ED11A-0571
The Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA): Geoscience Education for Todays Teachers
ESSEA supports universities, colleges, and science education organizations as they deliver Earth system
science courses to pre-service, middle, and high school teachers. ESSEA works with new institutions to build
their capacity to use these courses to deliver exceptional professional development to a national audience
and provides them with evaluation tools to ensure that those teachers trained have a strong understanding
of Earth system science. The courses also model how to effectively teach using inquiry and assist teachers
in creating an infrastructure capable of sustaining this exceptional program.
http://esseacourses.strategies.org/
ED11A-0572
Teachers' Perceived Pedagogical Changes in Earth System Science Instruction: An Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) Online Course
In cooperation with the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA), Fort Hays State University conducted three online Earth System Science courses for teachers in Kansas during the 2007-2008 academic year. The teachers participating in the courses were given a pre- and a post- survey to ascertain if there were any perceived changes in their understanding of Earth System Science content and if there were any changes in their strategies for teaching Earth System Science. The three courses offered to the teacher participants were Climate Change,Natural Disasters,and Science in your Backyard. Outcomes and suggestions for course improvements will be presented in this poster session.
ED11A-0573
Using ESSEA Modules, Local Event Studies and Personal Learning Experiences in an Earth Systems Science Course for Preservice Middle School Teachers
Most science courses, including courses that provide preparation for pre-service K-12 teachers are only taught from a deductive big picture perspective. This method is fine for most abstract learners, but pre- service classroom educators that are being prepared to teach in middle school classrooms will be faced with the challenge of building science content knowledge in students that are concrete learners. For these K-12 students a better pedagogical practice is to use local real-world familiar places, issues and personal experience to connect student learning with more abstract concepts. To make it more likely that teachers have the requisite skills and pedagogical content knowledge to build K- 12 student science concept knowledge and science process skills we have integrated ESSEA modules that connect worldwide issues such as global climate change with local event studies chosen by learners. Some recent examples include how such local events such as landfill fires and suburban sprawl impact the local area's air, land, water and life. Course participants are able to choose a more personal route to understanding how their habits impact the global environment by participating in a three week learning experience called the Lifestyle Project. This experience asks students to incrementally reduce their use of heating or air-conditioning, the amount of waste going to landfills, to conserve electricity, drive less and eat less energy intensively. Pre-post content assessments indicate that students in this course scored significantly higher on post course content assessments and reported that by engaging in personal experience to global scale learning experiences they have a new appreciation for how personal choices impact the global environment and how to use local artifacts and issues to enhance K-12 student learning.
ED11A-0574
Two new ESSEA Modules: (1) Pacific Influences on Climatic Change and Variability and (2) Assessment of Tsunami Hazards
The CSULA Departments of Geography and Geological Sciences, in cooperation with the Charter College of
Education at CSULA, propose to introduce the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) On-line
course for middle school teachers as a section of our undergraduate pre-service teacher course, PSCI 183:
Earth Science for Elementary Teachers. Physical Science 183 was proposed as an activities and inquiry-
based course for students needing an earth science foundation, but in an active learning environment. We
have developed two ESSEA education modules centered on climate change and natural variability and on
tsunami. The climate change module is based on a scenario in which students are part of a climate change
advisory committee charged with providing the scientific framework for climate change. Students learn to
distinguish between natural variability in the Pacific Ocean and trends in global climate change. Components
of the module focus on interpreting trends in temperature, precipitation, and sea surface temperatures and
heights using datasets using NOAA websites. Quantitative analysis of the trends reveals patterns related to
the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, El Niño/La Niña events, and global climate change. Identification of
patterns and trends facilitate forecasting of southern California temperature and precipitation and allow policy
development addressing the changing climate. Tsunami are repetitive, potentially destructive natural
hazards impacting people across the globe. The tsunami module asks student to provide representatives of
western US states with an assessment of tsunami risks. Through the exercise students learn what tsunami
are, the tectonic connection to tsunami generation, tsunami wave characteristics and strategies for the
development of a tsunami warning system.
http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/sladoch/web_page2/Tsunamis.htm
ED11A-0575
Earth Systems Science Curriculum Choices for Pre-Service Teachers at San Jose State University
San José State University was a member of the original ESSEA consortium (2003-05), and it continues its participation with the broadening ESSEA community. Having hosted the original Middle- and High School Teachers' ESSEA courses, the Geology Department and Program in Science Education have maintained their commitments toward supporting pre- and in-service teachers in geoscience concept competency and effective pedagogy. We have witnessed an encouraging trend in the numbers of K-8 (multiple subject) pre-service teachers who have enrolled in our in-house ESSEA-inspired course: Geology 103 (Earth Systems and the Environment). We have also seen an influx of prospective secondary (single subject) teachers seeking credentials in non- geoscience disciplines. California teacher credentialing requirements, especially when layered on the increasing demands of major fields of study and the California State University System's hefty General Education mandates, give prospective teachers little latitude in their academic programs. Geology 103 was developed to satisfy three logistical objectives: to comply with "geoscience content competency" as defined by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC); to fulfill one of the CSU's upper-division General Education requirements, and to develop science process skills in a population that may never have had similar prior opportunities. The course is offered in two modalities: online and on-campus. The Web-based sections are currently comparing the relative effectiveness of two dissimilar online learning modalities and assessments: one delivers video/audio/animated "podcasts," while the other requires student involvement through interactive Flash media. The course is taught by professors with joint appointments in the Department of Geology and Program in Science Education, and by current and former classroom teachers to ensure that geoscience content knowledge is achieved through inquiry, systems analyses, and other methods promoting enduring understandings.
