Earth and space science education is undergoing a revolution
that is reshaping the nature and content of what is taught-with an
increased emphasis on Earth as a system and expanded use of Internet
resources. Students at all grade levels have greater opportunities to
learn through inquiry, exploration and discovery, aided by expanded use
of the Internet and visualization technology. Earth and space science,
long perceived as a minor field compared to biology or the physical
sciences, is emerging as a premier exemplar for innovation, quality
education and successful science education reform.
This revolution has been years in the making and has required
the leadership, vision, cooperation and hard work of a wide range of
organizations and individuals. NASA, for example, has made major efforts
to make readily available its resources of images obtained through
remote sensing and other advanced visualizations. The National Science
Foundation (NSF) has funded projects that led to innovative new
curricula, technologies and professional development programs. The
Coalition for Earth Science Education (CESE), an informal consortium
formed in 1993, has promoted reform by encouraging collaboration among
science and education organizations. And mainstream publishers, working
with educators and curriculum developers, are beginning to reshape their
textbooks so that technologies, including the Internet, become an
intrinsic part of classroom lessons and homework activities.
Earth and space science has become a vital and exciting field
rich with resources for teaching and learning. The diversity of
organizations attending the National Conference on the Revolution in
Earth and Space Science Education attests to the broad recognition of
the sea change taking place in Earth and space science education. The
potential impact on our schools and students is not just in Earth and
space science courses, but in the broader applicability of the skills
developed by students to related domains of science, math, geography and
other fields. Furthermore, there is a growing number of jobs related to
Earth science in fields as diverse as energy, resource management,
emergency preparedness, space science and visualization technology. In
short, this revolution in Earth and space science education is not just
for "rock hounds." It is a revolution for all students, and for our
relationship with our home planet Earth.
To make this revolution real, we need to focus on two broad
goals: 1) changing the Nature of Earth and space science education and
2) expanding the Extent of student participation in Earth and space
science education.
Revolutionizing the Nature of Earth and Space Science Education
Here is a way to envision the changing nature of Earth and
space science education. Think of a traditional middle-school Earth
science class in plate tectonics. Students might read from a textbook,
learning how plate tectonics cause earthquakes and volcanoes, and then
answer a few questions in the chapter review section of the book.
Essentially, the experience is read the book and answer the questions.
Now let's visit a middle-school classroom participating in
NASA's EarthKAM project (www.EarthKAM.ucsd.edu). EarthKAM provides
students with direct access to a digital camera flown on the
International Space Station (ISS). Students use the Internet to select
interesting targets along the Station's orbital track, send the requests
to the camera and then download the images to use in their Earth
science classes. In this example, students apply what they learned in
their textbooks by selecting as targets volcanoes along plate
boundaries. These images become the focal point for a series of
inquiry-based investigations, as students interpret the images, compare
different volcanoes, map their locations and correlate the images with
news reports of currently active volcanoes. In other words, the student
experience is changed from simply reading Earth science to actually
doing Earth science.
This example illustrates three key elements of the changing content and methods of Earth and space science:
Science as inquiry - The National Science Education
Standards are quite explicit in their emphasis on inquiry-based
learning: "Inquiry into authentic questions generated from student
experiences is the central strategy for teaching science." Earth and
space science is an especially rich domain for inquiry because the
"science lab" exists all around us. Students experience Earth and space
science going to and from school, on field trips, in the daily news and
through Internet resources.
Earth as a System - Understanding Earth as an
integrated system of components and processes has become the dominant
paradigm in Earth and space science research - and should become the
central unifying principal in Earth and space science education as well.
Students should not experience Earth and space science as a series of
topics, but rather as a whole system - the interconnected geosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. The National Science Education
Standards consider "systems and models" as one of the key "unifying
concepts and processes."
Internet and visualization technology - The Internet is
now pervasive in schools. While Internet speeds and ease-of-access may
not be ideal in all classrooms, the predominant reality is that the
Internet is available and schools are looking for the best ways to use
its power. Earth and space science may be the most powerful domain for
the Internet, with the incredible wealth of visualizations to support
student learning. In the EarthKAM example, the Internet provides
students not just with access to the images, but also with the ability
to select new targets for the camera on the International Space Station.
Other examples of innovative projects that augur the
revolution in the nature of Earth and space science education are
described elsewhere in this conference report, including the American
Geological Institute's EarthComm (relating Earth and space science
concepts to student's local regions), AMS's DataStream (providing
weather data for student investigations), and the Digital Library for
Earth System Education (DLESE), a national clearinghouse for Earth and
space science data, visualizations and learning activities at all grade
levels). As further evidence of the large-scale impact of this
revolution, the major publishers of Earth and space science textbooks
are providing Internet resources keyed to topics in the textbooks.
Revolutionizing the Extent of Student Participation in Earth and Space Science Education
The nation needs to increase the number of students, the
amount of time and the types of opportunities for learning Earth and
space science at elementary, middle- and high-school levels. This also
includes efforts to broaden the diversity of students learning Earth and
space science. Policy reform and expanded opportunities for
professional development are essential for achieving these goals.
