Distance Learning | News

New Standards-Aligned Paleontology Course Offers High School STEM Instruction

• By Sharleen Nelson
• 03/21/13

From cephalopods and the agnatha to the wooly mammoth and the australopithecines, anew elective course from K-12 curriculum provider CampusNorth offers high school students the opportunity to learn about the prehistoric creatures that roamed the earth before modern man, as well as fossils, plants, and paleontology as a field of study.

Developed in conjunction with the Royal Tyrrell Museum and Golden Hills School Division in Southern Alberta, Canada, the new online paleontology course designed for students in grades 9-12, is part of CampusNorth's high school electives catalog that focuses on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) learning and includes modules in space exploration, medicine, personal fitness, marine biology, and renewable energy.

Written by academic writers and curriculum editors, CampusNorth's online high school courses are aligned to Common Core State Standards, iNACOL's National Standards for Quality Online Courses, and existing state standards. Adaptable for classroom, blended, or online delivery, the courses are desktop and mobile device compatible, provide Section-508 accessibility, and can be integrated with existing learning management systems such as Blackboard and Moodle.

Key course features include:

• Formative and summative assessments;
• Integrated testing;
• Tutor- and computer-graded items;
• Fully referenced using APA citation;
• Adaptive content and assessment items to meet specific academic requirements;
• Web activities and critical-thinking questions;
• Reflection questions;
• Complete answer rubrics; and
• Teacher guides.

CampusNorth offers a free, 30-day demo. Single student licenses start at $55 per course and can be purchased direct or from participating education software vendors. For additional pricing information, visit campusnorth.com/pricing.

"We are excited to be working with the Royal Tyrrell Museum and Golden Hills School Division to produce this innovative course," said Matthew Birks, CEO at CampusNorth, in a prepared statement. "We believe this is the first curriculum development partnership of its kind and we are proud to be able to share the depth of knowledge and expertise at the Royal Tyrrell Museum with a wider audience."

Working in partnership with public, charter, and virtual schools, as well as educational software vendors, CampusNorth provides standards-aligned curriculum for high school students in grades 9-12. For further information, visit campusnorth.com.

Dedicated exclusively to the science of paleontology, the Royal Tyrrell Museum houses one of the world's largest dinosaur exhibits, and offers a wide variety of educational programs. The museum is operated by Alberta's Ministry of Culture. For more information, visit tyrrellmuseum.com.