K-16 COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-OMAHA AND OMAHA, NEBRASKA AREA SCHOOLS: ON-LINE EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE COURSE OFFERINGS

The University of Nebraska at Omaha has been collaborating with local K-12 school districts by offering on-line Earth System Science coursework to teachers since 2002. Our goal is to help Nebraska teachers embrace earth systems science education and to use it in their classrooms. We have targeted Middle School science teachers, but have had teachers from all levels take our course with positive results.

UNO was one of the initial members in the Earth Systems Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) and has offered three different ESSEA courses, with nearly 200 students having taken ESSEA courses at UNO for graduate credit. Our courses have been integrated into several graduate degree programs at UNO including a Masters of Science in Education, a new Middle School Endorsement, a Certificate in Urban Education, and the Graduate Program for the Department of Geography/Geology.

Feedback surveys from earlier ESSEA offerings indicate a strongly positive perception of the courses by the teachers enrolled in the coursework. Project impact has been documented in teacher projects, quotes, and lessons associated with the coursework activities. We will also describe an online course module that was developed within the UNO online course efforts, focusing on the global amphibian crisis.