WHO PARTICIPATES? COMPARING STATE-WIDE SURVEY RESPONDENTS TO TEACHER PARTICIPANTS IN A GEO-STEM LEARNING ECOSYSTEM

Geo-STEM learning ecosystems (GLE) are communities of transformation that engage all types of educators and learners in the geosciences. GLEs address local geoscience issues by bringing together current research and place-based education. Illinois is an NGSS adopting state and is home to CINet, a critical zone network studying intensively managed landscapes. The goal of this study is to: (1) evaluate the initial state of Illinois earth science teachers, (2) engage a small cohort of motivated teachers to bring current and locally relevant science into their classrooms, and (3) initiate a GLE in Illinois.

In the Spring of 2021, we surveyed over 200 self-identifying Earth science teachers in Illinois. We asked about teachers’ sense of connection to the scientific community, how they connect learning to where their students live, and their understanding of Critical Zone science topics, including sustainability. From this surveyed population, 20 teachers participated in a two-day workshop focused on Critical Interface Network (CINet) science. Teachers worked to intentionally broaden their networks, develop place-based questions that could drive student learning, and develop NGSS-ESS storylines using CINet data on near-surface processes, the reactive zone, and flow corridors. During the academic year, these teachers participated in monthly webinars to continue to learn about geoscience-related sustainability issues and work together to finalize their storylines.

Here we describe and compare the surveyed sample and GLE participants. In our pre-workshop survey, we found that those who had chosen to participate had greater content knowledge about biogeochemical cycles and climate change. They also had stronger beliefs about the importance of sustainability, relevance of Earth science to their students, and their own potential to contribute to science research. These patterns illuminate the factors that contribute to teachers' participation in GLE.