PUERTO RICO GEOMODEL PROMOTING A RESEARCH AGENDA
In the Geosciences Classrooms, undergraduates and graduate environmental sciences students are part of the teaching teams at the six participating schools. Together they developed a minimum of eight activities per semester, coordinated science fairs and helped celebrate a Science Fair Day at each school. Since most schools had not participated in a science fair in more than a decade, the Project helped cultivate the interest and provide the infrastructure for them to effectively participate in the local and regional science fairs.
The Saturday and Summer Geoacademy component has a greater emphasis on field education and significantly more opportunities for students to conduct research. The Project has developed research teams in some of the geosciences classrooms and in both of the Saturday and Summer Geoacademies. The project has incorporated GIS as a tool to promote data analysis and integration of disciplines in their research projects. We firmly believe that the experience of developing and presenting a research poster is a key component of the research process.
This model has resulted in a greater success in increasing student interest in the geosciences. In addition, the school teachers have reported that student interest in the classroom in science and math has increased, as well as their academic performance. The Project emphasized and succeeded in having both of the participating high schools hold an official school-wide science fair the second year of the implementation of this model for the first time in twenty years. In both districts, more than 19 Geosciences projects were presented and for a second year in a row one (1) student has participated in the INTEL Science Fair.