What Is the Revolution?

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."