EARTH SCIENCE BY DESIGN: TEACHING TO THE BIG IDEAS

Developed by TERC and the American Geological Institute with funding from the National Science Foundation, Earth Science by Design (ESBD) is a year-long program of professional development for middle or high school teachers based on the Understanding by Design approach pioneered by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. ESBD has been field-tested by staff developers in eight sites nationwide and is being adapted by geoscience educators for use with pre-service teachers.

ESBD helps teachers:

• Teach for deep and enduring understanding of the “big ideas” in Earth science.

• Use “backward design” to create curriculum units and lessons that are engaging, rigorous, and aligned with national, state, and local standards.

• Design effective classroom assessments and rubrics.

• Incorporate powerful web-based Earth science visualizations and satellite imagery into an Earth system science approach.

ESBD has developed a complete professional development package for staff developers and geoscience educators, including:

• The ESBD Handbook—everything you need to offer the program, including detailed workshop lesson plans.

• The ESBD Web Site—where teachers can develop curriculum units online (www.esbd.org).

• Online resources for Earth Science teaching and learning.

• PowerPoint presentations for workshops and courses.

• DVD of teacher reflections on their implementation experiences.

In this session we will review:

• the resources which ESBD makes available for geoscience educators

• sample Earth science units produced by teachers in the program

• field test results

• the effect of the program on teacher practice

• how geoscience educators can get involved with ESBD