EARTH2CLASS, SCHOOL OF ROCK, AND OTHER EXEMPLARY TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMS

The Earth2Class Workshops for Teachers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (E2C) provide Earth Science classroom educators with exemplary professional development through monthly seminars provided by research scientists, a robust web site (http://www.earth2class.org), and many other resources. Through interactions with investigators of cutting-edge problems and teaching colleagues, E2C participants synergistically gain content knowledge, pedagogical strategies, classroom materials to meet their needs and the needs of their students, and networking connections to support their efforts. At the same time, E2C provides researchers with an effective format for broader dissemination of new discoveries. In addition to teachers they directly meet at E2C workshops, materials they provide for the web site enable others anywhere to learn about the findings. Educators and scientists working together have developed instructional materials incorporating scientific inquiry which are disseminated through the web site. E2C participants also support Lamont-Doherty's educational outreach through presentations at the annual Open House and other programs. Evaluation of the E2C program and other aspects of this model will be discussed. A second effective teacher professional development program to be described is the “School of Rock” created by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program United State Implementing Organization (IODP-USIO) ( http://www.iodp-usio.org/Education/SOR.html.) During Summer 2007, the IODP-USIO provided School of Rock research experiences to selected educators at Texas A&M's Gulf Coast Repository. Participants had opportunities to conduct geological, physical and/or chemical analyses of sediment and hard-rock cores in laboratories, based on instruction provided by IODP research scientists on such topics as seafloor spreading, mid-ocean ridges, composition and structure of the oceanic crust, paleomagnetism, paleoceanography, biostratigraphy, sedimentology, and methods for sampling the subseafloor environment. Educators began planning classroom activities based on their research and new knowledge to be shared through the IODP web sites, short courses at science education conferences, and other professional development opportunities.