In this commentary, we argue that social capital theory, the idea that membership in a group creates opportunities to acquire valuable information and resources from other group members, is a useful framework in which to consider ways to increase diversity in the Earth System Sciences (ESS) and in the science, technology, engineering, and…

Each of the papers in this collection offers a much-needed antidote to the forces that disconnect educators from the places in which they teach, learn, and live. Together, they provide an opportunity to reflect on the power of place in education. This issue offers an opportunity--an invitation--to embrace all that the places both in and outside…

Earth and space science in the middle school classroom are composed of intricately intertwined sets of conceptual systems (AAAS 1993; NRC 1996). Some systems of study, such as the water and rock cycles, are quite explicit and often found as stand-alone middle school science units. Other phenomena are not so apparent, yet they play an extremely…

The placement of final-year undergraduate students into schools and colleges is becoming increasingly common in higher education as part of outreach, employability and community-building initiatives. This article describes one such initiative at the School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, its successes, its challenges and why schools…

The "issue" of there being only limited time available to teachers for the development of teaching and learning resources has been with us a long time. This article outlines the rationale behind the development of online teaching resources that are freely available on the Earth Science Teachers' Association (ESTA) website and introduces readers to…

Using data from the 2011 (Chinese) Student Academic Achievement Evaluation, we examined whether within-school socioeconomic gaps in science achievement exist across science subjects, how consistent they are, and whether there are relationships between school average science achievement and within-school socioeconomic gaps in science achievement.…

One of my principal goals at the University of Minnesota is to transform the university's entry-level geoscience program into an effective ''concluding'' geoscience course that provides students with a clear understanding of the many interactions between Earth processes and human society. Although place-based learning appeared to be a promising…

Modeling in science has been studied by education researchers for decades and is now being applied broadly in school. It is among the scientific practices featured in the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") (Achieve Inc. 2013). This article describes modeling activities in an extracurricular science club in a high…

Readers of the draft new English primary science curriculum (DfE, 2012) might be concerned to see that there is much more detail on the Earth science content than previously in the United Kingdom. In this article, Chris King, a professor of Earth Science Education at Keele University and Director of the Earth Science Education Unit (ESEU),…

"Palynology" is the study of fossil pollen and spores, and these tiny grains can provide fundamental information about past climates on Earth. Among their many unique and useful properties, pollen and spores are composed of some of the most chemically resistant organic compounds found in nature. They are also produced in vast quantities…

This paper organizes and analyses over 500 geoscience misconceptions relating to earthquakes, earth structure, geologic resources, glaciers, historical geology, karst (limestone terrains), plate tectonics, rivers, rocks and minerals, soils, volcanoes, and weathering and erosion. Journal and reliable web resources were reviewed to discover (1) the…

America is blessed with two river systems that feed and nourish the country by their periodic flooding. One mighty river is "individualism" (the entrepreneurial drive to advance and make a difference). The other river is "community" (wherein communal interests strengthen the whole community over the parts). Monitoring and regulating these two…

Even as service-learning has become more prevalent in higher education as a high-impact teaching methodology, barriers still exist to its implementation by some instructors. One concern is the perception of these types of activities infringing upon course content. This article outlines an example of an introductory service-learning project for an…

The content knowledge of teachers matters in the classroom. It influences their ability to deliver lessons, select activities for their students and assess students' learning. This study investigates the experiences of biology pre-service teachers who were required to teach physics and earth science concepts during their pre-service teaching. Such…

Nationally, "at risk" students make up to 30% of U.S. students in public schools. Many "at risk" students have poor attendance, are disengaged from the learning environment and have low academic achievement. Educational failure occurs when students do not complete the required courses and as a result do not receive a high…