HR: 11:50h
AN: ED32A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Seismic Research and High School Physics
AU: * Sayers, J
EM: jesayers@indiana.edu
AF: Northview High School, 1 West Knight Drive, Brazil, IN 47834 United States
AB: Through a series of summer workshops, seismologists at Indiana University have trained secondary physics and earth science teachers in fundamentals of seismology and basic concepts in seismic research. Teachers and students then gain hands on experience in science research through operation of a research quality seismic station sited at the local schools. Physics and earth science students have operated the Northview High School Seismic Station since 1998. Data from the Northview seismometer are stored locally and also transmitted over the Internet to a database at Indiana University. Students have access to local data as well as seismic databases accessible through the Internet to use for research projects. In this presentation, I will describe how these projects have been incorporated into the physics and earth science programs at Northview High School. I will discuss how our teachers and students have benefited from the opportunity to take part in hands-on collaborative scientific research under the guidance of university faculty. In particular, I will describe our participation in a regional seismic network through seismic data acquisition, data analysis using seismological software, and students' experiences in a university-based student research symposium. I reflect on the some of the successes, such as increased student and community interest, resulting from our work with the seismic station. I comment on some of the barriers, such as time constraints and unintended interference from school personnel, to high-school teachers' and students' involvement in scientific research programs. I conclude with a discussion of a successful student seismology project, an examination of blasts from local surface coal mines, that was a finalist in the 2003 INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting