USING EARTHLABS TO ENHANCE EARTH SCIENCE CURRICULUM IN TEXAS

As an educator in Texas, a state that values and supports an Earth Science curriculum, I find it essential to educate my students who are our future voting citizens and tax payers. It is important to equip them with tools to understand and solve the challenges of solving of climate change. As informed citizens, students can help to educate others in the community with basic knowledge of weather and climate. They can also help to dispose of the many misconceptions that surround the climate change, which is perceived as a controversial topic.

As a participant in a NSF-sponsored Texas Earth and Space (TXESS) Revolution teacher professional development program, I was selected to participate in a curriculum development project led by TERC to develop and test education resources for the EarthLabs climate literacy collection. I am involved in the multiple phases of the project, including reviewing labs that comprise the Climate, Weather and Biosphere module during the development phase, pilot teaching the module with my students, participating in research, and delivering professional development to other Texas teachers to expose them to the content found in the module and to encourage them to incorporate it into their teaching.

The Climate, Weather and the Biosphere module emphasizes different forms of evidence and requires that learners apply different inquiry-based approaches to build the knowledge they need to develop as climate literate citizens. My involvement with the EarthLabs project has strengthened my overall knowledge and confidence to teach about Earth’s climate system and climate change. In addition, the project has produced vigorous classroom discussion among my students as well as encouraged me to collaborate with other educators through our delivery of professional development to other teachers. In my poster, I will share my experiences, describe the impact the curriculum has made on my students, and report on challenges and valuable lessons gained by being an active participant in the EarthLabs curriculum review, implementation and professional development process.