HR: 0800h
AN: ED31C-1217    [Abstracts]
TI: DLESE Teaching Boxes: Earth System Science Resources And Strategies For Using Data In The Classroom
AU: Olds, S E
EM: seolds@ucar.edu
AF: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) DLESE Program Center (DPC), PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: * Weingroff, M
EM: marianne@ucar.edu
AF: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) DLESE Program Center (DPC), PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AB: The DLESE Teaching Box project is both a professional development opportunity and an educational resource development project providing a pedagogic context that support teachers' use of data in the classroom. As a professional development opportunity, it is designed to augment teachers' science content knowledge, enhance their use of inquiry teaching strategies, and increase their confidence and facility with using digital libraries and online learning resources. Teams of educators, scientists, and instructional designers work together during a three part Teaching Box Development Workshop series to create Teaching Boxes on Earth system science topics. The resulting Teaching Boxes use Earth system science conceptual frameworks as their core and contain inquiry-based lessons which model scientific inquiry and process by focusing on the gathering and analysis of evidence. These lines of evidence employ an Earth systems approach to show how processes across multiple spheres, for example, how the biosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere interact in a complex Earth process. Each Teaching Box has interconnected lessons that provide 3-6 weeks of instruction, incorporate National and California science standards, and offer guidance on teaching pathways through the materials. They contain up-to-date digital materials including archived and real-time data sets, simulations, images, lesson plans, and other resources available through DLESE, NSDL, and the participating scientific institutions. Background information provided within the Box supports teacher learning and guides them to facilitate student access to the tools and techniques of authentic, modern science. In developing Teaching Boxes, DLESE adds value to existing educational resources by helping teachers more effectively interpret their use in a variety of standards-based classroom settings. In the past twelve months we have had over 100 requests for Teaching Box products from teachers and curriculum developers from numerous states. For Phase II of the pilot project, the development teams produced four additional Teaching Boxes: Oceanic Upwelling, Sea Level Change, Earthquake Hazards, and Mountain Formation. Each Box has been reviewed for scientific accuracy and is undergoing classroom testing this academic year (2006) to evaluate pedagogical effectiveness. This project is a collaborative effort of teachers, scientists, educators, and designers at the DLESE Program Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, University of California Museum of Paleontology, U.S. Geological Survey, and several San Francisco Bay Area schools.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0830 Teacher training
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005