ED51A-0114
The United States And France Partner In CALIPSO Satellite Education: Providing Students And Teachers With An Opportunity To Collect Sun Photometer Data And Improve Their Understanding Of Climate Change
The CALIPSO satellite based research mission was successfully launched, with the CloudSat mission, on a Delta II rocket on April 28, 2006. CALIPSO, an acronym for Cloud Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations, is a joint mission between NASA in the United States and CNES in France. CALIPSO uses Lidar to detect the size and distribution of clouds and aerosols. In addition to providing scientists with improved atmospheric data, the launch of CALIPSO is also promoting an international partnership between students and teachers in France and the United States. Under the direction of Dianne Q. Robinson, Hampton University leads the CALIPSO U.S. education and public outreach (EPO) program, while Danielle DeStaerke manages the EPO efforts in France, known as Calisph"Air. The data being collected by CALIPSO is helping scientists, teachers and students to better understand the role aerosols and clouds play in Earth's climate system. Paul Adams, a professor at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, works directly with CALIPSO and Calisph"Air, providing instruction for teachers and unique science education opportunities for students. Since 2004, live events such as web chats and videoconferences have been conducted for students in both countries, allowing them a connection to the mission scientists. In addition, the programs have implemented several teacher workshops in France and the U.S. providing educators with an opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the science of CALIPSO. Key to the success of this international partnership has been the opportunity for both programs to continue to work through GLOBE to involve students in taking measurements of aerosols with a hand-held sun photometer. All data is collected using a precise GLOBE protocol and reported online. The activities developed by the CALIPSO and Calisph"Air education programs, as well as the data collected by students internationally, allows teachers, students and the public to better understand the worldwide impacts made by humans on Earth's atmosphere. http://calipsooutreach.hamptonu.edu
ED51A-0115
Students and Teachers Exploring Local Landscapes to Interpret the Earth from Space Application to the International Polar Year (SATELLITES-IPY Application)
The SATELLITES Program was established in 1999 at the University of Toledo to engage students in "real science" and introduce Earth System Science and geospatial technologies into the K-12 environment. The SATELLITES Program has now expanded to include scientists from the OhioView Remote Sensing Consortium, teachers from over 200 schools and reaches students in countries from around the world through the GLOBE program. SATELLITES is made up of four parts 1. the Observing Earth from Space Summer Institute, 2. a fall field intensive through the GLOBE program to engage students in observing their environment, 3. a spring inquiry- based application project in which the students address an environmental question using the observations that they took and that other students at other schools in the GLOBE network have taken, and 4. the SATELLITES Conference where students present their inquiry-based projects. The week-long SATELITES summer Institute introduces teachers to geospatial technologies of GIS, GPS and remote sensing. Content knowledge is built through interactions with scientists and everything is linked to the Standards. Through the field campaign, students focus on observing locally to understand the global issues of the polar regions and melting of ice and snow.
ED51A-0116
A Review of the Electronic Coursework Efforts of the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the Earth System Science Education Alliance
The University of Nebraska at Omaha has been a state leader in helping Nebraska teachers embrace earth systems science education, with a special emphasis in online coursework. UNO was one of the initial members in the Earth Systems Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) and has offered three different ESSEA courses, with a total of 167 students having taken ESSEA courses at UNO for graduate credit. UNO is currently involved in expanding its earth system science courses, modules, and educational research. We are also integrating these courses into several degree programs, including a Masters of Science in Education, a new Middle School Endorsement, a Certificate in Urban Education, and the Graduate Program for the Department of Geography/Geology. UNO is beginning to examine teacher content learning and science reasoning within its coursework. Feedback surveys from earlier ESSEA offerings already indicate a strongly positive perception of the courses by the teachers enrolled in the coursework. Project impact has been documented in teacher projects, quotes, and lessons associated with the coursework activities. We will describe the UNO earth system science efforts (emphasizing ESSEA coursework), and describe past efforts and teacher perceptions, as well as new strategies being undertaken to more closely examine content learning and science reasoning impact with course participants. We will also describe online course modules being developed within the UNO online course efforts, including one on the global amphibian crisis, and also the impact of urbanization on a local native prairie environment.
