PROVIDING EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS WITH RESOURCES

The North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) is a regular exhibitor at the annual N.C. Science Teachers Professional Development Institute (NCSTA PDI) in Greensboro, N.C. This statewide institute attracts 1,500 to 2,000 North Carolina science teachers each year. The number of attendees would be much higher if school travel budgets allowed. Most teachers that attend the institute are representing several teachers, if not an entire department, from their school. Therefore, the teacher stopping by our booth may have no geology or earth science background at all, but is looking for appropriate resources for a teacher back home. The NCGS distributes a wide-range of free educational materials to any science teacher that visits our booth. We do allow the teacher, unless supplies are limited, to take enough resources for other teachers. We guide the teacher as to what specific details are included on a map, or in another resource, and guide them as to how this information is pertinent to their needs. The resource materials range from NCGS fact sheets to AGI Earth Science Week Kits to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) booklets, brochures, fact sheets, and topographic maps. These resources are made available through the cooperation of many sponsors and the NCGS coordinates the delivery and distribution at the event. The NCGS plans future endeavors to assist science teachers in both obtaining resources and understanding how to use them. These include: geology/earth science workshops for teachers, topographic map sets with specific features highlighted, and a program to provide stipends to increase the number of earth science teachers attending the NCSTA PDI.