PROFESSIONAL GEOSCIENCE DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL SCIENCE TEACHERS

Classes in environmental science have appeared in numerous secondary school programs over the past decade. This trend is driven by several factors, including student interest in the subject area and the need for additional science electives and advanced placement courses. Teachers for environmental science classes are typically drawn from faculty covering the traditional scientific disciplines of earth science, biology, chemistry and physics. Those teachers who were not trained as earth scientists, however, often have little geology background or knowledge/appreciation of the importance of earth science in understanding and solving environmental issues. In schools that do not teach separate courses in environmental science, environmental issues are likely to be discussed in biology and (maybe) chemistry classes, again by teachers who probably have little, if any, training in geology. Because of this, it is important that the earth science community reach out to all K-12 science teachers, not just earth science teachers, in an effort to build appreciation for the importance of geology to the other scientific disciplines and its role in understanding environmental issues.

We have been teaching workshops for science teachers from grades 6-12 for the past two years. These workshops have been attended by teachers of earth science, chemistry and biology, and are intentionally interdisciplinary in nature. The overall theme of the workshop is an investigation of the effects of acid rain on ecosystems in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Because of the nature of our funding (both from NSF and from the New York State Dept. of Education), we have restricted applications to science teachers in New York, but even with that restriction, we have received over 150 applications for 22 workshop positions in the past two years, clearly indicating that there is a need and desire for interdisciplinary, environmental workshops. The workshops are field-based, held in the Adirondacks, and include sampling of soils and biologic materials followed by field and lab analyses done on site. The response of the participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with many remarking that they have an increased appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues and the role of geology in understanding those issues.