MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL ERA: A PARTNERSHIP TO ENHANCE TEACHERS' AND STUDENTS' UNDERSTANDINGS OF SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPTS

Contemporary challenges in geoscience education require innovative teaching methods and a broad understanding of evolving concepts as well as state specific content standards. Ohio’s new content standards for social studies and science at the middle and secondary levels for the first time include concepts related to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. However, the concept of sustainability is relatively new to the standards and most teachers within the classroom have not been adequately prepared to address these standards. Through an Ohio Environmental Education Fund grant, we partnered with local school districts to offer a graduate course for middle and secondary science and social studies teachers focused on sustainability concepts as related to their local communities. The course included an intense full week summer workshop and additional meetings during the school year in which teachers shared standards-based unit plans developed out of the course. During the summer workshop, teachers attended lectures by university and outside experts in energy, water quality, air quality/climate, soils and land use; the last day included a panel discussion led by local specialists and government officials in land use (e.g. abandoned mines, regional council of governments). Teachers also learned how to use a basic modeling program (STELLA ©) and learned about new energy initiatives related to solar hydrogen production. In the field, teachers visited local sites including a solar company, a LEED certified building, a wastewater treatment plant, a local forest, a pervious parking lot, and a farm producing food for Cleveland area restaurants. Teachers were then able to integrate updated knowledge and field experiences into unit plans that they created for their classes. This workshop was geared directly to in-service and pre-service teachers, administrators, teacher preparation programs, and state education officers. This partnership demonstrates that university-school district partnerships can provide essential professional development opportunities to teachers related to the latest technological and economic innovations.