pursue careers in science. Teachers can draw from the enthusiasm in the video.
Lisa P., district science coordinator, Colorado

I used the video for both English and science class... they watched the video and wrote about the questions. My 7th and 8th graders have a very narrow view of what you can do with what I am teaching them and how many jobs in the world are related to science. The video really opened their eyes to the many opportunities in the field.
Rebecca H., middle school teacher, Maine


For more information contact Sandra Laursen
(sandra dot laursen@colorado dot edu)

Credits:
Produced by Roslyn Dauber
Written by Roslyn Dauber and Sandra Laursen
Narrated by Peter Furey
Executive Producers Sandra Laursen and Peter Molnar

 

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. EAR-0507730. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.