Page prepared for SERC by Steve Mattox of Grand Valley State University.

Earth Science

15-30

This is a lecture, lab, field course for preservice elementary teachers. No prerequisites but the course is required for some 300-level courses in the major. All students are Integrated Science major(certified to teach K-8). The course meets three times per week for two hour blocks. Some of these are in the field. Plus a required weekend field trip. This semester it was to Mammoth Cave, KY.

• Students should be able to increase his/her content knowledge about Earth Science and pass the State of Michigan certification exam.
• Students should be able to increase his/her confidence in presenting science in the classroom or field.
• Students should be able to increase his/her knowledge of methods used to teach inquiry-based science and assess learning.
• Students should be able to compile existing teaching resources and to develop new inquiry-based classroom activities.
• Students should be fluent in Michigan science standards and familiar with the MI Educational Assessment Program.
• Students will work in groups to write an original inquiry-based field lesson for upper elementary students that utilizes quantitative data collection and analysis and present the lesson to local teachers.
• Students will work individually to write a 2,000 word manuscript to submit to NSTA's Science and Children journal, specifically the Teaching Through Tradebooks feature.

The course covers oceans; topo maps; surface and ground water, watersheds, floods, caves and karst; glaciers; deserts, and coastlines. Human interaction with these systems is emphasized. We have 3-4 field trips to a local nature center where we are developing field-based lessons for elementary students (measuring stream velocity, discharge, and more) to be shared with teachers. We have two field trips to a major river (floods) and the Lake Michigan (coastal features and dunes). We had an excellent trip to Kentucky for cave and karst features.

Syllabus (Microsoft Word 120kB May8 07)
Identification of Mountain Glacier Features (Microsoft Word 1.4MB May8 07)

Two exams, weekly quizzes, daily assignments (~55%)
Two written assignments (~30%)
Field trips (~15%)

Textbook - Tarbuck and Lutgens' Earth.

Hydrology web resources:

• United States Geological Survey - Water Resources
• Center for Ecology and Hydrology (UK)
• Groundwater Atlas of the US
• American Water Resources Association

Teaching web resources:

• Michigan science standards
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Geological Society of America
• National Association of Geoscience Teachers
• National Earth Science Teachers Association
• National Science Foundation
• National Science Teachers Association