AN ONLINE COURSE IN EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE FOR IN-SERVICE MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS IN GEORGIA

In August 1999, the State of Georgia received a three-year $9.7 million Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement Program State Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant is aimed in part at improving student achievement and increasing teacher quality by ending out-of-field teaching. Middle grades math and science teachers who do not have a concentration in the area being taught are required to take additional coursework by the time their certificate must be renewed.

The grant has funded the development of online courses in math and science for in-service teachers who are currently teaching out-of-field. This included an online Earth & Space Science for Middle School Teachers course, which was developed by faculty at Georgia Perimeter College (GPC). The 4-semester-credit Earth & Space Science course covers basics in physical and historical geology, oceanography, meteorology/climatology and astronomy. Online course materials and a WebCT interface are used, in addition to a college Earth Science textbook and laboratory manual. Course components include syllabus, lecture notes, assignments, lab activities, quizzes, bulletin board, email, class evaluation, and proctored midterm and final exams. The middle school teachers work with rock and mineral kits, topographic maps, geologic maps, weather instruments, and spectroscopes to learn skills that they can take into their classrooms.

Teachers may take the course for academic credit through GPC, or for Staff Development Units from GPC or from Regional Education Service Agencies which serve multi-county areas, or from school system professional development centers. Upon successful completion of the course, eligible teachers (currently-employed public-school teachers in grades 4-8) receive a stipend of $300 from the GA Professional Standards Commission.

Course leaders were trained in using WebCT and in course organization and procedures in group sessions held at GPC, around the state, and via videotape. The course has been offered a total of 19 times at 12 sites in GA. The course was designed to be offered online for easy access by teachers in rural parts of the state, but it has also been offered as a standard 50-hour classroom course, and as a combination of online and in-class sessions. Nearly 150 teachers have completed the course as of summer 2001.