Earth Science Enterprise Research Program-University of Montana - The University of Montana (UM) provides a technology learning center for professional teacher training
and teacher in-service, which brings remote-sensing and basic Geographic Information System (GIS)
applications into the classroom. Using data products provided by UM's Numerical Terradynamic
Simulation Group (NTSG) and supplementing ongoing educational programs, UM's learning center
introduces the latest remote-sensing concepts to the next generation of science classrooms in Montana.
UM has developed an online, for credit, course program for pre-service and in-service education of the
teachers of Montana, as well as the technical components to expand this program nationally and
internationally. This project brings online Earth system science courses developed by the Center for
Educational Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit University into the UM learning environment, presented
through the e-College(tm) network.
Additionally, the project plans outreach and study of online courses for the Montana Native American
population, working closely with several reservations across Montana. During the first year, the project
will focus on one reservation and then expand over the three-year program to integrate operations in state
and national hosts. Immediate impact is expected on Montana classrooms, with plans to explore the impact
on Native American classrooms where special conditions and constraints may prevail. Project evaluation
will delve deeply into the perceived meaning of scientific understandings in the Native American teaching
corps and examine how these meanings are communicated in their classrooms.
Contact: John Kuglin, Director of Educational Outreach, or Wes Snyder, Research Professor of
Education, University of Montana, James E. Todd Building, Missoula, Montana 58912; Phone: (406)
243-6334; Fax: (406) 243-2047; Email: jkuglin@selway.umt.edu
(Added: 17-Apr-2001 Hits: 575) [Spider search][grade levels: 3-5|6-8|9-12]
Earth System Science Academy - The Network Resources and Training Site is funded by the MU-SPIN Office of Goddard Space Flight Center. The Network Resources and Training Site (NRTS) housed at Elizabeth City State University is designed to serve the states of North Carolina and Virginia. The NRTS provides technology training and facilitate HBCU/MI network opportunities in research and education for science/mathematics faculty and students, as well as for the teachers of predominately minority-attended elementary and secondary schools in ECSU's region. Research focus for this NRTS include High Performance Networks and Earth System Science.
The Earth System Science Academy is one of the major K-12 Earth System Science initiatives sponsored by the NASA NRTS. During the two-day summer academy, teachers tour the Great Dismal Swamp and actively become involved with water testing techniques. Teachers attended both Geoscience and Computer Science workshops. Internet workshops focus on NASA educational resources on Earth System Science. The Earth System Science Academy offers educators the opportunity to learn about the health of local waterways and the Great Dismal Swamp. The Academy challenges educators to develop new skills through the experience of working with university and NASA researchers. Included in the Earth System Science Academy is a tour of the Great Dismal Swamp Boardwalk; Hands on Water Quality Labs; and workshops on Earth System Science.
Contact: Dr. Linda Hayden, NASA Network Resources and Training Site, Elizabeth City State University Box 672, 1704 Weeksville Road, Elizabeth City, NC 27909; Phone: (252) 335-3696; Fax: (252) 335- 3790; Email: lhayden@umfort.cs.ecsu.edu
(Added: 18-Apr-2001 Hits: 693) [Spider search][grade levels: 3-5|6-8|9-12]
Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) - The Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA), a partnership between the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), the Center for Educational Technologies (CET) at Wheeling Jesuit University, through funding from NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, is an exciting and innovative professional development program.
ESSEA will support universities, colleges, and science education organizations in offering K-12 Earth system science (ESS) online graduate courses that have been developed within the CET at Wheeling Jesuit University for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. The Earth system science courses use an innovative instructional design model, are delivered over the Internet, and feature student-centered, knowledge-building virtual communities. Successful proposers will participate in an intensive four-day training workshop to learn how to deliver the courses.
The ESS courses feature student-centered, knowledge-building communities in which groups of teacher/participants engage in problem solving, model building, and classroom activity design. A master teacher and/or an Earth system scientist who act as guides and mentors throughout the 16-week courses, moderate participants. Participants' expectations are set through the use of rubrics for individual and group work as they learn new ESS content, become knowledgeable about new resources, develop confidence in the use of technology, and design new classroom activities.
