MEETING THE EARTH/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS FROM THE STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY USING NORTH CAROLINA EXAMPLES

With the graduating class of 2004, North Carolina will require successful completion of an Earth/Environmental science course as a high school graduation requirement. This requirement may be met as a general or introductory class, advanced class or AP class. The content of the course is based on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (SCOS) and includes components of physical and historical geology, oceanography, physical geography, meteorology, environmental studies, paleontology and soil science. To bring these highly varied themes together, we have created a set of activities that meet the objectives in the SCOS and use local examples from North Carolina to provide specific examples for the general SCOS concepts. The activities include virtual and actual field trips, laboratory and field activities, classroom activities, along with physical and electronic resources. The goal of these activities is to provide content knowledge in an inquiry-based format. The first objective was to give teachers an increased knowledge of the general Earth/Environmental concepts and provide them with the background to integrate this information in a coherent manor to describe the history (both geologic and human) and resources of the state. The second objective was to stimulate student interest by relating general, and sometimes abstract, concepts to local examples that they can use for data collection, problem solving and examination. We have found that using statewide examples increases teacher awareness of local and regional resources. Students are better able to apply and have more interest in knowledge gained by using experiential and inquiry based techniques. The activities developed provide a framework for teachers and students to meet the requirements of the SCOS and gain insight into the importance of earth/environmental science in a local setting.