“WHAT ROCK IS THAT?” (AND OTHER COMMON CLASSROOM QUESTIONS)—A FREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR TEACHERS WITH NHMU

Through our yearly interactions with students statewide, we, as outreach educators, observed a major disparity between the geology component of the Utah State Science Core Curriculum, and what teachers were conveying to their students in the classroom. To address this discrepancy, we created "What Rock Is That?" (and other common classroom questions)—a free workshop for teachers in Utah.

During this Geology Workshop, teachers are provided the opportunity to come to a greater understanding of geologic processes by interacting with museum-quality geology specimens. After engaging with these specimens, we provide teachers with the content and background information necessary to build upon the foundation of this hands-on experience. By working alongside museum educators who use and model inquiry-based learning techniques throughout the duration of the workshop, teachers are able to construct knowledge about the Earth Sciences from the perspective of their students—an opportunity that helps them empathize greatly with the struggles and frustrations their own students may encounter while learning unfamiliar content. Additionally, this empathy allows teachers to hone their science process skills by addressing discrepant events as learning opportunities, rather than a barrier to achieving a deeper understanding of geology. We found that by approaching complex science topics, such as geology and paleontology, in this way, teachers are able to break down previous misconceptions, which then, in turn, allows for the construction of new knowledge with a solid foundation of accurate ideas.

Even though What Rock Is That? is still in its infancy (with the first workshop offered in July 2012), these workshops have successfully reached 9 school districts across Utah. Out of these nearly 300 teachers reached, 82% of them ‘strongly agree’ that the workshop made them feel more comfortable teaching geology in their classrooms. Additionally, 90% of teachers ‘strongly agree' material was presented in an easily accessible and understandable manner.

It is through What Rock Is That? that we are able to emphasize that experiential learning opportunities, rather than simple memorization of facts about rocks, minerals, and fossils, are necessary for students and teachers to come to a greater understanding of the Earth Sciences.