The scope of the challenge can be seen in a few key
statistics. Of the roughly 13 million high school students in our
nation, only 7% (860,000) will take a high-school Earth and space
science course. Contrast this with roughly 88% of students who take
biology. Only two states (North Carolina and Kentucky) require Earth and
space science for graduation, and 17 states do not even consider Earth
and space science as a standard lab science course (National Report on
the Status of Earth Science Education, AGI, 2001). California and Texas,
for example, accept biology, chemistry and physics as lab sciences, but
not Earth and space science (except under special circumstances).
Ironically, both of these states are significantly impacted by Earth and
space science related issues, such as allocation of water and energy
resources, and risks from natural disasters like hurricanes and
earthquakes.
Hence a major challenge, and opportunity, is to greatly expand
the number of students participating in Earth and space science at the
high-school level. As detailed in this report, we believe real progress
can be made in this regard by enhancing the nature of Earth and space
science, and by ensuring that all states accept Earth and space science
as a lab course.
For middle and elementary school students, statistics are
harder to come by, but it is a safe assumption that their experiences in
Earth and space science education are generally less than optimal. This
is ironic since Earth and space science is such an accessible domain of
science learning, as it relates directly to students' immediate
environment and daily experiences, and is full of opportunities for
hands-on learning.
The growing presence of computers and Internet access in
schools provides a strong opportunity and impetus for reform. There are
currently over 8 million computers in schools and 98% of schools have at
least one Internet-connected computer. Computers are now the norm
rather than the exception. Earth and space science provides a very
compelling context for using computers in powerful ways to support
student inquiry, exploration and discovery.
State-by-State Policy Reform - In many ways, reform
efforts need to focus on individual states since the educational
requirements, curriculum frameworks, assessments and teacher
professional development are essentially determined at the state level
(for details on each state's policies and practice, refer to the AGI
Report on the Status of K-12 Earth and space science Education at
www.agiweb.org/education). In spite of the relatively low levels of
current participation in Earth and space science, there is considerable
cause for optimism. In an informal 2000 study by TERC of all 50 state
departments of education, 64% reported a growing interest in Earth and
space science education.
As one example, in 1998, the Massachusetts Department of
Education released a draft framework for science education that
eliminated Earth and space science at the high-school level. Over the
ensuing several months, a wide range of educators, scientists and other
interested individuals and organizations mobilized for the reinstatement
of Earth and space science. The revised framework has now been released
and approved - including reinstatement of Earth and space science at
the high school level. Clearly the perception of Earth and space science
education is changing, with a growing recognition of its impact and
importance.
One key recommendation of this conference is to establish
state-based alliances for reform of Earth and space science in each
state, and to coordinate these efforts through a national network. This
recommendation builds on the experiences of the National Geography
Alliance, which used a comparable model to promote reforms in geography
education.
Expanding Diversity - Diversity is an especially
important challenge in Earth and space science education reform. Earth
and space science is often perceived as more appropriate for schools
located in rural or other areas that might be considered "closer to
nature." This perception is far from the truth.
In reality, urban areas are very closely connected to the
environment. Cities are often founded near rivers and grow in patterns
defined by the physical environment. Construction of buildings and
highways require deep knowledge of what lies underground. Natural
disasters such as severe weather or flooding require careful planning
and recovery. All of these are rich domains of study for Earth and space
science classes, ripe with real-world topics for inquiry and
investigation. Furthermore, cities are "data rich" with a wealth of
aerial and satellite imagery, environmental measurements, sub-surface
data from construction sites and so on.
Earth and space science is thus a field where urban schools
should be at the cutting edge of the revolution rather than the trailing
edge. Each city might develop its own inquiry-based units on topics of
local relevance. For example, Boston might focus on its changing
landscape, as it filled in wetlands, bays and other coastal areas to
provide more land for housing and business. Los Angeles might focus on
how access to water became the defining factor in its growth. St. Louis
might focus on flooding and evacuation patterns. In each case, the urban
aspect provides a human element, showing the relevance of Earth and
space science in our daily lives. These examples also strongly
illustrate the interconnections among the components of Earth as a
system, as the systems play out on local and regional levels and varying
time scales.
We perceive the revolution in Earth and space science
education, including changes in both its nature and extent, to be driven
by strong and compelling forces. Quoting from the statement approved by
conference participants:
"Fueled by new technologies over the last forty years,
advances in Earth and space science are revolutionizing our
understanding of Earth's systems and processes. This growing
understanding is increasingly needed to inform political and economic
decisions of local, national and global impact.
For this reason, a science-literate citizenry is vital to the
nation's well-being and security and will ensure our nation's continued
leadership in science and technology in the 21st century. To empower the
public to make sound and reasoned choices, Earth and space science must
be taught throughout the United States in K-12 classrooms and be
accessible to all students."
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