HR: 11:20h
AN: ED42A-05    [Abstracts]
TI: A New Curriculum For a Lab-Based Course in Introductory Earth Science: the Combined Effort of a Regional University and Local Community Colleges in the North Cascades Olympic Science Partnership.
AU: * DeBari, S M
EM: debari@geol.wwu.edu
AF: Western Washington University, Geology Department, M.S. 9080, Bellingham, WA 98225 United States
AU: Bachmann, J
EM: JBachman@whatcom.ctc.edu
AF: Whatcom Community College, 237 West Kellogg Road, Bellingham, WA 98225
AU: Dougan, B
EM: BDougan@whatcom.ctc.edu
AF: Whatcom Community College, 237 West Kellogg Road, Bellingham, WA 98225
AU: Dougan, B
EM: BDougan@whatcom.ctc.edu
AF: Skagit Valley College, Physical Sciences Department, 2405 E. College Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 United States
AU: Fackler-Adams, B
EM: Ben.Fackler-Adams@skagit.edu
AF: Skagit Valley College, Physical Sciences Department, 2405 E. College Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 United States
AU: Grupp, S
EM: sgrupp@everettcc.edu
AF: Everett Community College, Geology Department 2000 Tower Street, Everett, WA 98201 United States
AU: Linneman, S
EM: scott.linneman@wwu.edu
AF: Western Washington University, Geology Department, M.S. 9080, Bellingham, WA 98225 United States
AU: Plake, T
EM: tplake@nwic.edu
AF: Northwest Indian College, Science Department 2522 Kwina Road, Bellingham, WA 98226 United States
AU: Smith, B
EM: Brad.Smith@skagit.edu
AF: Skagit Valley College, Physical Sciences Department, 2405 E. College Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273 United States
AB: The North Cascades Olympic Science Partnership (NCOSP) is a partnership between Western Washington University, three local community colleges, the Northwest Indian College, and 29 K-12 school districts in western Washington State. One of the partnership goals is to improve the teaching and learning of science at the post-secondary level with specific emphasis on the training of future teachers. To this end, Western Washington University (WWU) joined with grass-roots efforts by local 2-year colleges to develop a yearlong science sequence that would directly impact pre-service elementary school teachers and other non-science majors. Students from these 2-year colleges who identify themselves as pre-service teachers go on to a teacher preparation program at WWU. The multi-year process of collaborative work among ~20 faculty from these institutions has produced three quarters of new curriculum in the sciences (including one quarter of Earth Science) that uses the pedagogical approach of Physics for Elementary Teachers (PET) (cpucips.sdsu/web/pet). Each of the science quarters utilizes the theme of the transfer of matter and energy. The Earth Science curriculum (transfer of matter and energy in Earth systems) is a quarter-long, lab-based course that emphasizes a metacognitive approach. The curriculum utilizes questioning, small group work, and small and large class discussions. Whiteboarding, or the process of sharing small-group ideas to a larger group, occupies a central theme in the curriculum. Students learn concepts by doing the lab activities, but the group discussions that promote discourse and questioning among students is a crucial tool in the sense-making and solidification of those concepts. The curriculum stands alone and does not require lectures by the instructors. The instructor's role is as a facilitator and questioner. The Earth Science curriculum is focused on only a few "Big Ideas" that the faculty developers identified in the planning stages. These Big Ideas are incorporated into cycles, or units, that build upon one other. Introductory cycles include the building of the concepts of heat and density and how these relate to Earth topography and the rock cycle. From this the course develops the themes of matter and energy transfer in the Earth (plate tectonics) and in the atmosphere (weather and climate), and the crucial concept of geologic time. The course has pre- and post-assessments built in, as well as cycle exams and homework assignments. We expect that the majority of future elementary teachers that go through local 2-year colleges and through WWU will take this yearlong sequence. They will then be required to take a fourth quarter of investigative science (a more open ended science process class), as well as a traditional science methods class and a science teaching practicum at WWU. Our goal is to graduate elementary school teachers who are science literate and who are well trained enough to bring the process of science into their future classrooms.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0830 Teacher training
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005