MIQUAKES: SHAKING UP EARTH SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, & PHYSICS EDUCATION IN MICHIGAN

MIQuakes, a regional educational seismograph network, is part of the Seismographs in Schools (SIS) program of the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). The Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association (MESTA) sponsors the network in cooperation with IRIS, Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University. MIQuakes follows the MESTA philosophy of “teachers helping teachers”. Experienced teachers help other teachers maintain instrumentation and provide professional development. The universities provide technical and content support.

MESTA teachers in the IRIS SIS program developed MIQuakes in 2010. In 2011, recipients of 5 more seismometers were chosen based on geographic distribution, and cross-grade level and interdisciplinary teams. Today, MIQuakes includes 17 K-14 schools operating AS-1 and EAI-S102 seismometers. One station shares “live” data on-line, while others upload data from specific events to the SIS website.

Having instruments able to show students when and where earthquakes occur can stimulate interest and foster deeper exploration of Earth science topics. As not all teachers want to have a seismometer of their own, professional development features activities that allow teachers to use seismic data in many science disciplines. With AmaSeis, teachers view and work off-line with earthquake data from multiple sources, including MIQuakes. Plans exist to update to newer software as IRIS or other academic sources release it.

Five teacher workshops were held in 2011-2013. A science presentation, teacher-led activity, and discussion of recent seismic events was a goal of each. Attendance has included teachers with seismometers as well as those interested in learning more about seismology.

Developing, and/or adopting previously developed classroom activities relating mathematics, physics, and Earth Science continues. Adapting lessons to use data from MIQuakes stations is a goal. Development and vetting of activities prior to workshops is a challenge, especially as the group has grown. The experience and needs of participants has become more variable and providing meaningful content to the entire group has become more difficult. One solution may be to have workshops targeted at specific sub-groups depending on their desired level of involvement.