ED51A-0117
Multiple Strategies for Multiple Audiences: SJSU's Contributions to the Geoscience Education Community
Pre- and in-service teachers nationwide face increasing qualification and credentialing demands. This may be particularly true for secondary (9-12) science teachers and multiple subject (K-8) faculty. Traditional B.S. programs in Physics, Chemistry, Biology rarely require geoscience courses, yet those candidates wishing to pursue high school teaching may need to demonstrate Earth science content competency to qualify for a credential. If successful, they will likely be asked to teach a geoscience course at some point during their careers. Even more daunting is the plight of those in the K-8 arena: many current and prospective teachers have been forced to minimize science electives in lieu of increasing education requirements. National, state, and local teaching standards call for escalating emphases on the four geoscience sub- disciplines: geology, meteorology, oceanography, and space science. How can current and future teachers establish geoscience content and pedagogy competency when undergraduate curricula often substitute other (albeit valuable) requirements? How can current and future K-12 educators supplement their academic knowledge to substantiate "highly qualified" status, and (perhaps more importantly) to feel comfortable enough to share geoscience concepts with their students? How can we in higher education assist this population of already overcommitted, less experienced teachers? San Jose State University has developed a multi-pronged approach to meet several concurrent demands. Faculty from SJSU's Geology Department and Program in Science Education developed a course, Earth Systems and the Environment, that satisfies all four geoscience sub-disciplines' required content for teachers. While it is intended for future K-8 educators, it also carries general education certification, and has been adapted and delivered online since 2005. SJSU's in-service community can enroll in the 3 graduate credit, ESSEA (Earth Systems Science Education Alliance) courses for middle- and high-school teachers. These curricula use jig-saw and cooperative learning strategies to enhance educators' understanding, and to build confidence in teaching geoscience ideas by modeling effective pedagogy. The Bay Area Earth Science Institute (BAESI) augments these formal education options, offering summer and weekend workshops for which teachers may earn inexpensive university credit. Established in 1990, BAESI has served more than 1500 teachers with geoscientist- and master teacher-led workshops that supply standards- based Earth science concepts and effective strategies for teaching them. http://www.baesi.org
ED51A-0118
Earth System Science: Problem-based Learning Courses for Teachers Through ESSEA
One method that has proven effective in the study of Earth system science is to use a problem-based and event- centered course organization. In such a course, different events that occur in the Earth system are examined and how each event influences subsequent events in each of Earth's spheres (the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere) is studied. A course is composed of several problem-based modules, where each module is centered about a particular event or issue that is important to the Earth system. The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) was recently awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation's Geo-Teach program to develop and implement courses for teachers in Earth system science. Through the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA), IGES subsequently made awards to a group of 24 universities. Under the ESSEA program, problem-based modules are being developed for courses for middle school and high school teachers. In a typical university schedule, each module is designed to last three weeks and includes both group work and individual assignments. In the first week ("Teacher as Problem Solver"), participants explore their own ideas concerning the event and exchange their ideas with other members of their group. In the second week ("Teacher as Scholar"), participants research the issue and become more familiar with the event and the sphere-to-sphere interactions that occur. In the last week ("Teacher as Designer"), each participant develops a lesson plan for his or her own classroom. Current ESSEA modules cover topics such as volcanoes, Brazilian deforestation, Antarctic ice sheets, coral reefs, and stratospheric ozone depletion. Many new modules are under development with topics that range from plate tectonics and tsunamis to agriculture and sustainable water systems. Seattle Pacific University, in cooperation with Seattle Public Schools, was recently awarded a three-year grant by IGES to provide Earth system science education courses to middle and high school teachers. Teachers who complete the course are eligible for Continuing Education Units or graduate credit through Seattle Pacific University. Both three-credit and five-credit courses will be offered. All tuition costs will be paid by the grant. The courses will be offered in a hybrid online-classroom format. Future plans include offering an Earth system science course for pre-service teachers. In this talk we will describe the structure and content of the ESSEA modules with examples from currently available modules. We will also outline the development and planned implementation of a five-credit ESSEA course for area high school teachers to be offered at Seattle Pacific University in spring of 2008.
