A day-long geoscience educational module, "Sharing and Learning: The Natural Environments of Acoma Pueblo," provided an opportunity to explore the various connections that Acoma Pueblo community members make between their cultural values and geologic concepts. The purpose of such an exploration is to make explicit the cultural…

This report is based on several evaluations of NSF-funded geoscience projects at Stony Brook University on Long Island, NY. The report reviews the status of K-12 geoscience education, identifying challenges posed by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the experiences of university faculty engaged in teacher preparation, state…

This three-lesson sequence, addressing the topic of slow geomorphological change caused by water movement, integrates a Web-based system called Goinquire into a series of activities aimed to help upper-elementary, diverse students improve their observation skills and content knowledge in geomorphology. During the inquiry-based lessons, students…

Makes the case that geologic fieldwork requires more than knowledge of basic skills learned in the standard undergraduate curriculum. Argues that synthesis of the skills into a schema must be done before one can address the kinds of problems that arise when doing field investigations. Argues for the use of descriptive geometry and trigonometry in…

A long-term study was conducted to test the effectiveness of visual thinking networking (VTN), a new generation of knowledge representation strategies with 56 ninth grade earth science students. The recent findings about the brain's organization and processing conceptually ground VTN as a new cognitive tool used by learners when making their…

Reviews a study which sought to assess the influence of field activities, as compared to classroom-contained activities, upon students in an earth science laboratory course. Test results indicated that both groups had identical levels of lower-order learning but the field-oriented group demonstrated higher levels of understanding and application.…

This experimental study explores how 60 primary-age children's (9-11 years old) understanding of rocks was effected by instruction that used the conceptual structure of the rock cycle together with the analogy of aluminium can recycling. Using a combination of probes into children's understanding, including concept maps and semi-structured…

Learning about the earth as a system was the focus of the 1997 International Conference on Geoscience Education. This proceedings contains details on the organization of the conference as well as five general sessions by various participants. The interactive poster sessions are organized according to three themes: (1) Earth Systems/Science…

This study compares inservice (n=30) and preservice (n=30) earth and space science teachers on general mental abilities, content knowledge, Gagnean levels of content knowledge, and procedural knowledge in solving earth and space science problems. Results support Norman's theory of learning that inservice teachers function at the tuning mode of…

The activities presented in this book, designed to help 4th through 8th grade instructors teach about the history of life, help students prepare for a visit to a museum exhibit on life through time. The pre- and post-visit activities as well as the in-museum activities help students prepare for and enjoy their 4.5 billion year trip through time at…

The integration of science with social science and literature captures the spirit of inquiry and pedagogy embodied in the "National Science Education Standards". Multiple instructional approaches--group and individual work, small and large group work, at-home activities, hands-on and virtual instruction, extension into literature, writing and…

Designed to investigate whether or not science teachers can positively influence student achievement in, and attitude toward, science, this study focused on a specific teaching strategy and utilization of a computer-based simulation. The software package used in the study was the simulation, Volcanoes, by Earthware Computer Services. The sample…

Describes how one geology teacher relies on written and oral assignments both as learning tools and as a means to motivate students and assess their work. Frequent written and oral assignments dramatically improve the levels of engagement and learning. Presents some advantages of written and oral assignments and includes examples. (PVD)

Presents a study to examine the effects of a verbal teaching strategy versus a strategy providing instruction using activities and manipulatives in four seventh grade earth science classes with students of varying cognitive abilities (n=83). Results indicate that students with more cognitive structures perform better and that using manipulatives…

As a result of declining scores, the National Science Foundation has funded numerous materials-development grants. Largest among these is the Interactive Media Science (IMS) Project at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee. This project's mandate is to design, develop, and produce six level III interactive videodisc programs for middle…