Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS28 Innovative Approaches for Linking Science and Society Through Education (Science and Society Connections)

Date: Friday, February 16, 2001, Time: 9:30:00 AM

Location: La Cienega

Campbell, A, , Legacy High School, Broomfield, USA, Camp004@aol.com

Smith, L, K, University of Colorado/CIRES, Boulder, USA, smithlk@terra.colorado.edu

Weaver, A, , University of Colorado/CIRES, Boulder, USA, weaver@cires.colorado.edu

Buhr, S, , University of Colorado/CIRES, Boulder, USA, sbuhr@al.noaa.gov

Boehm, A, , University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, anitaB@terra.colorado.edu

EARTHWORKS: A SECONDARY SCIENCE TEACHER'S PERSPECTIVE

Authentic investigation is a national science standard for secondary science teachers. Investigation, one of the six standards, was tested heavily in last year's CSAP test of middle school students in Colorado. Earthworks trains teachers in inquiry-based pedagogy by encouraging teachers to practice generating inquiry questions, conducting student designed labs, and interpreting data. A teacher involved in Earthworks returns to classroom isolation with a network of science mentors, a group listserv, and a host of inquiry questions. A teacher leaves the training confident, after practicing field research under scientist guidance, and is able to facilitate student groups involved with Earth systems inquiry problems. Peer teaching is modeled in the training and is easily transferred to the classroom. The training spills over to revamping, on the part of the science teacher, of old cookbook style lab procedures into inquiry-based ones. A final benefit is that a teacher who does real science in a summer workshop, possibly for the first time, experiences the frustrations and discoveries of science research and is able to guide future students more authentically in the inquiry process.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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