GEOLOGIC FIELD RESEARCH: HELPING TEACHERS BRING GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND INQUIRY APPROACHES TO THE CLASSROOM

The Paleo Exploration Project (PEP) was a University of Montana (UM) professional development program serving K-12 teachers from eastern Montana. The primary goal of PEP was to prepare a core group of teachers to use geospatial technologies and inquiry-based approaches to teach science, math, and technology content to their students. Eastern Montana is one of the most fossil-rich areas in the American West, and contains a diversity of well exposed Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. The geographic distribution of sedimentary units across the badlands landscape inspires the incorporation of geospatial technologies in examining the spatial and temporal dimensions of earth history, earth surface processes, and the evolution of life. Thus, PEP engaged teachers and students in the study of ancient environments and associated fossils of a region very familiar to participants. Two cohorts of 25 teachers each completed the program. Each cohort was engaged in the training for 12 to 18 months. The program began with several two-day teachers’ weekend workshops during the spring semester. The following summer, teachers attended a weeklong summer research institute with middle school-aged students. Over the next academic year, teachers took part in a final weekend workshop, and developed and implemented their own learning activities with their students. The use of a design experiment theoretical framework allowed project leaders to systematically identify deeper understandings of the range and diversity of teachers’ needs and to implement appropriate project adaptations. Significant programmatic changes were made between Cohort 1 and Cohort 2. These included: (1) providing a more seamless integration of the geospatial training experiences with the project’s geological research agenda by engaging teachers in the actual site selection process, (2) increasing teachers’ roles in developing and implementing on-site trainings for students, (3) shifting from open to more guided inquiries at the research sites, and (4) offering more rigorous review and assistance with development of classroom projects, among others. The effects of these changes are evidenced in the level of GIS integration and sophistication of science questions in the curriculum developed between the two cohorts of teachers.