GEOSCIENCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND SUMMER WORKSHOP FOR EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS

The Geosciences Research Institute and Summer Workshop for Earth Sciences Teachers was created at the Univeristy of Michigan-Dearborn (UM-D) with funding from the National Science Foundation as a means of providing a research and learning experience for selected earth science teachers (grades 5-12) and high school students. The program targets earth science teachers and students in the Detroit, Redford, Ecorse and River Rouge school districts where people of color comprise 80% of the population. The summer workshop is designed to provide a hands-on opportunity for both the teachers and students to learn about how the geosciences can be used as a tool to solve community-based environmental problems. Goals of the Institute and summer workshops are to 1) provide an awareness of career opportunities in the geosciences to underrepresented groups and to encourage talented students to think about geology as a major in college. 2) improve teacher knowledge of geology (80% of earth science teachers in these school districts have never had a college-level geology class) and to stimulate student interest through research-oriented activities. A secondary goal is to encourage interest in attending UM-D. Both the teachers and students receive graduate and undergraduate credit respectively, tuition free and a stipend to attend the three-week summer workshop. Teachers and their students are teamed with university faculty, graduate and undergraduate students as well as professional geologists in the community to work on three separate environmental oriented research projects. Attendees will also take field trips, listen to guest speakers and develop modules which convey the theory behind the research projects. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate the modules into their yearly curriculum and to use the university as a resource.