GEOSCIENCE AT A GIRLS SCHOOL: LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Saint Mary's School is an all-girls Episcopal college preparatory boarding and day high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. Starting this school year (2002-2003), a year-long Geoscience class was made available to juniors and seniors. The overwhelming popularity of the course in pre-registration required the creation of two sections instead of one as initially planned. One of the goals of establishing the Geoscience course was to fill a gap in the school's science curriculum. Unfortunately, high school girls are often not exposed to earth sciences and therefore miss the opportunity to learn about, become excited about and explore career options in geoscience. Based on student comments and academic performance in the inaugural class, the new course is a big success. The hands-on approach to teaching the course seems to be one of the key factors in its success and popularity. Course outline, teaching techniques used (such as field trips, labs, journals and testing structure), and ideas for future improvements will be discussed.