From the Seafloor to the Pool: Teaching Science in Idaho Using GIS and Lessons from the Undersea
Abstract
My selection for the NSF-funded 2005 REVEL* Project provided me an opportunity to become a member of the scientific team on an international, deep-sea research cruise in the N.E. Pacific Ocean. REVEL is a professional development program for K-12 teachers ready for the challenge of bringing discovery in the classroom and inquiry into science teaching and learning through the practice of oceanographic research. I was chosen to be aboard the R/V Thompson during the VISIONS '05, an interdisciplinary research cruise that used the Jason 2 remotely-operated vehicle and the autonomous vehicle ABE to collect co-registered geological, chemical, biological, and physical observations of the seafloor. In collaboration with scientists, I analyzed and interpreted high-resolution bathymetric data and dive observations collected in the Main Endeavour hydrothermal vent field of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. I will present the results obtained during Jason 2 dive 177, which visited several sites in the field. After analyzing the bathymetric data in ArcGIS, I used the ArcMap application to overlay the well-navigated dive 177. I precisely documented 15 hours of new geological observations, fluid and biology sampling, and instrument deployments and spatially associated them with the co-registered high-resolution bathymetric and morphologic data.This research project supports my exploration of spatial conceptualization in geography and geology. Although my students in Idaho do not have access to the sea, they can utilize the skills they gain from seafloor studies to collect data in our local environment, and make their own observations and interpretations of the landscape and its geological history. In addition, this work supports the mission of researchers, who need accurately-located, co-registered data sets to best plan integrative science to better understand the interaction between geological, chemical, physical and biological processes in deep-sea, remote, volcanic environments. During the research cruise, my 9th grade students in Twin Falls followed my work at sea via the web and through a live, high-definition broadcast from the ship to land. They studied seafloor hydrothermal systems in the classroom. When I returned to school, all students were ready to build their own ROVs. The semester-long project included planning their work, crafting their own questions, doing research on deep-sea technology, confronting unpredictable challenges and collaboratively solving problems as scientists would do for the success of a seagoing expedition. Their effort culminated in a community event, the ROV competition at the local YMCA pool. Several talented and experienced 9th students shared their knowledge of the deep-sea ecological environment and expertise in deep-sea technology with 4th graders. I am now combining my GIS expertise with experience of the deep-sea to foster students' interest in GIS and its applications to regional projects such as the water quality of their region. Students this year will investigate invasive species along Rock Creek, the same study area as their water quality project. They will use GIS software to map specific plant species that will be useful to the Twin Falls County Parks Department. Students will also continue to have opportunities to design, construct, and test ROVs after school. This will allow students from other classes and grade levels to participate in this learning-by-design project. * Research and Education: Volcanoes, Exploration, and Life
http://www.visions05.washington.edu/- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AGUFMED12A..06D
- Keywords:
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- 0810 Post-secondary education;
- 0830 Teacher training;
- 0850 Geoscience education research;
- 3017 Hydrothermal systems (0450;
- 1034;
- 3616;
- 4832;
- 8135;
- 8424);
- 3050 Ocean observatories and experiments