(Added: 6-Feb-2001 Hits: 860) [Spider search][grade levels: 3-5|6-8|9-12|K-2|adult|post-secondary]
Earth System Science On-Line Course: An Opportunity in Geography Education - The goal of this project is to offer K-12 teachers of geography, Earth science, social studies and other related subjects the opportunity to increase their content knowledge in the field of Earth system science in a convenient, technology-enhanced environment. Contact: Dr. William R. Strong, Box 5064 Department of Geography, University of North Alabama, Florence, AL 35632-0001; Phone: (256) 765-4218; Fax: (256) 765-4911; Email: wstrong@unanov.una.edu
(Added: 6-Feb-2001 Hits: 693) [Spider search][grade levels: 3-5|6-8|9-12|K-2]
Earth Systems Connections: An Integrated K-4 Science, Mathematics, and Technology Curriculum - This project will develop an integrated Earth system science curriculum program intended for children in
K-4 classrooms. At the core of the work are three central objectives:
1) to build upon existing data, technologies and resources (e.g. NASA satellite imagery and
programs) in the creation of approximately 50 thematic, integrated, stand-alone activities that are
cohesively connected across K-4 grade levels. These activities will reflect national content and
process standards for elementary level mathematics and science education.
2) to develop modules around real-world, scientific, and cultural contexts that resonate with typically
disadvantaged and underrepresented populations. Collaborative relationships with schools on a
Native American reservation, in rural Appalachia, and in inner city areas have already been
secured.
3) to support the curriculum by developing interactive Web sites through which students will enter
and access data, observe satellite imagery, post findings, etc., forums where students across the
country could communicate with each other (e.g., email, chat rooms, videoconferencing), as well as
support for on-line conversations between teachers as a form of teacher development will be
provided.
Four themes will be developed to provide the content framework for creating the curricular activity
modules, namely: (1) Learning about Remote Sensing Principles and Connections to Earth System
Science; (2) Learning about the Earth's Dynamic Systems: Interconnections that Link the Earth; (3)
Learning about the Earth's Dynamic Systems: Changes, Changes Everywhere!; and (4) Learning about the
Earth's Dynamic Systems: Measurement and Data Analysis. Curriculum modules will revolve around
"hands-on" activities, supported and supplemented by Web based lessons. Extensive piloting of the
curriculum modules will take place throughout the duration of the grant at six school sites (two each in
South Dakota, Colorado, and Virginia). The project will officially begin in June 2000 and welcomes the
opportunity to collaborate with other schools, educators, and researchers.
Contact: Lee Vierling, SDSM&T, 501 E. St. Joseph St., Rapid City, SD 57701; Phone: (605) 394-6855;
Fax: (605) 394-6061; Email: Lee.Vierling@sdsmt.edu
(Added: 18-Apr-2001 Hits: 710) [Spider search][grade levels: 3-5|6-8|9-12]
Enhancement of the Global Systems Science Student Guide Series for the Digital Earth Initiative - Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., Boston's Museum of Science, Lawrence Hall of Science in
Berkeley, CA, and Logal.net will digitize and enhance the Global Systems Science (GSS) Student guide
series for interactive use on the Internet and the Digital Earth
Initiative. The GSS Student guide series, developed during the past eight years at the Lawrence Hall of
Science, can be combined in various ways to create an interdisciplinary high school course. In the GSS
approach students integrate the traditional disciplines to probe the interactions among the atmosphere,
ocean, ice, solid Earth, and living organisms that shape Earth's evolution and its future. Students study the
traditional disciplines, not as ends in themselves, but as tools for
a scientific understanding of Earth as an integrated system. The course draws on a variety of disciplines to
illustrate how scientists investigate the ways that human activities interact with Earth systems. The content
and pedagogy of the Global Systems Science course reflects the four goals that lie at the heart of the
National Science Education Standards:
1) GSS starts with real-world societal issues selected to evoke interest, excitement, and an
appreciation of the value of science.
2) Through laboratory activities and discussions, students are given opportunities to investigate and
apply the scientific processes and principles that inform each of the issues.
3) Students are encouraged to discuss their changing perspectives as the course proceeds, and to
think about how they can affect the outcome in each area of concern through personal decisions.