ED51A-0119
Life of the Aquifer: Improving Earth Science Education for Teachers and Students in High Schools of Under-represented Groups on the North Carolina Coastal Plain
Life of the Aquifer is a program to improve Earth Science education in local public high schools. Geologic awareness among the local population is low because southeastern N.C. are on the Coastal Plain where rocks are not visible. This has made instruction in Earth Science, now required in North Carolina high schools, difficult. Our approach is to use groundwater, source of local public water, as a theme to organize instruction in geology. More than 70% of the student population in Robeson County, a rural low-wealth area, is from groups under- represented in the geosciences (46% Native American and 31% African American). Linking basic concepts in geology to groundwater is a way to show how geology is real and affects society. Our project engages teachers and students in active inquiry of the functioning of local aquifers from recharge to groundwater production. Although data on water levels in the Black Creek aquifer have been collected, there has been little formal investigation because serious problems with groundwater have not been noted to date. Nonetheless, the hydraulic head of Black Creek Aquifer wells has been declining. We started by improving skills of local Earth Science teachers, because most have had no formal education in geology. The teachers attended workshops on basic geology, groundwater, and exercises based on local groundwater data. The workshops also included field trips to outcrops exposing the local aquifer, 100 km away in South Carolina. We also showed teachers how each topic addresses Competency Goals in the Standard Course of Study. By using our instructional modules, the teachers assist their students to develop spatial reasoning skills by analyzing maps. Student geologic knowledge is increased by learning how the components of a groundwater system form as a result of geologic processes and collecting data from the Internet on changes in groundwater systems over time. Our remaining implementation activity is installation of wells to sample the surficial water table on the grounds of each participating school. When this is completed, students will be able to do their own monitoring of fluctuations in the water table as it responds to high frequency drivers such as variation in rainfall. The project builds knowledge about groundwater to educate students, teachers and the community before irreversible problems can arise with this important environmental resource.
ED51A-0120
EarthCaching. Training teachers to use a GPS based field experience in their classroom.
EarthCaching is an educational section of the highly success game of Geocaching. EarthCaching is unique in as much as it provides teachers with the opportunity to combine web-based research, technology use (GPS) and field experiences to expose their students to Earth science. The Geological Society of America (GSA), the developers of EarthCaching, in partnership with the National Geographic Society's Education Foundation and Groundspeak Inc, has developed an Educators Guide to EarthCaching and is currently training teachers via a ‘train-the-trainer' approach, to introduce Earthcaching to students across the nation. While the training itself is an interesting process, the introduction of EarthCaching into schools and beyond can provide some insights into how technology, field experiences and Earth science can combine to make a real impact. Currently there are over 1300 EarthCache sites around the world and these have been visited by over 60,000 visitors. As the program grows, the potential impact of this program is huge. The Educator Guide is available for free from the www.earthcache.org web portal. http://www.earthcache.org
ED51A-0121
Promoting an Integrated Science Approach in Teacher Training Programs
The Rio Grande Valley of Texas presents a unique opportunity for teacher workshops. First of all, it is separated geographically from major Texas metropolitan areas and it is still primarily rural with relatively small cities and the population is predominantly Hispanic. Teacher workshop offerings in the valley are limited and the teachers usually travel at their own expense to larger cities such as Corpus Christi, San Antonio or Houston to enhance their science background. A few years ago we were prompted by Javier Garcia to offer a workshop at the University of Texas at Brownsville. For three consecutive summers, with NASA funding and support, we taught a one week integrated science teacher workshop at the University of Texas at Brownsville. The workshop is nontraditional, as we do not concentrate on a single scientific discipline such as geology, physics but cover the broader scientific disciplines. Each day is devoted to a separate field, i.e. physics, terrestrial geology, space geology, etc. The topics can vary from year to year. Scientists are brought to Brownsville from the greater Houston area and represent the University of Houston-Downtown, Rice University, Texas Southern University and Johnson Space Center. All sessions are inquiry based and include short introductions to subjects and interactive activities that can be adapted to a variety of age groups. For example, the relationship between Earth and Moon is a crucial state middle school education standard. We begin the Earth/Moon activities with standard inquiry activities such as using flashlights to create phases of the Moon and eclipses, and extend the activities to higher mathematical levels through calculations of the height of lunar features through measuring shadow lengths, and discussion of space weather concerns for lunar exploration. As a way to illustrate the contrast between the Earth and the Moon, we show our planetarium show "Earth's Wild Ride", which is set on a lunar colony, as a start for discussion on lunar versus earth surfaces, atmospheres, and skies. The program has been a success as teachers, which have included grades 4-12, can choose the subjects. Some elect to attend the whole week while others may attend only 1 or 2 days. The advantage to this type of program is that it is easily adaptable to the science requirements for the various grade levels and it provides flexibility as some teachers are traveling 2-3 hours by automobile to attend. Thus by bringing both scientists and a planetarium to the Valley, we provide a "field trip without the bus".