ED11A-0576
Initial Results of On-Line Earth System Science Course Offerings at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Through the Earth System Science Education Alliance
The University of Nebraska at Omaha has been offering on-line Earth System Science coursework to teachers in Nebraska since 2002. UNO was one of the initial members in the Earth Systems Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) and has offered three different ESSEA courses, with nearly 200 students having taken ESSEA courses at UNO for graduate credit. Our experiences in delivering this coursework have involved both teachers who have received a stipend to take the course and those who have paid their own tuition and fees and received graduate credit for the course. We will report on the online behavior of teachers from both populations and also discuss pros and cons of each approach. UNO has also experimented with different approaches in the support and management of the course, including using undergraduate majors as content experts. This improves access of teachers to content-related feedback and is a positive experience for the undergraduate major. Feedback surveys from earlier ESSEA offerings indicate a strongly positive perception of the courses by the teachers enrolled in the coursework. Project impact has been documented in teacher projects, quotes, and lessons associated with the coursework activities. We will also describe online course modules being developed within the UNO online course efforts, including one focusing on the global amphibian crisis.
ED11A-0577 INVITED
Muddy Waters: Earth System Science Education Alliance Wetlands Degradation Module
The College of Charleston, Charleston, SC recently obtained funding from the South Carolina Space Grant
Consortium to develop a geoscience-based education module for integration into the Earth System Science
Education Alliance (ESSEA). The Muddy Waters Education Module will prepare students in science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM), in addition to pre-service educators, in using remotely sensed
data and geographic information systems (GIS) to delineate, understand and monitor our changing wetland
and delta environments. The curriculum will provide opportunities for students to participate in inquiry-based,
data-driven experiences founded in sound educational pedagogy. The ESSEA curriculum exists within a
national network of universities, colleges, and science education organizations dedicated to improving Earth
science education, thereby increasing exposure to a significant environmental issue -
wetland and delta degradation - and providing a means of sustainability for the future.
This session will provide information on the new module highlighting the crisis of wetland and delta
degradation occurring on a global scale, specifically focusing on the Ganges Delta, the Yellow River Delta,
the Everglades and all of the associated and surrounding wetlands. In addition, we will discuss the Merritt
Island National Refuge and the wetlands surrounding Cape Canaveral, as a pristine environment that has
been protected due to its proximity to the space shuttle launches.
This Muddy Waters Education Module will raise awareness of processes that are currently underway with
global climatic change and anthropogenic effects and the interconnectedness of the various spheres
(atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere) in wetland environments. The Muddy Waters
Curriculum will be designed to meet National Education Standards in science, geography, math, etc. The
module will engage students in authentic research and will engage and inspire students in environmental
issues that have a direct impact on their everyday lives.
http://esseacourses.strategies.org/
ED11A-0578
ESSEA Distance Learning Course; Implementation to Diverse Audiences
The University of Toledo and Central State University are working together to implement ESSEA in Ohio. The University of Toledo was an ESSEA partner during ESSEA1 and Central State University is new to ESSEA. The University of Toledo offered the middle school course using jigsaw during the spring 2008 school year. Although only four teachers completed the course, the interaction between the teachers was exceptional and the instructors were able to commit a significant amount of time to the teachers and their assignments. Challenges to implementation of the course will be discussed and examples of teachers assignments will be reviewed. During the summer of 2008, Central State University offered the course for the first time. Mentoring for Central State faculty will be discussed. Lastly, we will discuss the module we developed focusing on the draining of the Great Black Swamp (GBS) in Northwest Ohio. The GBS was originally part of Lake Erie as the glaciers retreated after the last ice age. The wetlands were drained in the late 1800s and now the area supports very intensive agriculture. This module can be adapted to any of the wetlands that have been drained. In the lower 48 of the United States, over half the area of wetlands has been drained since the 1600s.
ED11A-0579
Earth System Science in the Schoolyard: How ESSEA Helped Transform a Middle School Science Classroom
Teaching science at times means teaching the way we were taught as undergraduates; giving lectures, giving notes and giving worksheets. That was my teaching style in the middle school science classroom for years. I then had the opportunity to take one of the first ESSEA online Earth System Science course for Middle School Science teachers. I discovered from that course different ways to challenge students to question, to research, and to become active learners instead of passive learners. It also made me reflect and analyze the way I had been teaching. Since that time, my program has developed directly as the result of that ESSEA Earth System Science course. It is a combination of several different learning paradigms, direct instruction, constructivism and inquiry. This has taken several years of searching, researching and revising to get to where I am today. The four spheres of Earth System Science, the Biosphere, the Geosphere, the Atmosphere and the Hydrosphere are used and aligned with the Pennsylvania Ecology and Environment standards. Students focus on each sphere's essential question and objectives as they work on several Problem Based Learning(PBL) scenarios and inquiry based hands on activities relating to each sphere. Consequently, the students are personally involved with the construction of meaningful and relevant content and are actively engaged throughout their learning process.
ED11A-0580
Advancing Earth Systems Thinking and Problem Based Learning in the Classroom: Insights From ESSEA Course Graduates in Kentucky
Western Kentucky University has been an active member of the Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) since 2003 and has offered the high school ESSEA course a total of four times during that period. Twenty-six individuals from across Kentucky successfully passed the course and at least half of those individuals are currently involved in K-12 science education. Preliminary communications with course graduates indicate that Earth System Science (ESS) concepts and content knowledge advanced in the high school ESSEA course have been incorporated into the science curricula of several Kentucky schools. Several teachers and schools have also enthusiastically adopted Problem Based Learning (PBL), the pedagogical foundation of the high school ESSEA course. This presentation will highlight the insights and experience of ESSEA course graduates working to incorporate ESS and PBL into their courses and science curricula. Particular attention will focus on those factors - both positive and negative - that teachers feel most influence the advance of ESS education and PBL in Kentucky schools.