4) Students are motivated to continue their study of technical fields as they encounter a wide
diversity of role models featured in the GSS Student guides.
The nine-part GSS Student guide series will be digitized, not only by creating hypertext links between the
documents, but by developing an educational software interface that creates organic, living documents
connected to any data accessible on the Internet. Logal.net has developed revolutionary software that
displays, overlays, and interacts with any Internet data source on one computer screen. Science, education,
research, technology, and public policies will all be integrated and available for students, public planners,
the media, and the general public to explore, analyze, and make decisions.
Contact: John Pickle, Staff Scientist for Education Development, Atmospheric and Environmental
Research, Inc. (AER), 840 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139-3771; Phone: (617) 349-2277; Fax:
(617) 661-6479; Email: jpickle@aer.com
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Forest Watch - Forest Watch is an environmental education program developed and run by Complex Systems Research
Center at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). It is designed to introduce both teachers and their
students to field, laboratory, and satellite data analysis methods for assessing the state-of-health of local
forest stands. Forest Watch provides workshops which are designed to help K-12 teachers introduce their
students to selected hands-on techniques for evaluating the health of white pine (Pinus strobus), a
bio-indicator for tropospheric ozone damage. Through Forest Watch, students become actively involved in
doing meaningful scientific research. Students and teachers setup permanent sampling plots in a forest
stand and conduct several ecological and biophysical measurements using scientific protocols. Students
collect and help analyze valuable data for UNH researchers while participating in this educationally
beneficial program. Contact: Dr. Barry Rock, Program Director, or Mr. Shannon Spencer, Program Coordinator, Complex
System Research Center, Morse Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824; Phone: (603)
862-1792; Fax: (603) 862-0188; Email: forestwatch@unh.edu
(Added: 5-Feb-2001 Hits: 1113) [Spider search][grade levels: 3-5|6-8|9-12]
Forest Watch (University of New Hamsphire) - Forest Watch has been an innovative and highly successful education outreach program for the study of white pine health in New England. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) initiated this program to involve primary and secondary students in the collection and processing of data relating to air pollution damage in forest stands. Students participate in three types of authentic science activities in Forest Watch:
forest stand assessment,
laboratory-based assessment of damage symptoms, and
image processing/data analysis of Thematic Mapper data for the area around their school.
Participating schools select a permanent sampling plot in a pine stand and conduct several ecological and biophysical measurements using specific scientific protocols developed at UNH. Results to date show that students can collect valuable data from a scientific standpoint and that the program is educationally beneficial--students learn science and mathematics by doing research in their local area.
(Added: 5-Feb-2001 Hits: 744) [Spider search][grade levels: 9-12]
GISS Employments Opportunities - Other programs through which scientists and educators may participate in GISS research,
including Columbia University postdoctoral appoinments and National Research Council
associateships.
(Added: 14-Jun-1999 Hits: 779) [Spider search][grade levels: post-secondary]
Global Change Education - The New Jersey Initiative - The New Jersey initiative for global change education has been organized under the banner of Project ADD: Assemble, Develop, and Disseminate. These three elements should be understood as a system, the parts of which will support each other in the manner of positive feedback loops. The Assemble element of the plan refers to the gathering and organizing of existing global change resources, both human and material. These resources will be used in training activities and the materials will be housed at a central facility, the Center for Earth Science at Kean University, where they will be available to all interested educators. The Develop element has a two-fold purpose. One is to develop a network of people who have received training in global change education and who can then train others. To support this and other initiatives a global change education center will be organized to serve as a focal point for the dissemination of materials and information. The Dissemination effort is a key component and will take a variety of forms including workshops, short courses, a Web home page, and museum exhibits. Change is a basic characteristic of the Earth system and operates across a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Understanding the Earth system and the changes that characterize it should become an important focus for education at all levels and the interdisciplinary aspects of global change should receive emphasis.
To accomplish these goals a New Jersey Council for Global Change Education has been established.
Contact: Paul Rockman, Kean University of New Jersey, Morris Avenue, Union, New Jersey 07083; Phone: (908) 527-2894; Fax (908) 629-7011; Email: prockman@turbo.kean.edu
(Added: 18-Apr-2001 Hits: 576) [Spider search][grade levels: adult|post-secondary]
