Bringing Earth Science to the K-12 Classroom: Implementation and Impacts of a Five-Day Professional Development Workshop for Teachers

During summer 2006, a five-day Earth science workshop was developed and offered to Stark County, Ohio middle and high school science teachers as part of the NSF-funded NEOGEO program, a Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) project in Kent State University's Departments of Geology and Geography. Objectives of this professional development workshop were to enhance teacher understanding of the interconnected systems that comprise the Earth, to provide teachers with concrete resources for bringing Earth science information into their classrooms, and to demonstrate how inquiry-based techniques and the use of technology can enhance Earth science instruction in the K-12 setting. During the workshop, participants mastered Earth science content through participation in a diverse array of inquiry-based activities, including hands-on explorations in the lab, classroom and field. In addition to providing a general background in Earth science, workshop activities brought global-scale Earth science to life by connecting science content to the local environment and by focusing on interactions between Earth science and society. A broad spectrum of issues relevant to life on Earth today were considered, including the water cycle, weather, plate tectonics, hydrology, biogeochemical cycling, ecosystems and biodiversity. To ensure that workshop content would be used by teachers in their classrooms, all activities developed for the workshop addressed specific Ohio Academic Content Standards and participants were provided with detailed plans for implementing versions of workshop activities appropriate for the K-12 setting. Because of the broad scientific scope of the workshop, our implementation strategy relied on the specific expertise of a diverse instructional team. This strategy produced a dynamic environment during the workshop that fostered enthusiasm for the material among participants and resulted in a very positive workshop experience for participants. This poster will describe the workshop content, our approach to developing it, and impacts of the workshop on teachers, as gauged from pre- and post-workshop surveys and reflective essays.