ED51A-0122
Expanding the Reach of the Coastal Ocean Science Classroom to Teachers through Teleducation
In a first of its kind connectivity, using high speed internet connections, a summer class in Oceanography was live, interactively broadcast (teleducation) to Arcadia High School on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, allowing teachers in the Accomack County School District to receive university credit without leaving their home classrooms 250 miles from UVA. This project was an outreach and education program with a partner in the K-12 schools on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It endeavored to build a community knowledgeable of the importance the ocean plays daily in our lives, and our own impact on the ocean. By establishing teleducation linkages with the Eastern Shore High Schools we were rigorously testing the live-Internet-based classroom with earth science teachers enabling them to remotely participate in University of Virginia classes in Oceanography. The classes were designed on a faculty development basis or to allow the teachers to acquire NSTA certification in Earth Science Education. While not without small problems of interruptions in connectivity or the occasional transmission of hardcopies of materials, the approach was seen to be extremely successful. The ability to reach school districts and teachers that are in more remote locations and with fewer resources is clearly supported by this venture. Currently we are planning to link multiple classrooms in the next iteration of this work, intending to offer the expanded classroom in more distant college-based classrooms where Ocean Sciences is a desired portion of the curriculum, but is presently only occasionally offered owing to limited resources.
ED51A-0123
The Transforming Earth System Science Education (TESSE) program
A partnership between the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Dillard University, Elizabeth City State University, and Pennsylvania State University has been established to prepare middle and high school teachers to teach Earth and environmental sciences from a processes and systems approach. Specific project goals include: providing Earth system science content instruction; assisting teachers in implementing Earth system science in their own classrooms; and creating opportunities for pre-service teachers to experience authentic research with Earth scientists. TESSE programmatic components comprise (1) a two-week intensive summer institutes for current and future teachers; (2) eight-week research immersion experiences that match preservice teachers with Earth science faculty mentors; and (3) a science liaison program involving the pairing of inservice teachers with graduate students or future teachers. The first year of the program supported a total of 49 participants (42 inservice and preservice teachers, as well as 7 graduate fellows). All participants in the program attended an intensive two-week summer workshop at UNH, and the academic-year science liaison program is underway. In future summers, all partnering institutions will hold similar two-week summer institutes. UNH will offer a more advanced course geared towards "hot topics" and research techniques in the Earth and environmental sciences.
