A COLLABORATIVE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION: CURRICULA DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION FROM THE 2006-07 E-MRGE GK-12 FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, BELEN, NEW MEXICO

The E-MRGE (Ecohydrogeology in the Middle Rio Grande Environment) GK-12 Fellowship Program pairs graduate student fellows in Earth & Planetary Sciences (E&PS) and Biology from the University of New Mexico with middle school science teachers in Belen and Socorro, New Mexico. Schools in these communities are Title I institutions and have all-inclusive classes, presenting a challenging environment in which to develop and implement inquiry-based curricula. Traditional GK-12 programs pair one fellow with one teacher. In Belen, we combine an E&PS fellow, a Biology fellow and a pair of teachers. This collaborative approach allows fellows and teachers 1) to address a wider range of scientific subjects; 2) to develop more robust content; and 3) to reach more students than an individual fellow-teacher pair might be able to. Here we present three examples of the curricula our group developed and student response to our efforts.

The EMRGE module introduced students to the geology and ecology of central New Mexico. Students explored the relationship between tectonics, landscape, flora, and climate for this area, both in the classroom and in the field. Next, the Climate Change module introduced students to how changes in climate are observed and measured, as well as the uncertainties involved with climate data. Students also discussed the potential impact of climate change on ecosystems and societies on a global scale. Finally, the Caves module introduced students to cave formation, physical features of caves, cave microbiology and fauna, and allowed students to discuss cave research and exploration with cave scientists.

Surveys completed after each of the modules showed that students were more interested in curriculum developed by the fellows-teachers group. We also observed that having a male and female fellow proved additionally effective, as students tended to respond more to instruction from a person of the same gender. Overall, we believe these modules could be used and adapted to teach science at the secondary level in a public school classroom, and that the collaborative approach to instruction should be tried in other GK-12 programs.