Recently added articles from Journal of Geoscience Education:
Using Problem-Based Learning to Bring the Workplace into the Classroom
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT A modified form of problem-based learning (PBL) with problems based on real workplace scenarios was trialled in a third year university class on Environmental Geology. Problems were developed in consultation with industry and based on their recent projects. These were then ...
Introducing Field-Based Geologic Research Using Soil Geomorphology
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT A field-based study of soils and the factors that influence their development is a strong, broad introduction to geologic concepts and research. A course blueprint is detailed where students design and complete a semester-long field-based soil geomorphology project. Students are ...
Design and Assessment of an Introductory Geomicrobiology Course for Non-Geology Majors
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT Recent discoveries about the role of microorganisms in the establishment of the geological conditions in the planet have lead to the development of courses in Geomicrobiology. Unfortunately, most courses are designed for students with a strong Geology background, which is a ...
Using National Parks to Transform Physical Geology into an Inquiry Experience
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT For an inquiry-based alternative to lectures and recall tests, I encouraged learners to become "geotourists"; that is, learners researched and developed a geologic guidebook to a United States National Park of their choice. Over the course of a semester, students wrote chapters ...
An Online Social Networking Approach to Reinforce Learning of Rocks and Minerals
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT Numerous and varied methods are used in introductory Earth science and geology classes to help students learn about rocks and minerals, such as classroom lectures, laboratory specimen identification, and field trips. This paper reports on a method using online social networking ....
Geologic Problem Solving in the Field: Analysis of Field Navigation and Mapping by Advanced Undergraduates
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT Field instruction is a critical piece of undergraduate geoscience majors' education, and fieldwork remains a major part of the work of professional geologists. Despite the central importance of field education, there exists relatively little educational research exploring how ...
Introducing Teachers to Geospatial Technology while Helping Them to Discover Vegetation Patterns in Owens Valley, California
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT A field course attended by science teachers in California's Owens Valley incorporated geospatial technology to reinforce the relationship between elevation, aspect, or the direction a mountain slope faces, and vegetation. Teachers were provided GPS units to record locations and ...
Integrative mapping of global-scale processes and patterns on "imaginary Earth" continental geometries: A teaching tool in an Earth History course
Jan 01, 2009; ... ABSTRACT The complexity and interrelatedness of aspects of the geosciences is an important concept to convey in an undergraduate geoscience curriculum. A synthesis capstone project has served to integrate pattern-based learning of an introductory Earth History course into an active and ...
NAGT Awardees
Jan 01, 2009; ... National Association of Geoscience Teachers Neil Miner Award for 2008 Each year, the NAGT presents the Neil Miner Award to an individual for exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the earth sciences. The Award, presented each year since 1953, commemorates Neil ...
Earth Science Education Matters! A Master's Degree Program for In-Service Teachers
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT The Master's of Earth Science Education is available to certified teachers who already have the equivalent of a minor in Earth Science. The program has 15 credits of required courses that include doing research for a professional paper and going on field trips. The other 15 ...
Teaching Rocks and Minerals in the Hands on Lab: A Teaching and Learning Experience for Pre-credential Undergraduates at CSU Chico
Nov 01, 2008; ... INTRODUCTION The importance of hands-on activities in learning science at all grade levels has been widely recognized for several decades from the results of a number of studies, including: 1. the development of constructivist learning theory (e.g. Piaget, 1967), 2. the introduction of ...
SATELLITES: Students and Teachers Exploring Local Landscapes to Interpret the Earth from Space
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT SATELLITES program is designed to introduce in-service teachers and K-12 students to basic geographic concepts, geospatial technology (e.g., remote sensing, GIS, GPS, and digital elevation modeling), related data, and applications in complex concepts in Earth System Science ....
Synthesizing Process and Pedagogy in the Development of a Field Marine Science Course for K-8 Teachers
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT MAR-380: The Learning and Teaching of Marine Science, is a science course specifically designed to integrate scientific content and pedagogical practice. This course, developed at Rider University, bridges the gap between the learning of science and the teaching of science ...
Impact of Backwards Faded Scaffolding in an Astronomy Course for Pre-service Elementary Teachers based on Inquiry
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT In response to national reform movements calling for future teachers to be prepared to design and deliver science instruction using the principles of inquiry, we created and evaluated a specially designed course for pre-service elementary education undergraduates based upon an ...
Designing and Implementing Earth Science Courses for a New Integrated Science Program for K-8 Teachers
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT A state mandated change in the requirements for the preparation of future K-8 science teachers was viewed as an opportunity to build a new Integrated Science program at a modest-sized state university in the Midwest. The Earth/ space component is a four course sequence for ...
Enhancement of Geology Content Knowledge Through Field-Based Instruction for Pre-Service Elementary Teachers
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT This study measures the effect that field-based instruction has on student learning of earth science content knowledge related to sedimentary rocks for college students intending to be pre-service elementary teachers. A total of 36 students from 2 semesters of a specialized ...
The Moon Project: Student Research and Lesson Design in an Introductory Geoscience Course for Pre-service Teachers
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT I have developed a hands-on guided-discovery course for future teachers that includes a semester-long research project about the moon. This project, which is designed to give students the experience of conducting a long-term scientific investigation, requires students to make ...
Weather and Climate Course Design for Education Majors with and Without Science Majors
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT Science courses required by education majors at Eastern Michigan University are taught by science department faculty and either consist completely of elementary education science majors or are dominated by secondary education science majors. The design of the weather course for ...
Content is Not Enough: A History of Secondary Earth Science Teacher Preparation with Recommendations for Today
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT Secondary geoscience education has its roots in geography and physiographic education from the turn of the 20th century. High school Earth science reached a peak during the late 1960s and 1970s, after plate tectonic theory revolutionized geology. The production of Earth science ...
An Earth Science Course for Pre-service Teachers
Nov 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT This research examines the design and impact of an Earth in Action pre-service teacher course created at Kansas State University (KSU). The course connects content with pedagogical modeling for the K-12 classroom. Instruction is supplemented with projects, in-class activities, ...