Earth Science
Angela Daneshmand, Santiago Canyon College
Karen Viskupic, Boise State University
Mark Abolins, Middle Tennessee State UniversityBeth Dushman, Howard Community College
Summary
In this introductory-level Earth Science course, students explore Earth processes in the solid Earth, the atmosphere, the oceans, and the solar system. This course provides students with opportunities to engage with science in ways that will help them teach their future students. Students will work in teams to investigate how science and engineering practices are used to study Earth processes, model Earth processes, analyze data using spreadsheets, and make interpretations/evaluations using multiple ways of knowing. Throughout the course, students gain confidence in their ability to use science and engineering practices and in envisioning themselves as scientists.
The units in this course are designed to be used together as a semester-long introductory Earth Science course and are well-suited for courses for pre-service teachers. However, units can be used as stand-alone components of a variety of courses as well.
Features of this course
This course is specifically designed to increase student confidence in the scientific process and incorporates frequent meta-cognitive reflection. The introductory unit asks students to recognize how they use science and engineering practices in their everyday lives. In subsequent sub-units, students investigate and analyze real-world datasets of relevant Earth processes. In each unit, students articulate which science and engineering practices they applied, which will help them to see the iterative and non-linear nature of science. The topics for each sub-unit were chosen for their current societal relevance, diversity of examples for place-based learning, and ease of access to a variety of datasets.
Instructor Stories: How this unit
is being adopted and adapted »
Table of Contents
- Course Overview
- Recurring Themes and Assignments
Unit 1Anyone Can Be a ScientistUnit 2Are We Moving Towards Another Supercontinent?Unit 3Where Do We Find the Resources We Need?Unit 4Are You Prepared for Severe Weather?Unit 5How Do You Prepare for Floods and Landslides?Unit 6How Do We Explore Planets in Our Solar System?- Instructor Stories