ED51A-0124
Providing Authentic Research Experiences for Pre-Service Teachers through UNH's Transforming Earth System Science Education (TESSE) Program
The University of New Hampshire's Transforming Earth System Science Education (UNH TESSE) project is designed to enrich the education and professional development of in-service and pre-service teachers, who teach or will teach Earth science curricula. As part of this program, pre-service teachers participated in an eight- week summer Research Immersion Experience (RIE). The main goal of the RIE is to provide authentic research experiences in Earth system science for teachers early in their careers in an effort to increase future teachers` comfort and confidence in bringing research endeavors to their students. Moreover, authentic research experiences for teachers will complement teachers` efforts to enhance inquiry-based instruction in their own classrooms. Eighteen pre-service teachers associated with our four participating institutions - Dillard University (4), Elizabeth City State University (4), Pennsylvania State University (5), and University of New Hampshire (UNH) (5) participated in the research immersion experience. Pre-service teachers were matched with a faculty mentor who advised their independent research activities. Each pre-service teacher was expected to collect and analyze his or her own data to address their research question. Some example topics researched by participants included: processes governing barrier island formation, comparison of formation and track of hurricanes Hugo and Katrina, environmental consequences of Katrina, numerical models of meander formation, climatic impacts on the growth of wetland plants, and the visual estimation of hydrothermal vent properties. Participants culminated their research experience with a public presentation to an audience of scientists and inservice teachers.
ED51A-0125
Geophysical Investigation of an Abandoned Cemetery: Teachers Discover Evidence of Unmarked Graves in Prairie View, TX
In July 2007, a group of nineteen K-12 teachers investigated an abandoned cemetery in Prairie View, Texas, utilizing ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to image the subsurface. In a period of two weeks, the group acquired and interpreted 59 GPR profiles in Wyatt Chapel Cemetery and surrounding areas in order to determine the local stratigraphy and try to locate unmarked graves. The sandy soil in this area is ideally suited for GPR investigations and numerous geophysical anomalies were identified. Wyatt Chapel Cemetery is located adjacent to the campus of Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, TX, and is thought to have originated as a slave burial ground in the 1850's. Participants in a summer course at Rice University conducted a geophysical investigation of the site. Participants were in-service K-12 teachers from urban Houston school districts where the majority of students are members of historically underrepresented minority groups. Recruitment efforts targeted educators who are currently teaching science without a science degree. Participants included elementary, middle and high school teachers. This summer experience is followed by a content-intensive academic year course in Physical Geology. GPR is an excellent tool for investigating the sandy soil encountered at Wyatt Chapel Cemetery. The stratigraphy in the area consists of 3-6 feet of reddish-brown, medium-grained sand overlying a light gray, highly compacted clay. The sand-clay boundary appears as a strong reflector on the GPR profiles. Participants identified numerous anomalies in the GPR data and two were excavated. One consisted of a pair of bright hyperbolae, suggesting two edges of a metal object. This excavation resulted in the discovery of a metal plank thought to be a burial cover. The second anomaly consisted of a break in the horizon representing the top of the clay layer, and subsequent excavation revealed a grave shaft. Participants experienced the process of science first-hand and used geophysics for community service (i.e. restoring an abandoned cemetery). Through background research, they derived a rich historical context for their investigation and learned to appreciate the multi-disciplinary aspect of solving real-world scientific problems.
ED51A-0126
Using Fossil Shark Teeth to Illustrate Evolution and Introduce Basic Geologic Concepts in a High School Biology Classroom
Shell Foundation sponsors a program at Louisiana State University called Shell Undergraduate Recruitment and Geoscience Education (SURGE). The purpose of SURGE is to help local high school science teachers incorporate geology into their classrooms by providing resources and training. As part of this program, a workshop for high school biology teachers was held at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on June 3-5, 2007. We had the teachers do a series of activities on fossil shark teeth to illustrate evolution and introduce basic earth science concepts such as geologic time, superposition, and faunal succession and provided the teachers with lesson plans and materials. As an example, one of our exercises explores the evolution of the megatoothed shark lineage leading to Carcharocles megalodon, the largest predatory shark in history with teeth up to 17 cm long. Megatoothed shark teeth make excellent evolutionary subjects because they have a good fossil record and show continuous transitions in morphology from the Eocene to Pliocene. Our activity follows the learning cycle model. We take advantage of the curiosity of sharks shared by most people, and allow students to explore the variations among different shark teeth and explain the causes of those variations. The objectives of this exercise are to have the students: 1) sort fossil shark teeth into biologically reasonable species; 2) form hypotheses about evolutionary relationships among fossil shark teeth; and 3) describe and interpret evolutionary trends in the fossil Megatoothed lineage. To do the activity, students are divided into groups of 2-3 and given a shuffled set of 72 shark tooth cards with different images of megatoothed shark teeth. They are instructed to group the shark tooth cards into separate species of sharks. After sorting the cards, students are asked to consider the evolutionary relationships among their species and arrange their species chronologically according to the species first appearance in the fossil record. This is followed by a group discussion of each group's predictions. Next students are given photographs of teeth from different megatoothed sharks, and a geologic time scale with the sharks stratigraphic ranges. Students are asked to describe evolutionary trends in the fossil megatoothed lineage and formulate several hypotheses to explain the observed evolutionary trends. The exercise is concluded with a discussion of the environmental and biotic events occurring between the Eocene and Miocene epochs that may have caused the evolutionary changes in the megatoothed shark's teeth.
