Earth System Science Research Course

The Earth System Science Research Course is a unique class implemented by Frederick County Public Schools. The course (ESSR) was designed in conjunction with NASA Education Specialists and is supported by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Students in this course have the opportunity to use data from cutting edge earth science experiments while researching their own topics and answering research questions. The course culminates with a group of the students presenting their findings to NASA scientists and touring the Goddard Space Flight Center. The Earth System Science Research course provides eleventh and twelfth grade students an opportunity to study Earth System Science using the most up-to-date data developed through current technologies. The systems approach to this course helps students understand the complexity and interrelatedness of the Earth system. This course is an elective offering designed to engage students in the study of the Atmosphere, Biosphere, Cryosphere, Geosphere, and Hydrosphere. This course allows students to utilize research skills and processes gained from previous science courses to study the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the Earth system. The main goal of this course is to teach the students how to do original, independent research about the Earth system. At the conclusions of the course the students will have gathered and interpreted scientific data to answer a question that they have constructed, and design a presentation to reflect their results. Course Objectives: Describe the Earth as a dynamic and complex system. Describe the components of the Earth system. Describe how the system responds to natural and human induced changes. Access and process information from readings, investigations, and communications. Create and/or interpret graphics to analyze data and evaluate hypotheses. Analyze appropriate data to classify, identify trends and identify similarities and differences to form conclusions and apply what has been learned to evaluate the hypothesis. Use computational tools and technologies in data collection and analysis. Interpret and communicate findings.