ED42A-01 INVITED
Teaching from Data -- Climate Labs at Columbia and Barnard
Since 1995 Columbia and Barnard have offered Earth's Environmental Systems: Climate to undergraduate environmental majors. Both lecture and laboratory resources are available on line. In collaboration with Lamont- Doherty Earth Observatory, the twelve labs engage students in exploring global databases to learn about earth processes. Evaluations of the course as well as exit surveys of senior majors, indicate that the laboratories help students learn how to extract meaning from data and to better understand the research experience. Using classical data such as the Mauna Loa carbon dioxide concentrations, the Vostok record, the atmospheric Earth Radiation Budget Experience, and the Levitus World Ocean Atlas, the laboratories are designed with both structured exercises and open-ended questions. For example, the "Modern Atmospheric CO2 Record" lab has students compare the Mauna Loa data with records from the South Pole and Barrow, and then examine seasonal variations in global primary productivity to understand seasonal and interhemispheric differences. This information is then set in the context of projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Development of the Earth Environmental Systems sequence (Climate, Solid Earth, and Life) was supported by NSF and Columbia to establish a firm foundation for environmental majors. The Climate course is taught both fall and spring semesters by a team of professors. Challenges over the years include consistently augmenting the computer-based labs with hands-on elements, and student difficulty in writing lab reports when the lab is open-ended. http://eesc.columbia.edu/courses/ees/climate/
ED42A-02
A project-based geoscience curriculum: select examples
Principles of constructivist educational philosophy serve as a foundation for the recently completed National Science Foundation sponsored undergraduate curricular revision undertaken by the Geology Department of Lake Superior State University. We integrate lecture and laboratory sessions utilizing active learning strategies that focus on real-world geoscience experiences and problems. In this presentation, we discuss details of three research-like projects that require students to access original data, process and model the data using appropriate geological software, interpret and defend results, and disseminate results in reports, posters, and class presentations. The projects are from three upper division courses, Carbonate Systems, Sequence Stratigraphy, and Geophysical Systems, where teams of two to four students are presented with defined problems of durations ranging from a few weeks to an entire semester. Project goals and location, some background information, and specified dates and expectations for interim and final written and oral reports are provided to students. Some projects require the entire class to work on one data set, some require each team to be initially responsible for a portion of the project with teams ultimately merging data for interpretation and to arrive at final conclusions. Some projects require students to utilize data from appropriate geological web sites such as state geological surveys. Others require students to design surveys and utilize appropriate instruments of their choice for field data collection. Students learn usage and applications of appropriate geological software in compiling, processing, modeling, and interpreting data and preparing formal reports and presentations. Students uniformly report heightened interest and motivation when engaged in these projects. Our new curriculum has resulted in an increase in students" quantitative and interpretive skills along with dramatic improvement in communication and interpersonal skills related to group dynamics.
ED42A-03
Education and Professional Outreach for Scientists: Producing and Leveraging EPO Objects for Inquiry-Based Learning
Most Education and Professional Outreach (EPO) by scientists reaches relatively small audiences. Most scientists also see their contributions to K-12 teaching rather limited due to their lack of experience in primary and secondary school education. These limitations remain a major barrier in bridging the gap between science and education, and in optimizing the effectiveness of EPO by scientists. As part of the Enduring Resources for Earth Science Education (ERESE) project, we have started to use web- templates in our EPO creation (http://earthref.org/ERESE). These templates are now being developed into web- based tools and services that will be served from the ERESE website and archived by the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). At EarthRef.org these EPO objects can be linked to teaching materials in the ERDA digital archive that can be displayed in a fashion allowing selection based on expert level and file type, in what we dubbed the "resource matrix" view. This is a powerful search mechanism for learners of all levels in which they can pre-screen materials to their own level, while allowing them to venture up to higher expert levels or to explore more simple cases at lower levels. This stimulates inquiry- based learning by permitting as much roaming freedom as possible in a "science-data- based" online environment. The current EarthRef.org and ERESE collections include websites for scientific projects, for classes taught and for expeditions, as well as a wide range of materials including press releases, video footage, science illustrations, interviews, data and diagrams, student reports and lesson plans. This collection is representative for EPO in any STEM discipline and provides much interesting materials that are useful for education. Our main goal is to provide scientists with tools so they can obtain an easy-to-use and highly leveraged outlet for their EPO efforts, where they can reach substantial numbers of learners and educators, and where their materials are archived as enduring resources for re-use by many. http://earthref.org/ERESE