ED51A-0127
Geoscience Education Opportunities: Partnerships to Advance TeacHing and Scholarship (GEOPATHS) in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The GEOPATHS project is a partnership between the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) and the Kansas City Missouri School District (KCMSD). The goal of GEOPATHS is to raise enrollment in the Geosciences, especially among populations that are traditionally underrepresented in the discipline. We are addressing this goal by expanding dual-credit and Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities for high school students and also by serving teachers through enhancing their understanding of geoscience content and inquiry teaching methods using GLOBE resources and protocols. Our focus in the first two years of the project is to increase the number of teachers that are certified to teach AP Environmental Science by offering specially designed professional development workshops for high school teachers in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The structure of the workshop for each year is divided into two weeks of content knowledge exploration using the learning cycle and concept mapping, and one week of inquiry-based experiments, field projects, and exercises. We are also supporting teachers in their use of these best-practice methods by providing materials and supplies along with lesson plans for inquiry investigations for their classes. The lesson plans include activities and experiments that are inquiry-based. The last two years of the project will include direct engagement/recruiting of promising minority high school students via paid summer research internships and scholarship offers.
ED51A-0128
The History of Winter Thermochron Mission: Utilizing An Innovative Technology to Promote Science Research in the Classroom.
The goal of the Thermochron Mission, an embedded strand of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center History of Winter (HOW) Program, is to engage participants actively in research methods while focusing on the observation and analysis of changes in ambient temperature. Through experiential learning opportunities, peer coaching, and expert instruction sessions, participants including in-service teachers, pre-service teachers, and ultimately their K-12 students, enhance their understanding of the processes and methods of science research. The initial engagement and exploration training has been provided to participants in the History of Winter (HOW) workshop since 2004. Supportive web-based multimedia resources utilized through modeling within the training program are available to participants online for continued later use within a classroom setting. The Thermochron Mission echoes the learning cycle embedded within the History of Winter Program. Emphasized are critical aspects of inquiry investigation including active and immersive experiences, opportunities for comparison and analysis of data, application of findings to new situations, and the communication of information in an appropriate forum. As a result, past HOW participants have utilized the Thermochron in settings as different as environmental studies through an outdoor education center and the study of acid mine drainage and its effect on local stream. In 2007, we collaborated with the FINNMARK 2007 and the GO NORTH expeditions, providing snow collection information and Thermochrons to gather a continual temperature record during these remote expeditions to the Arctic region. Both FINNMARK2007 and the POLAR Husky GoNorth 2007 dog sled expeditions took a complement of Thermochrons with multimedia instructions and the tools and protocols of the Global Snowflake Network (GSN), an International Polar Year project of the History of Winter Program, to measure temperature and the shape and characteristics of snow falling to the ground. The thermochron enables continuous temperature measurement for the record and for information to accompany the snowflake data acquisition. Professor Svein Mathiesen of EALÁT (Reindeer Herders Vulnerability Network Study), and reindeer herder and Ph.D. student, Inger Marie G. Eira, are incorporating the HOW and GSN thermochrons, snow pit observations, and snowflake identification protocols into Inger Marie's work for her Ph.D. dissertation on snow changes and reindeer pastures in Northern Norway. The HOW program introduced the Global Snowflake Network and Thermochrons to them as a part of the Indigenous Peoples" Opening Ceremonies for the International Polar Year. Now launching is a new opportunity for teachers to engage in the Thermochron Mission, an online collaborative environment to develop and refine solid science research projects based on temperature studies prior to launching them in the classroom. The goal is to enhance the quality of science research projects for the secondary school classroom and to increase the comfort level of teachers in facilitating research opportunities for students. Interested teachers are invited to participate by submitting a proposal for a research project employing Thermochrons. Select entrants will receive a set of Thermochrons and participate in a peer-coached and scientifically reviewed online forum to guide the implementation of the research project and its refinement prior to classroom use. All projects will then be made available through the History of Winter web site. http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/how
ED51A-0129
LSU Virtual Museum: Technology-Enhanced Geoscience Teacher Workshops for Louisiana K-8 Educators.
