THE DRY VALLEYS OF ANTARCTICA AND MT. RAINIER: PLACE-BASED INQUIRY LEARNING IN PRACTICE

The challenges of teaching science in urban environments at the middle- and high-school levels are daunting. Inquiry experiences provide valuable opportunities for students to improve their understanding of both science content and practice; however the implementation of these experiences can be difficult. Relevance and pertinence of science curricula are often hard for students to understand let alone internalize. Teaching practices that help students to process their own learning have a higher chance of helping more students succeed. Intrinsically motivated students are more likely to excel in inquiry experiences. Place-based learning opportunities can provide that intrinsic link, where the questions are student generated and student centered. These active learning experiences can also be reinforced and expanded through the application of digital communication tools. All of these student centered approaches were incorporated in a week-long workshop (July 2009) for pre-service middle- and high- school science and math teachers, during which they experienced inquiry- and place-based learning by examining ecological measurements of Mt. Rainier as analogous to the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. After a discussion of what science is, and some background geologic and environmental content, students generated questions they could “ask” their “place,” and collaborated in teams to conduct on–site (Mt. Rainier) observations, data collection and reduction. They presented their findings on the interactive wikis they created. Modeling these pedagogical approaches proved to have a positive effect on participants’ thinking about their future teaching practices.