GEOSCIENCE MUSEUM EXHIBITS AS PEDAGOGICAL DEVICES

Geoscience museum exhibits were incorporated into two General Science Graduate Environmental Science and Physical Science courses dedicated to the introduction of scientific principles to Pre-Service and In-service teachers. The goal was to relieve the anxiety felt by many of these teachers about teaching science, and to introduce the use of geoscience museum exhibits as integral parts of their lesson planning to meet the requirements of the NYC Public School curriculum.

Geologic change as it related to climatic change was presented where the Environmental Science students, inspired by the museum exhibits as well as the Museum website, and an Internet based data collection program, were then involved in a debate regarding global warming: natural phenomena or accelerated man-induced change? Was it possible to inspire these science phobic teachers into debating a topic that they were familiar with, but had limited knowledge? The key to motivation was their exposure to the geoscience museum exhibits. What was it that aided these classroom teachers who seldom taught science? The physical presence in an environment solely devoted to planetary change over time presented the students with a framework from which they could build their arguments. The ability to touch and see physical evidence of past global change and then collaboratively defend a position was a powerful experience for these teachers.

The students in the Physical Science course (Pre-service and In-service teachers) were introduced to geoscience museum exhibits pertaining to the Sun-Earth-Moon system where they documented the changes of the Moon over a period of 30 days. Again, many of these students were teachers with little experience teaching science. This activity with the museum Space Show, guided geoscience exhibit tour, self exploration, reflective journal entry, and subsequent lesson plan creation for use in their own classrooms, resulted in a similar response as was demonstrated by the Environmental Science students.

The connection among the sciences was demonstrated using the geosciences exhibits and programs creating a seamless and naturally free-flowing stream of information with practical applications in the classroom. Connection to other content areas was an inherent component as the teachers became more at ease with the content through the use of geoscience museum exhibits.