LEARNING HUB · CLASSROOM
Classroom investigations with living data
Each activity starts with a researchable question and uses public SpeciesWatch pages as evidence. Teachers may shorten or extend the sequence; students never need an account.
Does protected mean safe?
Can the presence of a protected area prove that nearby species are safe from environmental pressure?
Investigation sequence
- 1Open Protected vs vulnerable in Living Maps.
- 2Choose three regions with protected-area records and compare nearby fire detections.
- 3Select two threatened species whose geography is relevant to the regions.
- 4Write a claim that distinguishes legal designation from measured ecological condition.
Evidence cautions
- Protected-area points are representative records, not every protected polygon.
- Fire points are satellite heat detections, not confirmed habitat loss.
- A species occurrence is evidence of a recorded observation, not current abundance.
Outcome: A short claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph with at least one limitation.
What does an extinction-risk category tell us?
Why can two species in the same IUCN category face very different futures?
Investigation sequence
- 1Filter Species Explorer to one threatened category.
- 2Choose two species from different taxonomic groups or habitats.
- 3Compare population trend, threats, known occurrences and references.
- 4List what the shared category communicates and what it cannot communicate.
Evidence cautions
- Risk category summarizes criteria; it is not an extinction date.
- Population estimates may describe different units and periods.
- Geographic range, generation length and threats change the meaning of risk.
Outcome: A comparison table followed by a 150-word interpretation.
When is a red dot evidence?
What additional evidence is needed before a satellite hotspot can support a habitat-loss claim?
Investigation sequence
- 1Inspect the seven-day fire layer and choose one cluster.
- 2Record what the map directly shows and what it does not show.
- 3Read the fire story and the source description for NASA FIRMS.
- 4Design a verification plan using land cover, repeated observations or field reports.
Evidence cautions
- Sensors detect thermal anomalies with spatial and temporal limits.
- One hotspot can have several possible causes.
- Causal claims require corroboration beyond proximity on a map.
Outcome: An evidence ladder from observation to cautious conclusion.
Build a better extinction clock
How would changing category weights or the catalogue composition change an urgency index?
Investigation sequence
- 1Read how the current urgency index is calculated.
- 2Record the category distribution from the dashboard.
- 3Propose an alternative weighting system and justify it.
- 4Predict which changes reflect biodiversity and which reflect curation of the catalogue.
Evidence cautions
- A composite index embeds editorial and mathematical choices.
- A stable formula can still change when the underlying collection changes.
- Transparency and versioning make an index auditable.
Outcome: A proposed formula, assumptions and a paragraph explaining possible misuse.