UTILIZING GRADUATE STUDENT TEACHING FELLOWS TO BRING BIG IDEAS IN A LOCAL CONTEXT TO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

The Transforming Earth System Science Education (TESSE) program partners middle and high school Earth science teachers with graduate student fellows with the aims of developing ways to incorporate inquiry-based curriculum into the classroom and effectively teaching Earth science concepts with the view of the Earth as an interconnected system. In addition to serving as science content resources to the teachers, three graduate student fellows developed a curricular unit that is relevant in their home state (PA) that incorporated some of the “big ideas” described in the NSF’s Earth Science Literacy Initiative. The final product was a week-long unit on coal that highlighted topics such as coal’s physical and chemical properties, the role of plate tectonics and the rock cycle in coalification, how the U.S. uses its energy resources, coal’s connection to society, and the need for clean coal technology. The coal unit emphasizes three of the big ideas in Earth science: 1. Earth is continuously changing; 2. Humans depend on Earth for resources; and 3. Humans significantly alter the Earth. These concepts are instilled through activities that develop observational, critical thinking, and graph and map reading skills while encouraging discussion and teamwork.

Coal is a part of the students’ daily lives, but they seldom think about its importance. The graduate student fellows implemented two days of the unit with 200 students in grades 7 – 11 in a PA school. The students were receptive to the new material and enjoyed interacting with the graduate fellows. A highlight for the students was examining real coal samples. This basic task gave the students a hands-on introduction to a topic that might at first seem uninteresting. It is critical for students to understand the formation and limitations of our natural resources as we explore cleaner ways to utilize them and as resources such as coal are exhausted and alternative energy sources and processes are sought for replacement. These issues will only become more urgent with time. Ensuring that students understand the big ideas related to natural resources will develop a generation of scientifically literate adults and effective citizens who can understand radio, TV, newspaper, and magazine coverage of these issues, as well as engage in related discussions.