EARTH SYSTEMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE FOR TEACHERS DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NASA'S PROJECT ALERT AND SUN-EARTH CONNECTION EDUCATION FORUM

Although the National Science Education Standards (NRC,1996) put Earth science on a par with physics, chemistry, and biology in the pre-college curriculum, it remains absent or under-represented in many schools. Effective teaching of Earth science at the pre-college level requires that Earth and space scientists become involved in both the preparation of new teachers and in providing professional development opportunities for the many practicing teachers who have little or no background in these subjects. To address this two-fold need, we have developed a course that serves pre-credential and inservice teachers. In contrast to the traditional lecture-only and instructor-centered approach, Earth Systems and the Environment models student-centered learning in which activities, discussion, and guided inquiry are employed in an integrated study of the solid Earth, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and cosmosphere. Course content and pedagogy were informed by our participation in Project ALERT, a partnership between 10 campuses of the California State University, NASA Ames Research Center, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory formed to improve Earth science instruction for preservice teachers. The space science segment of the course was enhanced by input from and instructional materials provided by astronomers and science educators at the University of California Berkeley who are members of the Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum. Class notes and activities have been made available at http://geosun.sjsu.edu/paula/103 and http://geosun.sjsu.edu/~metzger/103.htm.

To date, Earth Systems and the Environment has been offered three times, each time attracting a diverse student population including juniors and seniors satisfying a general education requirement, inservice teachers, students preparing to be elementary or secondary teachers, and educators pursuing masters degrees in education or natural science. Anonymous course evaluations showed that both teachers and non-teachers valued the incorporation of active learning strategies, and teachers indicated that they were able to use the activities in their own classrooms.