TXESS Revolution

Currently, I am collaborating with Hilary Olson, Eleanour Snow and Marsha Willis to prepare in-service science teachers through the TXESS Revolution project, a five-year professional development program to teach geoscience from the Earth system science perspective. I use current pedagogical approaches designed to foster critical thinking and an understanding of the scientific process. My ultimate goal is to contribute to the creation of enthusiastic and informed Earth Science teachers who will be able to transfer their knowledge of our planet and its processes to their own students.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, a renewed interest in the Earth sciences has taken hold in the K-12 science education community due to the convergence of a number of factors. Most important among these is the realization that Earth is unique within our galaxy as a habitable planet, and that it operates as a system, changing constantly in response to natural forcings, as well as human influences. The newfound awareness of the power of humankind to radically alter Earth systems on short time scales, derived in large part from the science and imagery made possible by late 20th Century space-age technology, has prompted scientists and educators alike to call for an informed citizenry cable of assessing the issues that challenge us in the 21st Century. Science has an important role in guiding the understanding of our planet and this knowledge is first conveyed by teachers in K-12 classrooms.

A secondary impetus for the rising interest in K-12 Earth science education is the current shortage of geoscientists in the U.S. workforce. Today’s K-12 students are the potential geoscientists of the future, who will contribute to, and change, the body of scientific knowledge and whom society will call upon to address the problems concerning the Earth. Efforts to strengthen the geoscience pipeline are particularly important in Texas, where the total contribution of Earth science-related industries to the Texas economy is at least $150 billion annually and half a million jobs (Report of the TEA Task Force on Earth Science Education, 2003). As the demographic profile of the U.S. shifts, broadening diversity in the geosciences will help to address this shortage. My special interest in this area is to work toward increasing the participation of minorities in the geosciences by reaching out to minority and minority-serving teachers who have a direct impact on pre-college students.

TEACHING

In working with science teachers, I try my best to minimize direct teaching. Instead, I try to impart the best teaching practices by modeling the ways in which I would like teachers to teach their own students. I use current pedagogical approaches such as guided-inquiry, and project and problem-based learning, as well as instructional strategies such as the 5-E model. To do this, I utilize high quality, challenging, national and state standards-aligned learning activities, and other resources, including visualizations and web-based tutorials, to help learners to keep abreast of recent developments in Earth science. With funding from the National Science Foundation and the Texas Education Agency, I collaborated with graduate students (GK-12 Fellows), teachers, and scientists to develop many of the inquiry-based learning activities that we are using in the TXESS Revolution project. These activities highlight contemporary and important topics in the geosciences (geologic time, tectonic processes, natural catastrophes, evolution, climate change, and hydrologic processes), involve the manipulation of real geoscience data and require computer skills. They also integrate technologies from geodesy, scientific ocean drilling, remote sensing, geophysics and geology. I often bring in guest speakers—researchers/ faculty/ geoscience consortia distinguished speakers (i.e., Ocean Leadership, NAGT and IRIS Distinguished Speakers)—whose presentations help reinforce course content and expose teachers to leading geoscientists and their research. As the TXESS Revolution project progresses, aspects of TERC’s Earth Science By Design project will be integrated into the training. Earth Science By Design guides teachers to develop their own lessons, or customize existing resources, using the big ideas in Earth system science as the organizing framework.

I strongly believe in the value of field activities to provide opportunities for teachers to apply knowledge gained in the classroom (i.e., the fundamental principles of stratigraphic analysis) to the real world and so that they can model what real geoscientists do in the field—observe, make measurements, record information, and apply theoretical knowledge to a field setting. The idea here is to give teachers the tools and experience to lead field trips with their students that are more than the traditional “show-and-tell” experiences.

Finally, it is important to include scientific journal articles in with teaching materials to convey the constructs of scientific writing and the difference between how scientists communicate their research findings and how journalists write for popular science magazines or report science news.

ASSESSMENT

I use a combination of qualitative and quantitative measures to assess learning, including pre-and post-content knowledge tests developed for a course that Hilary Olson and I co-taught at Huston-Tillotson University in which questions/answers are placed in categories corresponding to Bloom’s taxonomy. Questions on this test typically require essay answers and diagrams to demonstrate a learner’s ability to engage in critical thinking. A comparison of the results of the pre-and post tests yields direct evidence of the gains made by TXESS Revolution participants. I also favor the use of portfolios as a means of demonstrating achievement and evaluating teacher preparation. Portfolios allow teachers in professional development programs to assemble a range of works to chart their own progress and demonstrate competence. By linking performance assessment to a product that has the potential to support career advancement, portfolios actively involve participants in the assessment process, allowing them to assume individual responsibility and ownership within that process.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In conclusion, my work is intended to help teachers convey the rigorous, quantitative nature of our Earth and Space science, and demonstrate how it integrates observational, computational, experimental, and theoretical approaches. I embrace the belief expressed by fellow geoscience educator, Dr. Cathy Manduca of Carleton College, that “… all kinds of people can study the Earth and that Earth [and Space Science] is an important profession for diverse groups of people”, such as comprise the population of Texas.

Selected Bibliography

Barstow, D., and E. Geary, 2002. Blueprint for Change: Report from the National Conference on the Revolution in Earth and Space Science Education, TERC, pp. 100.

Boulmetis, John and Phyllis Dutwin, 2005. The ABCs of Evaluation: Timeless Techniques for Program and Project Managers, San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.

Karsten, Jill, 2003. A Unified Approach to Diversifying the Earth Sciences, Geotimes, September 2003.

Kaser, Joyce S. and Patricia S. Bourexis. 1999, Enhancing Program Quality in Science and Mathematics, Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, Inc.

Loucks-Horsley, S., P. Hewson, N. Love, and K.E. Stiles, 1998. Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics, Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, Inc.

National Research Council, 2000, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, Report of Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning and Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice, Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Science Foundation, Strategy to Increase Diversity in the Geosciences, NSF Publication 01-53 ) Accessed September 2004.

National Science Foundation, 2005. Geoscience Education and Diversity: Vision for the Future and Strategies for Success, Report of the Second Geoscience Education Working Group September 2005 Accessed October 3 2006.

Palomba, Catherine A. and Trudy W. Banta, 1999. Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing and Improving Assessment in Higher Education, San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.

Snell, Karen S., Bruce E. Herbert, Carol Stuessy, and Janie Schielack, 2006. Supporting Student Conceptual Model Development of Complex Earth Systems Through the Use of Multiple Representations and Inquiry, Journal of Geoscience Education 54 (3): 396-407.

Texas Education Agency Earth Science Task Force, 2003. Report of the Earth Science Task Force, June 2003 Accessed September 2004.