EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR PRE- AND IN-SERVICE TEACHERS AT EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY

Emporia State University (ESU) is a small liberal arts university (~5600 students) with a high percentage of education majors. ESU is facing NCATE review in Fall, 2003. New NCATE standards emphasizing pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills and dispositions are primarily the responsibility of the Teacher's College at ESU, whereas the Departments of Physical Sciences (DPS), which include the Earth Science Department (ESD), focus primarily on science content knowledge. The DPS reaches pre-service teachers in a number of courses. Elementary Education majors are required to take Our Physical World (OPW), an integrated physical sciences course. If seeking an endorsement in the Natural Sciences, an introductory chemistry or earth science course is also required. For pre-service secondary teachers, a Bachelor of Science in Education (BSE) in Physical Science requires a core of introductory and intermediate chemistry, earth science and physics courses, and a physical science secondary teaching methods course. More advanced courses in at least two areas of science are necessary for certification.

Although science content is the primary focus of the ESD, attention to pedagogy and instructional strategies that favor increased understandings of earth science concepts for all of our students, including pre-service teachers, are an additional priority in all ESD classes. In the OPW course, modeling of effective teaching strategies is as important as the content itself and inquiry approaches utilizing the learning cycle, cooperative learning and concept mapping are used extensively. In addition, active learning and hands-on activities are strongly favored in the introductory Earth Science course.

Continuing education for in-service teachers includes evening and summer course offerings such as Physical Geology for Teachers and Severe and Unusual Weather, summer workshops including Physical and Earth Science Adventures with Children's Literature and Teaching Physical and Earth Science through Multimedia, and the recently-completed, Eisenhower-funded K-12 Earth Science Update Conference.

A workshop in physical science teaching is required of all PSD graduate teaching assistants, many of whom intend to pursue secondary teaching careers on completion of the master's degrees in physical science.