November 2004 Journal of Geoscience Education
Volume 52, Number 5What is Urban Geoscience Education?
Mark Abolins Department of Geosciences, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
Full Text (Acrobat (PDF) 198kB Mar14 05)
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p405
Overcoming the Limitations of an Urban Setting Through Field-based Earth Systems Inquiry
Stuart Birnbaum Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p407
Urban Watershed Studies - An off-campus Site in the Built Environment, Northern New Jersey
Richard R. Pardi Department of Environmental Science and Geography, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ
Michael J. Sebetich Biology Department, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ
Karen Swanson Department of Environmental Science and Geography, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p411
Placing Urban Schools at the Forefront of the Revolution in Earth Science Education
Daniel Barstow Center for Earth and Space Science Education, TERC, Cambridge, MA
Harvey Z. Yazijian Center for Earth and Space Science Education, TERC, Cambridge, MA
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p416
Models of Inquiry-based Science Outreach to Urban Schools
Paul G. Harnik Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY
Robert M. Ross Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p420
Overcoming Challenges of Teaching Earth History Classes for Teachers in a Rock-free, Urban Environment
Douglas W. Haywick Department of Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
Lee S. Yokel Department of Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
Memory Wedgeworth Flomaton Middle School, Flomaton, AL
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p429
Urban Earth Science In Milwaukee Wisconsin
William F. Kean Geosciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI
Tracy J. Posnanski Department of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI
Jane J. Wisniewski Trowbridge Elementary School, Milwaukee WI
Todd C. Lundberg English Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI
Earth science topics are always in the news and are ever present in our life. Yet earth science is frequently given poor or uninviting coverage in K-12 schools because of lack of expertise and/or for an apparent lack of local importance. With this in mind, individuals from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee (UWM), the Urban Tree House Project (UTH) and Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) have collaborated to provide earth science materials for pre-service and in-service teachers that center on the earth science resources of Southeastern Wisconsin. These include field guides to local parks (particularly the Lake Michigan shoreline), web based virtual field trips, instructional videos, information on the local geologic environments and soils studies.
The collaboration allows for similar instructional strategies and content presentation for both in-service and pre-service teachers through programs sponsored by UWM. The collaboration is being well received by all the stakeholders involved. The MPS teachers are energized by the newly discovered resources in their own urban backyard. MPS students are exposed to real-life applications of earth science. Pre-service teaching students appreciate the field experiences they have in class and the connection to MPS curriculum standards that helps make the learning experiences more meaningful.
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p429
Teacher Workshops Using Geoantiquities: Case History of Modern Great Salt Lake and Pleistocene Lake Bonneville Shorelines, Utah
Genevieve Atwood Earth Science Education, Salt Lake City, UT
Alisa Felton Park City High School, Park City, UT
Marjorie A. Chan Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
A teacher workshop uses the shorelines of Utah's Wasatch Front to teach concepts of shore processes and climate change, and incorporates the concept of geoantiquities in the teaching approach. Geoantiquities are precious archives of Earth systems history. Modern shorelines of Great Salt Lake and Pleistocene shorelines of Lake Bonneville record changes of climate and environment. Urban development can obscure or destroy important shoreline evidence. During the workshop of outdoor learning, teachers observe shoreline evidence, first at Antelope Island State Park and then in urban neighborhoods. Field experiences alternately expose teachers to obvious and subtle shoreline evidence; modern and Pleistocene shorelines; and pristine and urban shoreline exposures. Teachers tie concepts of shore processes and climate change to curricula they already teach. These include themes of change and constancy, and science concepts of the water cycle. Teachers summarize the past 35,000 year history of climate change at their school as content-based literacy projects.
The concept of geoantiquities influences the workshop by calling attention to the scientific, historical, and educational value of geologically young landforms, and illustrates how the present is a key to explaining the past.
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p438
Geoantiquites: Concepts and Applications for Education in the Urban Landscape
Marjorie A. Chan Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Holly S. Godsey Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
A geoantiquity is a natural record of Earth history that documents environmental change. Geoantiquities are typically expressed as classic geomorphic landscapes shaped by surficial processes such as moving wind and water, erosion, and deposition. The geoantiquity concept is patterned after the model of cultural antiquities and involves developing and implementing strategies to identify, evaluate, and conserve threatened geologic landscape features. The case study is an area of rapid urban growth along Utah's Wasatch Front, where geoantiquities associated with Pleistocene Lake Bonneville are in danger of being removed, covered, and/or altered. The geoantiquities are either a part of the urban landscape or are in close proximity to urban areas, and can thus serve to educate the community on Earth processes and how to balance the natural systems with the urban environment.
Education is an important venue for implementing geoantiquity conservation because people are more likely to want to preserve what they can understand. Our approach to education includes: a) community involvement and outreach; b) field-oriented teacher workshops; and c) hands-on classroom demonstration kits. In all three of these educational efforts, individuals learn what geoantiquities are, how to recognize them, and their societal and scientific value.
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p445
Geoscience Education for Realtors, Appraisers, Home Inspectors, and Homeowners
Edward B. Nuhfer Center for Teaching and Learning, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p453
Connecting Urban Students with their Rivers Generates Interest and Skills in the Geosciences
Suzanne O'Connell Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Joseph Ortiz Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, OH
Janet Morrison Department of Chemistry, Trinity College, Hartford, CT
Two different enrichment programs for urban high school students from the Greater Hartford Area of Connecticut were conducted during the summer of 2002. They were designed to expose students entering the tenth grade to Earth Science as a problem solving science in a challenging and supportive atmosphere. This was done by focusing on understanding watersheds and water quality using primarily chemical techniques on samples collected from the Connecticut River, it's two Hartford area tributaries (the Hockanum and Park Rivers) and coves and ponds adjacent to or feeding into these rivers. Students worked in groups of one to three and all gave presentations of their results (data and interpretation) on the last day. Student faculty ratios that did not exceed three to one provided close supervision and individual attention.
The majority of the students found the programs a positive experience. Students stated that they had developed a greater appreciation for science, the rivers in the Hartford area, and the issue of pollution and how it relates to them. The majority indicated that the program would help them in subsequent science classes and that they would like to continue to participate in the program the following year. All of the students said they would recommend the program to another student interested in science.
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p462
A Student-centered Regional Planning Group Activity for Non-science Majors
Mark Abolins Department of Geosciences, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/nov04.html#v52p472