The Virtual Museum, a Louisiana Board of Regents sponsored SELECT program, is a collaborative project between the Museum of Natural Science and the French Education Project at Louisiana State University. It offers Louisiana science teachers, in-training teachers, and immersion teachers a professional development program via six videoconferences. These videoconferences are broadcast from LSU to six distance-learning sites across the entire state of Louisiana. This unique teacher population was selected because in Louisiana, there are two types of K-8 science teachers: teachers in traditional classroom settings and teachers in immersion programs. In the Foreign language Immersion programs, the target language (French or Spanish) is the language of instruction and communication in the classroom. For each videoconference, teachers are provided content material that is prepared by geology faculty and graduate students, example of ongoing field research by LSU faculty members, classroom-ready activities, information on available loan material and on-line resources, training on the unique Scope-On-A-Rope microscope, pre-made PowerPoint presentations and virtual museum photos, all, in French and in English. Three of the videoconferences emphasize regional and statewide earth science topics including Louisiana fossils, rocks and minerals, and field techniques used to interpret Louisiana's geologic history. The activities provided for teachers are hands-on, inquiry based classroom exercises that focus on the availability of local materials. These activities can also be scaled for use in a variety of grade-levels and teachers are encouraged to use these activities in their classrooms. The program has proven to foster new collaboration between science teachers in regular programs and immersion schools while boosting the interest statewide for natural science topics. http://appl003.lsu.edu/natsci/education.nsf/index
ED51A-0130
Alaska's Secondary Science Teachers and Students Receive Earth Systems Science Knowledge, GIS Know How and University Technical Support for Pre- College Research Experiences: The EDGE Project
Alaska's secondary school teachers are increasingly required to provide Earth systems science (ESS) education that integrates student observations of local natural processes related to rapid climate change with geospatial datasets and satellite imagery using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. Such skills are also valued in various employment sectors of the state where job opportunities requiring Earth science and GIS training are increasing. University of Alaska's EDGE (Experiential Discoveries in Geoscience Education) program has provided training and classroom resources for 3 cohorts of inservice Alaska science and math teachers in GIS and Earth Systems Science (2005-2007). Summer workshops include geologic field experiences, GIS instruction, computer equipment and technical support for groups of Alaska high school (HS) and middle school (MS) science teachers each June and their students in August. Since 2005, EDGE has increased Alaska science and math teachers' Earth science content knowledge and developed their GIS and computer skills. In addition, EDGE has guided teachers using a follow-up, fall online course that provided more extensive ESS knowledge linked with classroom standards and provided course content that was directly transferable into their MS and HS science classrooms. EDGE teachers were mentored by University faculty and technical staff as they guided their own students through semester-scale, science fair style projects using geospatial data that was student- collected. EDGE program assessment indicates that all teachers have improved their ESS knowledge, GIS knowledge, and the use of technology in their classrooms. More than 230 middle school students have learned GIS, from EDGE teachers and 50 EDGE secondary students have conducted original research related to landscape change and its impacts on their own communities. Longer-term EDGE goals include improving student performance on the newly implemented (spring 2008) 10th grade, standards-based, High School Qualifying Exam, on recruiting first-generation college students, and on increasing the number of Earth science majors in the University of Alaska system. http://www.uas.alaska.edu/envs/edge
ED51A-0131
Earth Exploration Toolbook Workshops: Helping Teachers and Students Analyze Web-based Scientific Data