ED42A-04
ERESE: An online forum for research-based earth science inquiry
The Enduring Resources for Earth Science Education (ERESE) Project bridges the gap between earth science research and science education by providing a forum for electronic collaboration between practicing scientists and classroom teachers. By combining the resources of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and the expertise of educators, ERESE leverages a wide variety of assets to provide state-of-the-art, online digital resources through two National Science Digital Library collections: Earthref.org (http://www.Earthref.org/ERESE) and SIOExplorer (http://SIOExplorer.ucsd.edu). Earthref.org provides a wealth of plate tectonic-related content appropriate for designing and enacting inquiry lessons. The SIOExplorer Digital Library houses marine geophysical data from over 800 research cruises each containing a variety of data types from meteorological, to oceanographic, geophysical and navigational data. Built on successful collaboration between scientists and middle and high school teachers from across the country beginning in 2004, ERESE has expanded into a multifaceted repository for thought-provoking earth science data and images, virtual field trips and inquiry lessons designed by our partner teachers. More than static interfaces, both Earthref.org and SIOExplorer introduce users to current topics in science, seeking to answer outstanding questions about the earth, its processes, formation, and future. To provide a starting point for new users to design and contribute lessons to Earthref.org we have created a basic inquiry lesson plan template that models the process of investigating a real scientific problem. The template is designed on the basis of our five-stage model of inquiry adapted to the National Science Education Standards. As with all inquiry lessons, our model focuses on the shift of power from the teacher at the outset of the lesson to the students upon completion of the lesson.
ED42A-05
Using NASA's Aura Satellite Data for Inquiry Based Classroom Instruction
NASA's Earth Observing Satellite Aura was launched in 2004, and since that time has been collecting a wealth of data that contributes to scientists' understanding of the complexity of air quality issues. The Aura spacecraft monitors five of the six EPA criteria pollutants (NO2, SO2, O3, aerosols, and CO). Data from one of the criteria pollutants, NO2, are now available in a format useful to educators and students. The data by itself is not enough for students to engage in the scientific reasoning process. Thus, inquiry-driven supporting material in the form of lessons, project based learning scenarios, and curricular support for online data have all been adapted as part of the scaffolding necessary to help students gain an understanding of issues pertaining to air quality. These materials are delivered online which makes them readily accessible to the education community. Currently, NO2 data are available for manipulation using tools such as GoogleEarth and MY NASA DATA (http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov). These tools are used to investigate common relationships between spatial distribution and variability of NO2 concentrations. Through guided investigations in the Earth Exploration Toolbook (http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/index.html) or MY NASA DATA, students gain an understanding of NO2 variability. Students are then asked to extrapolate their knowledge and understanding to investigate other air quality issues relating to NO2. Within the coming year, the lessons built around Aura data will be introduced in professional development workshops. Feedback from those attending the professional development workshops about how the data and lessons are used in the classroom will be used to help shape future lesson development on new data. Subsequent data on criteria pollutants of SO2, aerosols, and O3 will soon be made available in a similar format to the education community, helping to further student understanding of the complex nature of air quality issues.
ED42A-06
Introducing real-world hydrology case studies into an undergraduate engineering curriculum
Hydrology, the study of the movement and storage of water in the environment, originated as an engineering discipline mainly concerned with the estimation of floods and droughts. Since then, hydrology has evolved into one of the earth sciences dealing with water related issues in complex environmental systems at scales ranging from local to global. Current and future water issues require inter-disciplinary scientific approaches, often including significant social components. Climate and land use change, and a growing population continuously increase the stress on available water resources, particularly in less developed countries. An introduction to hydrology remains an important part of the general civil and environmental engineering curriculum. However, the changes in the science of hydrology have not yet fully propagated into a changed approach to teaching this important subject. We present the results of a three-semester long study in which we introduced real world case studies into a large (70-90 students) civil engineering undergraduate class to achieve this change. Evidence of the impact of the curricular changes on student learning will be presented.
