A Solid Earth educational module, co-operatively developed by scientists and high school teachers through the Scripps Classroom Connection GK12 Program
Abstract
The Scripps Classroom Connection, funded through the NSF GK-12 program, pairs local high school teachers with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) graduate students in the earth and ocean sciences for their mutual professional development. An integral goal of the program is the collaborative production of quality earth science educational modules that are tested in the classroom and subsequently made freely available online for use by other educators. We present a brief overview of the program structure in place to support this goal and illustrate a module that we have developed on the Solid Earth & Plate Tectonics for a 9th grade Earth Science classroom. The unit includes 1) an exercise in constructing a geomagnetic polarity timescale which exposes students to authentic scientific data; 2) activities, labs, lectures and worksheets that support the scientific content; and 3) use of online resources such as Google Earth and interactive animations that help students better understand the concepts. The educational unit is being implemented in two separate local area high schools for Fall 2010 and we will report on our experiences. The co-operative efforts of teachers and scientists lead to educational materials which expose students to the scientific process and current science research, while teaching basic concepts using an engaging inquiry-based approach. In turn, graduate students involved gain experience communicating their science to non-science audiences.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010AGUFMED31B0667Z
- Keywords:
-
- 0805 EDUCATION / Elementary and secondary education;
- 0820 EDUCATION / Curriculum and laboratory design;
- 0845 EDUCATION / Instructional tools