One of the challenges faced by Earth science teachers, particularly in K-12 settings, is that of connecting scientific research to classroom experiences. Helping teachers and students analyze Web-based scientific data is one way to bring scientific research to the classroom. The Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) was developed as an online resource to accomplish precisely that. The EET consists of chapters containing step-by-step instructions for accessing Web-based scientific data and for using a software analysis tool to explore issues or concepts in science, technology, and mathematics. For example, in one EET chapter, users download Earthquake data from the USGS and bring it into a geographic information system (GIS), analyzing factors affecting the distribution of earthquakes. The goal of the EET Workshops project is to provide professional development that enables teachers to incorporate Web-based scientific data and analysis tools in ways that meet their curricular needs. In the EET Workshops project, Earth science teachers participate in a pair of workshops that are conducted in a combined teleconference and Web-conference format. In the first workshop, the EET Data Analysis Workshop, participants are introduced to the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE). They also walk through an Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) chapter and discuss ways to use Earth science datasets and tools with their students. In a follow-up second workshop, the EET Implementation Workshop, teachers share how they used these materials in the classroom by describing the projects and activities that they carried out with students. The EET Workshops project offers unique and effective professional development. Participants work at their own Internet-connected computers, and dial into a toll-free group teleconference for step-by-step facilitation and interaction. They also receive support via Elluminate, a Web-conferencing software program. The software allows participants to see the facilitator's computer as the analysis techniques of an EET chapter are demonstrated. If needed, the facilitator can also view individual participant's computers, assisting with technical difficulties. In addition, it enables a large number of end users, often widely distributed, to engage in interactive, real-time instruction. In this presentation, we will describe the elements of an EET Workshop pair, highlighting the capabilities and use of Elluminate. We will share lessons learned through several years of conducting this type of professional development. We will also share findings from survey data gathered from teachers who have participated in our workshops. http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/workshops/about.html
ED51A-0132
Investigating the Role of the Teacher in Science Curriculum: New Evidence for an Old Debate
It is widely believed that teachers need high-quality curriculum materials to improve teaching and learning. Professional development designs differ, however, in whether they emphasize preparing teachers to use expert- designed curricula or preparing teachers with the tools needed to design and implement high-quality science units themselves. Evidence exists for the effectiveness of providing teachers with training in how to implement expert-designed curricula (Bredderman, 1983; Shymansky, Hedges, & Woodworth, 1990; Weinstein, Boulanger, & Walberg, 1982) and for providing teachers with professional development aimed at preparing teachers to design instruction and assessments (Black & Harrison, 2001; Shepard, 1997; Sneider, Adams, Ibanez, Templeton, & Porter, 1996). However, no studies, however, have compared explicitly these different approaches to preparing teachers to plan and enact instruction in science. The Transforming Instruction by Design in Earth Science (TIDES) project is an experimental study comparing the efficacy of three different approaches to professional development. The approaches differ with respect to the role that teachers are expected to play in curriculum. In one condition (Earth Science by Design), teachers learn how to design curriculum units in Earth science. In a second condition (Investigating Earth Systems), teachers learn how to adopt and implement curriculum materials developed by experts. In the third condition (Hybrid), teachers learn a principled approach to adapt expert-developed curriculum materials. The TIDES study is examining the impacts of each of the approaches to professional development on instructional planning and on the quality of assignments and assessments they give to students. We measured impacts on instructional planning using an end-of-unit questionnaire that focused on changes to teachers" overall approach to planning units of instruction, their strategies for organizing assignment, and materials they use in class. We measured impacts on overall assignment quality using a combination of multi-faceted Rasch analysis and hierarchical linear modeling techniques, using scores from rubrics focused on the nature of scientific communication, construction of knowledge, quality of Earth science content, presentation of the nature of science, and opportunities for inquiry. Scores from a holistic rubric were used to rate performance assessment quality. In this presentation, we will describe results from the first year of the study, focusing on the impact of each condition on instructional practice and on student learning. We will conclude with some implications of the study findings for curriculum development and curriculum policy in school districts.