ED42A-07
EarthLabs - Investigating Hurricanes: Earth's Meteorological Monsters
Earth science is one of the most important tools that the global community needs to address the pressing environmental, social, and economic issues of our time. While, at times considered a second-rate science at the high school level, it is currently undergoing a major revolution in the depth of content and pedagogical vitality. As part of this revolution, labs in Earth science courses need to shift their focus from cookbook-like activities with known outcomes to open-ended investigations that challenge students to think, explore and apply their learning. We need to establish a new model for Earth science as a rigorous lab science in policy, perception, and reality. As a concerted response to this need, five states, a coalition of scientists and educators, and an experienced curriculum team are creating a national model for a lab-based high school Earth science course named EarthLabs. This lab course will comply with the National Science Education Standards as well as the states' curriculum frameworks. The content will focus on Earth system science and environmental literacy. The lab experiences will feature a combination of field work, classroom experiments, and computer access to data and visualizations, and demonstrate the rigor and depth of a true lab course. The effort is being funded by NOAA's Environmental Literacy program. One of the prototype units of the course is Investigating Hurricanes. Hurricanes are phenomena which have tremendous impact on humanity and the resources we use. They are also the result of complex interacting Earth systems, making them perfect objects for rigorous investigation of many concepts commonly covered in Earth science courses, such as meteorology, climate, and global wind circulation. Students are able to use the same data sets, analysis tools, and research techniques that scientists employ in their research, yielding truly authentic learning opportunities. This month-long integrated unit uses hurricanes as the story line by which students investigate the different interactions involved in hurricane generation, steering, and intensification. Students analyze a variety of visualization resources looking for patterns in occurrence and to develop an understanding of hurricane structure. They download archived data about past hurricanes and produce temporal and spatial plots to discover patterns in hurricane life cycles. They investigate the relationship between hurricane wind speed and factors such as barometric pressure and sea surface temperature by conducting spreadsheet analyses on archived data. They also conduct hands-on laboratory experiments in order to understand the physical processes that underpin energy transfer in convection, condensation, and latent heat. These activities highlight Earth science as a vital, rich, invigorating course, employing state-of-the-art technologies and in-depth labs with high relevance for our daily lives and the future. http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/index.html
ED42A-08
Learning Science Process Through Data Exploration and Writing
One of the most effective ways of teaching science process is to have students take part in the same activities that practicing scientists engage in. These activities include studying the current research in the field, discussing ideas with colleagues, formulating a research problem, making a proposal defining the problem and plan of attack, presenting and writing about the results of the study, and critically reviewing the work of others. An inquiry curriculum can use these activities to guide the scaffolding of assignments and learning experiences that help students learn science process. At UCSB, students in a large general education oceanography class use real Earth data to study plate tectonics, the Indian Monsoon, climate change, and the health of the world fisheries. The end product for each subject has been a science paper based on Earth data. Over a period of approximately 15 years, the scaffolding of activities to prepare each student for the written assignments has been modified and improved, in response to student feedback and their success with the assignments. I have found that the following resources and sequence of activities help the oceanography students write good science papers. 1. Lecture: motivation and the opportunity for feedback and questions. 2. Textbook: background information. It is also possible to get the information from the internet, but unless the scope of reading is strictly defined, students don't know when to stop reading and become unhappy. 3. Online assignments: automatically graded assignments that force the student to keep up with reading. 4. Questions of the day: in-class handouts, with diagrams that the students either complete, or answer questions about. They are handed in and tallied, but not graded. They also inform the instructor of misconceptions. 5. Thought questions: student answers are posted on a threaded discussion list, and are due prior to lecture. The answers provide instructor feedback and guide the lecture. Students see their peers' answers only after entering their own. They can then improve their own answer ("Just In Time Teaching"). 6. Laboratory section activities: these introduce students to the course software, especially the data browsers, and the meaning of the data for the next writing assignment. For each meeting, a group inquiry activity results in a short class presentation by each group. This informs the teaching assistant (who teaches the lab section) of student understanding of the material, helps students become comfortable with the software, and supports students helping each other. 7. Written assignments. The assignments each require an approximately 1100-1600 word paper that includes abstract, introduction, data, interpretation, summary, and references. Images are captured from the data browser and included in the paper. The writing technology has evolved from papers handed in and graded by hand, to fully online hand-in and grading, to calibrated peer review, which was incorporated in the 2005 course. Calibrated peer review has the advantage that students see and evaluate their peers' papers. About 20% of the papers are graded by the instructor, resulting in a much lower instructor grading workload. Also, I suspect that a greater number of very short writing assignments in response to thought questions or min- inquiries might be an effective modification. The new "Learning With Data Workshop" will support many of the inquiry activities described here. http://earthednet.org/