PREPARING NEXT GENERATION GEOSCIENCE TEACHERS: SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES THROUGH MODELS AND MODEL-BASED LEARNING IN A SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

Six pre-service Earth Science teachers (Earth Science Education majors) were engaged in a four week Model Research and Design Summer Institute at SUNY Oneonta, supported by NSF (GEO/ICER 1701048). During the Institute, participants were introduced to models and model-based learning as effective pedagogy in conveying complex concepts in Earth Science and how models are used in scientific inquiry (NGSS Nature of Science). Participants then brainstormed ideas for physical models of Earth processes, drew plans and built prototype models and improved the models through an iterative process (NGSS Engineering Design).

Teams of pre-service teachers developed physical models to demonstrate a) eclipses and why eclipses do not occur each month, b) wind shear and the development of vorticity, c) the ability of CO₂ to trap heat energy in the atmosphere, d) sea floor spreading and e) how the absorption and transmission of different wavelengths of light result in the blue appearance of the oceans. Participants created short videos to demonstrate their models. Models were field-tested in 8^th and 9^th grade classrooms and evaluated by a panel of New York State Master Science Teachers.

Although model design and construction were the primary goals of the Institute, pre-service teachers reported increased understanding of effective pedagogy (6 of 6) in a post-Institute survey. Four of six participants reported changes in their perceptions of the processes of teaching and learning and increased openness to non-lecture pedagogy in a mid-institute reflective writing exercise. Four participants wrote about metacognitive gains, specifically mentioning changes in their thinking processes. All participants (6 of 6) reported improved understanding of specific geoscience concepts. Students’ free responses on the post-Institute survey included comments such as, “I have developed, through the use of models, a deeper understanding of several Earth Science concepts that I had previously learned.” and “I've been through high school and part of college and only now, after seeing these models, do I truly understand certain concept(s) in the geosciences that I had thought I knew well prior, but in actuality, I didn't.” The process of researching and constructing models clearly deepened the content knowledge of these pre-service teachers.